Save the last turtle sanctuary in Lebanon: Support by signing the petition to reach 20,000 people, please share! https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/Save_the_last_turtle_sanctuary_in_Lebanon/ Why this is important South Lebanon… where the last untouched beach of the Lebanese coast lays... the one where sea turtles are born and come back every year to lay eggs. This is where the “Orange House” has been created by Mona Khalil, guardian angel of the turtles. The “Orange House” has been transformed to an ecological site (which is open to visitors) that spans on 1.4 km of coast and from which revenues help to finance preservation of marine species, and in particular sea turtles. Protecting this zone is even more important given that the sea turtle is a considered an endangered species globally. Unfortunately, this beach faces a great danger: the human being... It has been several years that this natural zone suffers from multiple aggressions: sand theft, municipal waste discharge, installing walls, construction works… all of which constitute a pernicious cancer that is slowly destroying one of the last sanctuaries of the coastline. The most recent attack was the work of developers who took away an iron fence to build a concrete wall to mount kiosks and restaurants to create a beach for women. The president of the council of Mansouri, Riyad Zabad said no permit had been issued by the municipality for any work. Yet, these acts are more frequent, establishing a long and sad list of serious violations and illegal activities. It is worth noting that those sea turtles come to lay their eggs on the beach where they were born. The disappearance or alteration of those sites modifies the turtles’ behavior and drastically reduces their birth rate, further exacerbating their endangered status. Mona Khalil explains, This part of the beach where the recent construction works are taking place is particularly important for the turtles. This year, because of the iron fence they previously installed, the turtles were not able to reach the beach. This explains why we have seen a sharp decline in birth rates: no more than 35 nests this season, while we usually have an average of more than 50 in previous years”. So just imagine the disaster a construction project would cause.
Posted on: Sat, 09 Nov 2013 19:20:11 +0000
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