ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF POTENTIAL NEW MARINE PROTECTED AREAS IN LEBANON: Batroun, Medfoun and Byblos With the financial With the partnership of support of MedMPA Network Project Legal notice: The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this document do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Specially Protected Areas Regional Activity Centre (SPA/RAC) and UN Environment/Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP) and those of the Lebanese Ministry of Environment concerning the legal status of any State, Territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of their frontiers or boundaries. This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of SPA/RAC and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union. Copyright : All property rights of texts and content of different types of this publication belong to SPA/RAC. Reproduction of these texts and contents, in whole or in part, and in any form, is prohibited without prior written permission from SPA/RAC, except for educational and other non-commercial purposes, provided that the source is fully acknowledged. © 2019 - United Nations Environment Programme Mediterranean Action Plan Specially Protected Areas Regional Activity Centre (SPA/RAC) Boulevard du Leader Yasser Arafat B.P. 337 1080 Tunis Cedex - Tunisia [email protected] For bibliographic purposes, this document may be cited as: SPA/RAC–UN Environment/MAP, 2017. Ecological characterization of potential new Marine Protected Areas in Lebanon: Batroun, Medfoun and Byblos. By Ramos-Esplá, A.A., Bitar, G., Forcada, A., Valle, C., Ocaña, O., Sghaier, Y.R., Samaha, Z., Kheriji, A., & Limam A. Ed SPA/RAC. MedMPA Network Project, Tunis: 93 pages + annexes. Layout : Zine el Abidine Mahjoub, www.zinetoon.com & Asma Kheriji, Associate Project Officer - MedMPA Network (SPA/RAC). Cover photo credit: © SPA/RAC, Oscar Ocaña. The present report has been prepared in the framework of the MedMPA Network project financed by the European Union. For more information: www.unepmap.org www.spa-rac.org Ecological characterization of potential new Marine Protected Areas in Lebanon: Batroun, Medfoun and Byblos MedMPA Network Project Study required and financed by: MedMPA Network Project Specially Protected Areas Regional Activity Centre (SPA/RAC) Boulevard du Leader Yasser Arafat B.P. 337 1080 Tunis Cedex - Tunisia [email protected] In charge of the study at SPA/RAC • Atef Limam, Project Officer - MedMPA Network • Yassine Ramzi Sghaier, marine biology expert • Asma Kheriji, Associate Project Officer - MedMPA Network In charge of the study at the Ministry of Environment of Lebanon • Lara Samaha, Head of the Department of Ecosystems In charge of the study at the Marine Research Centre of the National Council for Scientific Research in Lebanon • Milad Fakhri, Director. • Gaby Khalaf, researcher. Scientist responsible for the study • Alfonso A. Ramos-Esplá, senior professor (benthic specialist), University of Alicante (Spain) Other scientific participants in the assignment • Ghazi Bitar, benthic specialist, Lebanese University (Lebanon) • Ziad Samaha, Programme Manager - Marine and Coastal Zone Management, IUCN - ROWA • Aitor Forcada, fish specialist, University of Alicante (Spain) • Oscar Ocaña, benthic specialist, Maritime Museum of Ceuta (Spain) • Carlos Valle, fish specialist, University of Alicante (Spain) 2 © SPA/RAC, Alfonso RAMOS 3 MINISTerial FOREWORD تعتبر المناطق البحرية الساحلية من أكثر النظم البيئية إنتاجية في العالم. إﻻ ان هذه النظم اﻹيكولوجية - في الوقت نفسه - تعاني بشكل متزايد من ضغط الزيادة السكانية المستمر. في العديد من اﻷماكن، يتم استغﻻل هذه النظم اﻹيكولوجية الهامة بشكل مفرط وتلويثها وتدهورها. كما أن تدابير الحماية الحالية المتخذة ليست كافية لمعالجة هذه المشاكل الملحة والمتزايدة. ومن هنا، تظهر أهمية إنشاء محميات بحرية وتفعيل تنفيذ تدابير أفضل للحماية. ًوانطﻻقا من إيمان الحكومة اللبنانية بأهمية اتخاذ قرارات فعالة لصون بيئتها البحرية، فقد وضعت وزارة البيئة ضمن أولوياتها إنشاء عدد من المحميات الطبيعية البحرية الوطنية، حيث تم في عام 2012 وضع استراتيجية وطنية للمحميات البحرية بهدف إنشاء شبكة من المحميات الطبيعية البحرية التي تساهم في ضمان صحة البيئة البحرية في لبنان. وفي هذا اﻹطار، فإن وزارة البيئة اللبنانية تقوم بالتنسيق مع مركز اﻷنشطة اﻹقليمية للمناطق المتمتعة بحماية خاصة )SPA/RAC( بتنفيذ أنشطة مشروع»نحو إنشاء شبكة محميات بحرية ممثلة إيكولوجيا ومدارة بكفاءة وفعالية في منطقة البحر المتوسط« الممول من اﻻتحاد اﻷوروبي والمعروف باسم )MedMPA Network Project(. ساهم المشروع في تطبيق عدد من أنشطة اﻻستراتيجية الوطنية للمحميات البحرية في لبنان من خﻻل إجراء في العام 2016 توصيف بيئي للمواقع البحرية ذات اﻷولوية، وهي البترون وجبيل ومدفون. يساهم هذا التوصيف البيئي في دعم اﻻسباب الموجبة ﻹنشاء في المستقبل محميات طبيعية بحرية في هذه المناطق. Marine coastal areas are among the world’s most Accordingly, the Ministry of Environment (MoE) and productive ecosystems. At the same time, however, the Specially Protected Areas Regional Activity Centre coastal ecosystems are increasingly suffering under (SPA/RAC) are implementing the European Union the pressure of a constantly growing population. financially supported project “Towards an ecologically In many places, these important ecosystems are representative and efficiently managed network of being overexploited, polluted and degraded. Existing Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas (MedMPA conservation measures are not sufficient to address the Network Project)”. The project contributed to the increasingly urgent problems. It is therefore necessary implementation of the Marine Protected Areas Strategy to establish marine protected areas and to promote in Lebanon by carrying out in 2016 an ecological better conservation measures. characterization of marine sites of conservation interest, namely Batroun, Byblos and Medfoun. This The Lebanese Government understands the importance ecological characterization would serve to reinforce the of effective decision-making for its marine environment. rationale and justification for their future establishment Accordingly, the Ministry of Environment, within its as Marine Protected Areas. mandate to establish protected areas, has elaborated in 2012 a Marine Protected Areas Strategy with the aim of creating a network of marine protected areas that contributes to the health of Lebanon’s sea and marine environment. Fadi Jreissati Minister of Environment 4 SPA/RAC FOREWORD The Mediterranean is one of the richest biodiverse MPAs to Achieve Aichi Target 11 in the Mediterranean”. seas in the world, it is a jewel that must be preserved This roadmap aims at guiding and harmonizing the for the well-being of present and future generations. Mediterranean efforts towards achieving the Aichi The Mediterranean countries having recognised its Target 11 by 2020. It builds on the progress made value and the need to preserve this common space, so far in the Mediterranean to develop marine and they adopted the Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP) coastal protected areas in view to ensure the long-term framework since 1975, and the Barcelona Convention conservation and sustainable use of the components of on 1976. the marine and coastal biodiversity. At a time when the loss of biodiversity is becoming a SPA/RAC is consequently involved in several pragmatic global issue under the mankind different activities, initiatives and focussed projects to preserve and exacerbated by climate change impacts, the importance sustainably manage marine and coastal biodiversity, and of marine protected areas (MPAs) for the conservation to improve the governance of the Mediterranean Sea in of marine and coastal biodiversity and its resilience partnership with national authorities and involving the is clearly established. On a Mediterranean level, since relevant regional actors with a longstanding experience 1995, the Parties to the Barcelona Convention have in this field. In this context, SPA/RAC and the Ministry committed to a collective approach and adopted ”The of Environment of the Government of Lebanon have Protocol concerning Specially Protected Areas and committed to work together and build on the National Biological Diversity (SPA/BD Protocol)” which constitutes MPA’s Strategy with the aim of creating a network of the overarching regional instrument for implementing marine protected areas. This fruitful collaboration, the 1992 United Nations Convention on Biological reinforced through the European Union financially Diversity (UNCBD) in relation with the conservation and supported project “Towards an ecologically representative sustainable management of the coastal and marine and efficiently managed network of Mediterranean Marine biodiversity. Protected Areas (MedMPA Network Project)” has led to carrying out an ecological characterization of marine Hence, being committed under the Convention on sites of conservation interest, namely Batroun, Byblos Biological Diversity (CBD) to achieve the Aichi Targets, and Medfoun towards declaring them as new MPAs in the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention Lebanon, thus contributing to a healthy and productive requested SPA/RAC to prepare a “Roadmap for a Lebanese sea and marine environment. Comprehensive Coherent Network of Well-Managed Khalil Attia SPA/RAC Director 5 EXECUTIVE SUmmarY The present study has been undertaken within the and the rhodophyta Hypoglossum hypoglossoides, framework of the MedMPA Network project, a regional Heterosiphonia crispella and Womerleyella setacea, (ii) project financially supported