The old ways are the best—reviving traditional knowledge in West
Asia 01 July 2011 | News story An ancient conservation practice
born in the Arabian desert more than 1,500 years ago is now
being revived in the battle-scarred greenery of Lebanon to help
meet the complex challenges of a modern economy. The pre-Islamic
system of environmental protection known as ‘hima’—Arabic for
protected area—means that the local population rather than a
distant authority decides how to manage ecosystems and how to
reap their benefits. Himas are areas set aside seasonally to
allow regeneration of renewable natural resources and secure
their sustainable use by the people living next to them. But
time and political changes have led to their near disappearance.
Now, led by IUCN Member the Society for the Protection of Nature
in Lebanon, a region-wide effort is underway to revitalize himas
and other such effective conservation traditions. The tradition
of Hima spoke a language that the conservation community, after
many years of r