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An Initial Assessment of Community Values, Rules, and Traditional Ecological Knowledge of Mount Hermon, Lebanon: Key Perspectives towards Biocultural Conservation

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Abstract

Mount Hermon, Lebanon, has a long history of human occupation reflected in the landscape and ecology that makes biocultural perspectives highly relevant for the conservation of this mountain territory. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 126 local informants during 2022–2023 using a Values, Rules and Knowledge (VRK) framework. Our findings illustrate that while instrumental values of this territory (e.g., water sources, tourism, land, and good soils for crop production) were most frequently cited by informants (50.84%), relational values (e.g., social identity, sense of place, and spirituality in human-nature relationships) also scored high (41.88%), with subjective intrinsic values of nature as an end in itself (e.g., the right of nature to exist on its own behalf) least cited (7.28%). At the same time, co-occurrence of formal rules (62.26% of informants’ citations) and informal rules (37.74%) among actors with significant local ecological knowledge (LEK) in resource use, was identified in a 70.27% of the cases. Principal component analysis demonstrated five strong correlations of enabling or conflicting interactions within the VRK framework that merit close consideration for a meaningful participatory conservation strategy of both biodiversity and cultural diversity in a key hotspot. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the socioecological context of the Mt. Hermon ecosystem and to orient decision making for effective management and conservation planning in the region and beyond.

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Notes

  1. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) defines biocultural diversity as biological diversity, cultural diversity, and the link between them (CBD, 2016, 2018).

  2. In Arabic literally “a protected place” or “protected area” to which access is forbidden in certain periods, in order to allow regeneration of vegetation, particularly rangelands.

  3. The name “Hermon” stems from the Semitic root “hrm” (sacred mountain).

  4. For example, Psalm 42:6, “O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar”, and Psalm 133:1–3, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon” (New King James Version, 1982). It is also mentioned in the apocryphal Book of Enoch as the place where the Grigori (“Watcher”) class of fallen angels descended to Earth and as the northwestern limit of Israelite conquest under Moses and Joshua. Despite continuing controversy regarding the exact location of transfiguration of Jesus Christ, Mt. Hermon is believed to be a primary candidate by some scholars and local communities (Sybrowsky, 2003; Waheeb, 2019; Haddad, 2021). Christian, Muslim, and Druze communities across Lebanon still identify strong spiritual connections to the mountain, such as the feast of the Transfiguration on August 6, and year round worship at the caves and maqams of the Sheikh el-Fadel (Mohamed Abi Hilal), a remarkable Druze ascetic savant, on the hilltops of Kawkaba and Ain Aata villages, and the Saint George (El Kheder) maqam in Ain Arab (Haddad, 2021; Ministry of Tourism, visit-lebanon.org).

  5. A draft questionnaire was piloted and revised before the field survey.

  6. Open access land under the authority of the municipality of Rachaiya.

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Acknowledgements

This is a contribution of the Observatoire Libano-Français de l’Environnement (NeO-LiFE) SA 03–23. Authors would like to deeply thank all informants, staff of Mount Hermon Nature Reserve for all their support and valuable contribution. Authors are grateful to Dr. Robert Greeley from Middlebury College for proofreading and English editing of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Centre for Environment and Development, Beirut Arab University, Taanayel, Bekaa, Lebanon

    Safaa Baydoun

  2. Shouf Biosphere Reserve, Main Square, Maasser El Shouf, Lebanon

    Nizar Hani

  3. Independent researcher, Beirut, Lebanon

    Hicham El Zein

  4. Mount Hermon Nature Reserve, Rachayia, Lebanon

    Rouaa Zaidan

  5. Faculty of Agronomy, The Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon

    Hassana Ghanem & Lamis Chalak

  6. Ministry of Social Affairs, Center for Developmental Services, Rachayia, Lebanon

    Mounir Mhanna

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  1. Safaa Baydoun
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  2. Nizar Hani
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  3. Hicham El Zein
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  4. Rouaa Zaidan
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  5. Hassana Ghanem
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  6. Mounir Mhanna
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  7. Lamis Chalak
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Contributions

S.B. and L.C. conceptualized the study, designed the survey questionnaires, managed the collected data and led the development of the manuscript. N.H. provided the visual illustrations and ensured the access to Mount Hermon Reserve documents. H.E.Z. provided the information specific to Mount Hermon habitats and contributed to the development of this manuscript. R.Z. conducted the field data collection. H.G. ensured the data analysis. M.M. contributed to the data interpretation and the development of the manuscript. All authors proofread and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Lamis Chalak.

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Baydoun, S., Hani, N., Zein, H.E. et al. An Initial Assessment of Community Values, Rules, and Traditional Ecological Knowledge of Mount Hermon, Lebanon: Key Perspectives towards Biocultural Conservation. Hum Ecol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-024-00488-3

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