Conservation of the coniferous forests of Lebanon: past, present and future prospects

Coniferous forests are an important component of the Lebanese landscape. Te n species of conifers in five genera are found as wild populations in Leban on: Cilician fir Abies cilicica, cedar of Lebanon Cedrus libani, Mediterran ean cyprus Cupressus sempervirens, Syrian juniper Juniperus drupacea, Greci an juniper J. excelsa, willdenow J. foetidissima, prickly juniper J. oxyced rus, Calabrian pine Pinus brutia, Aleppo pine P. halepensis and stone pine P. pinea. Although none of these species are seriously threatened in a glob al context, they exist in Lebanon mostly as fragmented and degraded populat ions, and their habitats are under great pressure from urbanization and ass ociated development. Conservation efforts in Lebanon have concentrated main ly on the cedar of Lebanon, with two cedar of Lebanon forests protected as Nature Reserves. Large areas of forest, coniferous and otherwise, remain un protected. In this review, the need for an integrated approach to conservat ion of the coniferous landscape of Lebanon and the importance of the partic ipation of local communities in this process are emphasized.