Nizar Youssef Hani, key figure in the Chouf Biosphere, receives international conservation award

BEIRUT: Local ecologist Nizar Youssef Hani, the creative force behind the Shouf Biosphere, Has received the prestigious Kenton R, Miller Award during an online event hosted by the International Union for the Conservation for Nature (IUCN) and World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA).

The Kenton Miller Award for Innovation in National Parks and Protected Area Sustainability was presented to Nizar Youssef Hani of the Shouf Biosphere Reserve in Lebanon and Pedro Estêvão Muagura of the Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique, during the online ceremony.

According to the World Commission on Protected Areas, the award celebrates individuals who are taking bold steps in ensuring the long-term sustainability of these vital sites, by developing and applying innovative policies, scientific knowledge, technologies, field practices, or governance models.

Named after Dr. Kenton R. Miller, IUCN Director General from 1983 to 1988 and three-time Chair of the WCPA, the award was set up in tribute to “his admirable legacy of promoting innovation and learning in planning and managing protected and conserved areas worldwide, and mentoring leaders in the field of conservation,” the conservation groups said in a joint statement.

Dr. Kathy MacKinnon, Chair of the WCPA, announced, “WCPA is delighted to recognize the innovation and best practices of two outstanding protected area managers who have worked to benefit both conservation and communities - Nizar Youssef Hani of the Shouf Biosphere Reserve and Pedro Estêvão Muagura of the Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique.”

Hani’s efforts at transforming the Shouf Biosphere Reserve (which covers 550 km², over 5% of Lebanon) into a globally significant model for integrated ecological, social, and economic development have brought him to the forefront of conservation in the Middle East and North Africa.

After being involved in the management and development of the Shouf Biosphere Reserve for twenty years, Mr. Hani rose to become its manager in charge and has overseen the realization of a vision of the reserve as a model for the restoration of nature, community development, resilience to climate change, sustainable economic development and the facilitation of peaceful reconciliation.

Growing up in the aftermath of civil war in Lebanon, in a village at the foot of the Barouk and Niha mountains in Lebanon, Hani has spearheaded a comprehensive conservation and development program that draws together a complex of objectives in a unique combination to conserve and restore the iconic cedar forests and wildlife of Mount Lebanon.

The area has been able to mitigate and adapt to climate change, to integrate twenty-two municipalities into its governance, to develop entrepreneurial opportunities for local people, including through nature-based tourism, product development and revenue generation based on nature conservation, to markedly expand employment and capacity, to maintain and restore cultural heritage, and to support the integration of refugees in a time of regional instability. Upon winning the award, he said,

“In the Shouf, nature is the foundation of our livelihoods and resilience. I am tremendously honored and gratified by this award, which acknowledges the decades-long work of all those involved in conserving our Cedars and reviving our traditional agriculture and culture.”

The IUCN said these two trailblazers have demonstrated that these countries and regions can also be held up as examples of resilience, innovation, and sustainability – serving as a model for conservationists worldwide.