ARAM, 17 (2005) 285-356 G. TOHMÉ AND H. TOHMÉ 285 JABAL RIHANE RESERVE1 Dr. GEORGES TOHMÉ AND Dr. HENRIETTE TOHMÉ (Lebanese University) A- INTRODUCTION AND SOURCE OF INFORMATION 1- ESTABLISHMENT OF THE RIHANE RESERVE In early December 2001, the Reverend Father Dr. Shafiq Abouzayd tele- phone me from London to propose the idea of declaring the Jabal Rihane a protected area. Since he is from Mlikh village where he was born and spent his childhood, Dr. Abouzayd showed a constant tendency to protect its environ- ment on the basis of a scientific biodiversity background and cooperation with its inhabitants as well as the local communities of its surroundings. Accord- ingly, he asked me if I was willing to conduct preliminary field studies in Jarjou’a, Loueizeh, Mlikh, Kfarhouneh, Aramta and Rihane villages similar o what I had previously done, in cooperation with a team of scientists, in five protected areas. One of them (Al-Chouf Cedar Reserve) is in the proximity of Jabal Rihane. As my wife and I often used to conduct wildlife field studies all over Leba- non, we welcomed Dr. Abouzayd’s idea. The following day, we prospected these areas that had not been accessed by us for the last thirty years. Continu- ous records in these villages continued over the last two years, often twice monthly, and once a week during spring season. 2- ROLE OF MR. ALBERT (ALBERTINO) ABELA During January and February 2002, we had, in Beirut, several working meetings with Mr. Albert (Albertino) Abela and the team of his foundation (Cedrus Conservation Foundation). Mr. Abela established this foundation a few years ago. It encompasses researchers from all over the world and aims at protecting the environment. Mr. Abela, who resides in London, is one of the most enthusiastic Lebanese to introduce the Lebanon and its beautiful natural heritage to the global community. He decided to develop and implement a re- 1 Study prepared by Dr. Georges Tohmé & Dr. Henriette Tohmé: Botany & Mammalogy. Dr. Ghassan Ramadan Jaradi: Ornithology. Dr. Souad Hraoui-Bloquet: Herpetology. Dr. Raymond Gèze: Geolog. General Coordinator: Dr. Georges Tohmé. 286 JABAL RIHANE RESERVE search study project that is of a type rarely undertaken by the private sector in the country. However, two weeks later he organized at the Ministry of Envi- ronment another working meeting, under the leadership of H. E. Dr. Michel Moussa where the major guidelines for the study were developed as a pre-req- uisite for and also to assist in the declaration of the Rihane as protected area. It is worth noting that during this period of time, an intensive exchange of letters between us (myself and Mr. Abela) took place, in which I explained the programme that we intend to run as well as the terms of references for our study in order to conduct researches similar to those previously done by us in five protected areas (Al-Chouf Cedar, Horsh Ehden, Palm Islands, Tyre Beach and Aammiq Swamp) on behalf of the Ministry of Environment through the National Council for Scientific Research. The new study covered two years whereas the previous studies were extended over only one year. 3- THE WORKING TEAM AND THE ROLE OF THE LOCAL COMMUNITY Under the leadership of Dr. Georges Tohmé, the working team was formed of: ø Dr. Raymond Gèze who studied the geology of the area, its relation with the fauna and flora and the forms of life in the geological era of the past, ø Dr. Souad Hraoui who studied the herpetofauna (Amphibians and Reptiles), ø Dr. Ghassan Ramadan Jaradi who surveyed the birds and their migra- tion, ø Dr. Henriette Tohmé who studied the mammals along with Dr. Georges Tohmé, ø Dr. Georges Tohmé who studied the flora with Dr. Henriette Tohmé, and who prepared the present report. On this occasion, we would like to deeply thank Mr. Albert Abela and his foundation for trusting us. We hope that others will follow his initiative. Also we would like to thank the Heads and Members of municipalities' councils as well as the mayors and the inhabitants of the Jabal Rihane area who cooperated with us and subsequently became the most supporters to the idea of declaring the said area a reserve. We hope that the efforts will accumu- late to have it declared by law, very soon, a protected area. 4- CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RESERVE The Rihane differs from other protected areas in Lebanon by its situation at middle altitudes. All the others are either at high altitude with a dominance of cedar trees (Tannourine, Ehden, Al-Chouf Cedar reserves) or at very low alti- G. TOHMÉ AND H. TOHMÉ 287 tudes such as Palm Islands or Tyre Beach reserves. Also it differs by its nature from the Aammiq wetland. The main characteristics of the Rihane area are: ø Diversified multi-ecosystems Each ecosystem is formed from a biotope (mountains, rivers, valleys, etc.) and its fauna and flora that are living in it. The ecosystem contains an active community of living organisms (biocoenosis) interacting together as well as with their environment. The term “interacting” used here means that these living organisms influence the environment and are impacted by it. The size of the ecosystem varies from small (e.g. pool) to medium (e.g. swamp) or large (e.g. desert, river, sea, whole earth) through a variety of sizes where ecosystems may even overlap or interfere. As for the studied Rihane area, which is described in this report, it is charac- terized by several ecosystems. The main four are: 1) mountainous with mainly limestone rocky substratum, 2) mountainous with sandy and argilla- ceous substratum, 3) natural humid where the living organisms are adapted or accommodated with the humidity of the soil or the atmosphere and 4) dry, sub-desert with its distinguished community. Between these main four ecosystems, there is a whole chain of biotopes where each is characterized by its dominant species. In some, woods of oak and juniper trees dominate whilst in others, a variety of pine tree species prevail. In each of these biotopes, the dominant trees have their own associated plant species. There- fore, we have added to the present report a new chapter that was not consid- ered in the other five protected areas. It is entitled: “Identification of habi- tats in the Jabal Rihane reserve”. ø Presence of local microclimates: In each mountain fold, valley corner and barren or covered slope, there is a local microclimate to which a specialized community of flora and fauna is adapted and with which it interacts. ø Special mountainous features The Rihane area lies in the proximity of the Northern Palestine. Subse- quently, it groups two factors: the altitude and the hot and dryer climate. In addition, the flora and fauna of the Rihane display some similarity with these of Hermon Mountain and its southwestern slopes. ø Easy protection from grazing activities Jabal Rihane offers, through its landscape facilities for easy surveillance and control over grazing activities. The protection of the area from the teeth and feet of sheep and goats will result in increased trees and rapid growth of the vegetal cover. Therefore, the managing parties of each public area will be 288 JABAL RIHANE RESERVE able to reasonably harvest the timber similarly to what is practiced in the French Jura, with the condition that this matter needs the expertise of forest agents or experts in the planning for the trees and the species that are to be cut every year. ø Potential for eco-tourism promotion In addition to the natural landscapes, natural and historical sites and avail- ability of handcrafts, the following findings are of high significance to pro- mote eco- tourism: (a) The Hyrax that is found in the karsts of the area is of strange habits and anatomically distinct as indicated below. As such, its communities may be of high attraction to eco-tourists. (b) The bird flyways in the area offer several hotspots, which constitute at- traction points to birdwatchers. Hence, there is a necessity to plan for the future of eco-tourism in the area in order to complement the devel- opment projects that are currently implemented by municipalities. (c) The flora offers a wide diversity due to the fact that it groups plants of hot and Mediterranean climates as well as other plants that originally characterize the Anti-Lebanon. This diversity is certainly maximized and more obvious in spring time. (d) Some of the amphibians and reptiles are limited in their distribution to this area. After all, the question is “why should the Jabal Rihane be a protected area?” To our knowledge, the area has never been a subject for scientific studies in the past and nothing is found in the literature neither on the flora and the fauna of the Jabal Rihane nor about the citation of Jarjou’a, Mlikh, Loueizeh, Aramta, Rihane and Aichyeh. Only Kfarhouneh and Jezzine were very seldom mentioned as prolongation to the old road from Kawkaba near Marjayoun. Therefore, our report is a novelty from the scientific point of view. What to protect? Everything which is needed for Jarjou’a, Mlikh, Louei- zeh, Aramta, Rihane, Kfarhouneh and Aichyeh villages requires the enforce- ment of the existing laws and regulations. In other words, it is necessary to protect the public properties from woodcutting, over grazing, quarries, hunting and the construction of unnecessary roads. Economically talking, the local communities show willingness to regulate the exploitation of forest in a scientific manner so that the whole region can benefit from the sustainable use of the natural resources while maintaining the access rights of future generations to these resources through conservation ac- tivities and wise use.