An agreement between agriculture and Spnl to combat illegal fishing and protect wildlife

The Ministry of Agriculture and the Nature Protection Association in Lebanon (SPNL) signed a memorandum of understanding with the aim of enhancing environmental protection efforts, limiting illegal fishing and wildlife trafficking in Lebanon. The agreement aims to implement environmental laws, protect endangered species, and combat illegal activities related to wildlife.

This step comes within the cooperation between the Ministry and SPNL to enhance biological diversity, as the unit of illegal fishing (APU) has been highlighted as a major tool to combat violations, in cooperation with security forces and environmental judges.

In his speech, Asaad Sarhal, General Manager of SPNL, stressed that this memo is not just a road map to implement environmental projects, including awareness, training and monitoring. He added that the association will bear the full costs of implementing the memo, and that it will work to establish responsible hunting areas in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment.

In turn, the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Nizar Hani, stressed in his speech the importance of the role the ministry plays in preserving the environment, whether in forests or in organizing marine fishing. He explained that the Ministry is working to issue the applied decrees of the animal protection and kind law, stressing the importance of partnership with environmental organizations to implement the goals of this law and protect marine and land species.

In conclusion, Minister Hani stressed the importance of cooperation between the various parties to implement the provisions of the Memorandum of Understanding, and to achieve its goals in protecting the environment and sustaining the biological diversity in Lebanon.