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Effective Management of Biosphere Reserves in the Arab Region - Shouf Biosphere Reserve “May 16-21, 2011”

Effective Management of Biosphere Reserves in the Arab Region - Shouf Biosphere Reserve “May 16-21, 2011”

Al-Lagat BR – Syria Abu-Qubais BR – Syria Suqatra BR – Yemen Eshkl BR – Tunisia Bou Hedma BR – Tunisia Telmesan BR – Algeria Dinner at the Maasser Auberge

May 17 Tuesday

Topic I: Management Planning Moderators: Faisal Abu-Izzeddin / Massimo Gherardi / Lauro Rossi Reporter: George Awad Kick off presentations: Nabil Nemer (Lebanon), Tamer Ismael or Ikrami Mohamed (Egypt) Starting with 2 or 3 kick off presentations for 5 minutes each, working groups, presenting the results and discussion. Lunch Field visit to the Reserve (Maasser and Barouk Cedar forests) Dinner at Baytna Restaurant – Barouk

May 18 Wednesday

Topic II: Marketing and Promotion Moderators: Pascal Abdallah / Massimo Gherardi Reporter: Rana EL Hajj Kick off presentation: Khalid Abdelhalim Abdelrahman or Gamal Eldin Adam Elbala Hamid (Sudan), Amer Samour Al- Rafoa or Hesham Al- Dahssan (Jordan) Starting with 2 or 3 kick off presentations for 5 minutes each, working groups, presenting the results and discussion. Lunch Continue the Presentations of the Arab MAB BRs (Part 2) Dinner at Maasser Auberge

May 19 Thursday

Topic III: Environmental Education and Awareness Moderators: An w a r Al-Hemyary (Arab MAB) / Alberto Mazzucchelli / Nicola Santini Reporter: Ramzi Chahine / Yara Khouri Kick off presentations: Habib Ghazouni or lezher Al-Hamedi (Tunisia), Sidi Mohamed Saied kaziThani (Algeria) Starting with 2 or 3 kick off presentations for 5 minutes each, working groups,

4 | P a g e Effective Management of Biosphere Reserves in the Arab Region - Shouf Biosphere Reserve “May 16-21, 2011”

presenting the results and discussion Lunch Field visit to the southern part of the Reserve – Niha Fort and village Dinner at El Chalal Restaurant - Jezzine Town

May 20 Friday

Topic IV: Networking Moderators: Mouhamed El Aawa and Stefania Petrosillo, Reporter: Sandra Saba / Hassan Hamzeh Kick off presentations: Nazeeh Omasha or Fady Al- Mahmoud (Syria), Ahmed Ayed (Yemen) Starting with 2 or 3 kick off presentations for 5 minutes each, working groups, presenting the results and discussion Lunch Preparing for the meeting with the local stakeholders Dinner at the Maasser Auberge, the participants are encourage to prepare national dishes for the dinner (the kitchen of the Auberge will be available to participants)

May 21 Saturday

Meeting with local stakeholders and decision makers Municipalities , Reserve management staff , trail planning and maintenance group , local NGOs, guesthouse owners, rural product workshops, farmers, school teachers, private sector, tour operators, and land owners Moderators: Nizar Hani

? Conclusion presentation of the workshop: one of the participant ? Short movie about the workshop – BRAMA team ? Distribution of the certificates of attendance- Italian Ambassador, President of

the Federation of Municipalities of the Higher Chouf, UNESCO representative Lunch Free Time - visit Beirut for shopping and sightseeing

May 22 Sunday

Departure


In the framework of the project titled “Risk Prevention and Management of Shouf Biosphere

Reserve” funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs &Italian Cooperation, the Shouf Biosphere Reserve organized a one week seminar titled ”Effective Management of the Biosphere Reserves in the Arab Region”. The following event was organized in collaboration with UNESCO office in Beirut & Cairo and the Ministry of Environment in Lebanon. This event took place in Shouf BR Park House from May 16-21, 2011. The seminar aimed to exchange the experiences of biospheres reserves, in relation to biosphere reserve management and come up with one vision which reflects the major components of the biosphere reserve management plan using a participatory approach which focuses on 1- management planning, 2- marketing and promotion, 3- networking, and 4- environmental education and awareness. . It exchanged the different programs which are taking place in the Shouf biospheres reserve, contributing to its effective management through multi stakeholder involvement. The seminar included participants from different biosphere reserves and protected area among the Arab region including Moracco, Algeria, Yemen, Sudan, Egypt, Syria and Lebanon. The first day was commenced by the speeches of the representatives from the different executives and funding organization of this event, where they highlighted the value of biosphere reserves and the importance of its effective management, through involving multi stakeholders, where the Shouf Biosphere Reserve reveals such an approach. The first day program continued by several presentations introducing the biosphere reserves and protected areas of the representing countries. The second day focused on introducing the management plan framework, and the major tools which were used in the Shouf Cedars Reserve which served the development of the Management plan including GIS, fire management and assessment modules through the Italian Cooperation’s projects. Those tools were described by Massimo Gherardi and Lauro Rossi from the Italian Cooperation. Massimo provided a session on GIS tools and modeling where he stressed on the value of GIS for understanding different ecological functions and processes including forest dynamics. He also provide an example about how GIS was used in the Shouf reserve to develop touristic mapping and Google earth mapping, where a google earth illustration program showing the different aspects of the reserve was produced and downloaded to the website in order to be accessed by the public. Lauro introduced the system of forest fire prediction and prevention, which is taking place in the Shouf reserve. He stressed on the importance of this system in fighting the fires before its accordance, since it serves as an indicator. Lauro empathized that the effectiveness of this system can’t take place if not associated with a national fire management plan & procedures for actions and legislative frameworks aiming to control violations. Subsequently, Faisal Abu Ezzeddine, introduced the topic of management planning and the components of the management plan which was adopted by the Shouf Cedars Reserve, where an active discussion about management planning and its components took place with participants. Participants stressed on the value of involving local stakeholder in the management of a biosphere reserve, in which local communities can support the management of the biosphere reserve if effectively engaged. Participants agreed that a management plan is supposed to be an adaptable flexible and simple document, which reflects the concerns the reserve tailored to different stakeholders. It was summed up that a reserve is supposed to serve as a new module for changing governmental policies and regulations where it reflects


on the socio-political interaction and the ability to assess and built upon inorder to serve social development. The discussion session was coincided by a working group meeting where participant were asked to come up with an outline for the components of a biosphere management plan (Attached: Annex I: Management plan outline). The topic of effective marketing and promotion was the core of the third day, where it was introduced by Pascal Abdallah an expert in rural development and establisher of the touristic company Responsible Tourism. Mr. Abdallah introduced the marketing plan and its components. He explained the different concerns and scenarios which are supposed to be considered when developing a marking plan. Image branding and packaging was one of the important component which was stressed upon in a marketing plan, aiming to associate the values of the promoted products and its image. An example on using Google Earth mapping for marketing and branding was explained by Massimo, who showed a live example of the Google earth package which was developed for the Shouf Biosphere and uploaded on its website. After Massimo’s presentation, a working session about marketing and branding took place. Through this exercise participants were asked to develop an image branding for “Soukatra Island” in Yemen. The unique values of the place is supposed to be reflected when branding “environmental, social , economical”. Participants came to a conclusion that “ a package is supposed to be built on unique characteristics of a protected area, but in a manner that conserves it ”. It was highlighted that a package plan is a long term process which requires a minimum of three years planning to understand the site and characteristic and the targeted tourists. The topic of the fourth day meeting focused around the role of environmental education and awareness in the conservation of biosphere reserves through participatory involvement of different stakeholders. The meeting was initiated by Lauro Rossi who highlighted again on the importance of the RISCO program for fire prevention in addressing fire risks, where this was associated with the protection and conservation of wildlife. Alberto Mazzucchelli , described the environmental education program which was introduced by the Italian Cooperation in the Schools of the Shouf Region. The following program aimed to involve students in the visioning of the different elements of the reserve which require conservation “looking through the window from their school, and identifying the elements they notice”. This intervention aimed to highlight on the other views of the reserves from the surrounding communities, and the different visioning and interactions around it “linkage between core zone and buffer zone”. This was illustrated through a school project for a birds’ hide module, which was demonstrated by a “big cedar cone” designed by one of the school students and built in the reserve. Through the bird’s hide openings visitors can see the “inside and outside ” ,and thus see different sceneries about the reserve and its interaction with its different zone “buffer zone and paradise zone”. The session of environmental education was continued by a small presentation for Nicola Santini’s who introduced the topic of recycled scopes in order to minimize waste disposal and CO2 emissions through the usage of old existing material, where old wood was used for producing functional furniture. The meeting was summed up with a working group’s exercise. Participants were asked to describe the buffer zones of their reserve, define its physical elements, identify opportunities and critical aspects and define local guideline in order to increase awareness and education in relation to the reserve. (Annex II: Working group exercise) .


The fifth day sessions represented one of the important sessions which contemplated the challenges faced by the biosphere reserves’ network and the main issues of consideration. It started by a presentation for Dr. Mohamed Al-Aawah, who presented the UNSECO network and program for People and Biospheres. Dr. Al-Aawah went into a definition for biosphere reserves, the criteria for their selection and the concept behind their development. He elaborated on the changes that took place in the biosphere reserve’s program, from a scientific based program to a program which extends to consider sustainable development through enhancing relationships between people and biosphere. Dr. Alawah listed the major functions of biosphere reserve which are focused along the UNESCO program: 1. Conservation of natural resources through preserving environmental function 2. Development through tackling human needs and economic aspects 3. Scientific research and environmental Education He introduced zonation “Core Zone, Buffer Zone and Transitional zone” as a major feature which is supposed to be considered in the strategic management of biosphere reserves. Dr. Alawah described the biosphere reserves network which works on the national, regional and international level. He underlined the necessity of creating a user-friendly website which insures the effective communication among biosphere reserves. One of the issues which was entailed was the important of sticking to the Madrid Action plan which defines the TORs of the parties involved in the committee of biosphere including: national committees, PA managers, network, secretariat. It was intricate that members should practice their roles in the issues of : 1- Communication, collaboration and management ,2- Area selection, linking functions to the selected site, 3- Capacity building 4- Schedule (objectives, time frame, etc…) .

Under this session participants stressed upon the need of improving the management strategies of Biosphere Reserves, where it should be dealt with passion and commitment to environmental conversation causes. Local needs are supposed to be addressed in project development, and planning should be done in a participatory manner, with the flexibility of negotiating objectives and interests towards a common consensus. The Italian Network for parks and protected areas “Federparchi” was presented by Stefania Petrosillo. The following network focuses on protected area and parks conservation aspects through its different programs and activities on several level including, communication, networking and marketing, environmental education and others. This takes places through the involvement local communities along the process. One of the network actions is the production of the different agreement which serve conservation and livelihood goals “Slow Food agreement which lead to the creation of the Atlas of local products of Italy’s national parks”. Other activities include different exhibitions which serve the recognition of parks and protected areas “ Mediterre”. Other accomplishment of the network is the information services parks and protected areas website which introduces parks and PA through touristic info’s for PA’s , weekly activity ideas, list of guest houses, restaurants and local products, plus several other forms of information including projects, events, etc. The Federparchi also works on intro d u c ing participatory methodology strategies to develop ecotourism, which is encouraged through a certificate, offered by Europarc Federation in collaboration with Federparchi, which follows up on the implementation of the process. Stefani explained the typologies of networks created through Federparchi which involve actions


on national, regional and international level. Federparchi focuses on improving those network through working on its technical and political level “which seems to be a challenging task in Med countries”. Later participants were divided into three working groups, where they were asked to identify the type of networks they are working under, challenges and difficulties encounter and a suggestion for a future network for Arab Biosphere Reserve reflecting on its and challenges and opportunities. The working groups came up with the following conclusions: 1- Challenges Encountered

a- Decisions are politically driven, taken by political parties and higher managerial boards inconsiderate of the opinions expressed by BR managers

b- Instability in cultural and political contexts c- Absence of BR managers representation in the national committees d- Insufficient Information and Weak communication and experience and information

exchange among BR reserves e- Absence of a common adaptive management& communication strategy, where

representative have conflicting objectives and interests f- Limited financial capabilities and funding apportunities g- Limited authorities of BR reserves h- Priorities are least considered i- Weak managerial board

2- Opportunities a- Establishment of national networks first , followed by the establishment of regional

technical networks represented by BR managers and national committees where communication can take place between BR managers to link network work among each other and with UNESCO.

b- Database (successful Arab experiences made accessible) c- Communication platforms d- Regular meetings e- Sufficient representation of multi-stakeholders involved

In order to establish a successful BR Arab network, Stefania highlighted that the network requires clear objectives, where overcoming funding and political problems should be overlooked upon its establishment through multitude of members with different backgrounds. This can be achieved through a small project,which can expand bigger at a later stages. Dr. Jaradi commented that the problems of biospheres diverge on country level, and thus should be tackled differently. On the other hand a common objective can be worked upon. He suggested involving BR managers in the national committees. Dr. Al Aawah summed up that a clear coordination mechanism between Arab countries is needed before establishing the network. The know-how is expressed by the Italian Cooperation through their partnership establishment initiatives and interventions.


The brief statement of recommendations was defined through the network objective and facilitation mechanism which were listed as below: Network Objective:

Facilitation of experiences exchange between the BR managers and strengthening their connection with the national MAP committees.

Establishment of a group to develop a course of action for coordination and collaboration between BR managers. This group is given the name “Arab Biosphere Reserves Managers Group” that will be represented in the MAP Arab network.

Involvement of BR managers in the national committees. Establishment of a social site for the group, through which information and experience

exchange is facilitated. Mechanism Participants suggested that the national committee in Lebanon can help in offering the recommendations of the attendees of the meeting for strengthening the cooperation between BR managers, and between the managers and the national committees, to the Map Secretariat in Paris by presenting these recommendations based on relevant procedures (to assure they are discussed). A committee was formed in order to follow-up on workshop recommendations. The committee included Ikrami Mohammad (Egypt) Hassan Hamzeh (Lebanon) Amer Rfouaa(Jordan) Habib ?? (Tunisia) . The open discussion was followed up by presentation of Dr. Nabil Nemer who provided an over view on the Tannourine Cedar Forest and its management plan which incorporates not only the ecological and biodiversity aspects but also involving communities through the different interventions which include:

1. Women coop + local food production 2. Public awareness (website, events, publications, etc…) 3. Zoning plan 4. Insect conservation 5. Promotion of eco-tourism 6. Demarcation of the reserve boundaries Dr. Nemer summed up that although the Tannorine Reserve went into a stage of resource deterioration, this was overcomed through the effective conservation initiative which was successfully achieved through partnerships with funding agencies. The fifth day was concluded by an over all evaluation of the workshop in which participants expressed their satisfaction about the new partnerships and lesson learned that they were exposed too from the different BR reserve experience’s, and Italians experience in Arz El Shouf Biosphere and in Italy. They articulated their contentment about the logistical details of the workshop including topics, presentations and field visits. Participants recommended sharing the draft of the workshop report for participants’ feedback and publishing workshop recommendations. The overall event was accompanied by daily activities which reflect upon the reserve and its interaction with the surrounding livelihoods. This included field visits to the different parts of the reserve, in addition to dinning in the several restaurants around, where the last day was summed up with the closing event,


which and opening of the “Barouk River Valley Trail ” in the present of the different local stakeholders from surrounding municipalities. Annex I: Management Plan Outline General Summary General Info

Description Site Boundary Management Boundary Topographic Mapping Satellite Imaging

Management info Protected Area entrances and major roads

Legislation and Laws (legal status) Applied Rules and Regulations Land delineation and ownership

Infrastructure (facilities & Human resource) Environmental and Biodiversity info

Biodiversity (Funa & Flora) Soil type, weather conditions, topography, rain fall

Human Resources and Livelihoods Info about the History ,and Social and Economical& Culture values Archeology- important monuments and cultural sites

Communities living within and around the protected area Land use of the protected area and surrounding (grazing , agriculture, fishing, tourism ..etc

Institutions and Authorities working in the protected area (ministries,municipalities..etc) Evaluation of the components presented above( considering sensitivity and rarity) Vision& general objectives

Practical objectives& Outputs Management plan for the five year

P a g e Effective Management of Biosphere Reserves in the Arab Region - Shouf Biosphere Reserve “May 16-21, 2011”

Annex II: Exercise: Try to describe your buffer zone Use only physical elements like roads, houses, … For each recognize opportunities and critic aspects Then try to define the local guidelines to increase awareness through education Group 2: Case study: Eshkel Biosphere - Tunis

1) Description of the buffer zone, physical elements:

Physical elements Opportunities to make them better Critic aspects

Roads Totally rehabilitated The water was flooding Gardens Create specific zones

for periodic grazing Over grazing- land degradation

Old rock quarries Rehabilitated to be an educational center

Irregular landscape- land degradation- extraction of rocks Rocks were used to

grave pictures of animals and plants from the reserve Reforestation of the site

Schools Addition of new classrooms

Old buildings

Archeological sites Documentation and publication, signs (brochures)

Neglected and not documented

Laboratories Clubs Public libraries Environmental museum Educational center for environment

Playing zones for kids Botanical gardens Classification and

conversation of the plants (Herbarium)

Public baths They developed them to be also a touristic place where the local community can sell local products

People used to sleep in those baths

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