Perseverance and dedication of Friends of Nature are two of our main assets. Our main drive and motivation is the preservation of all of Lebanon’s natural resources. We never lost trust in any of our natural wealth and fortunately our vision was generously shared by the European Union.
Joint efforts and continuous motivation permitted the successful creation of the first underwater reef garden in the middle east. Our restoration efforts were realized at Jounieh bay where 206 reef structures were deployed to occupy an underwater area of 260,000 sqm.
“ERA1-Marine Ecosystem Restoration through Artificial Reef“ project aims as its title shows, to restore the marine ecosystem and to revive the sea. The area of the garden is safeguarded by community efforts, and is presented for conservation as an underwater reserve. It is marked with buoys equipped with surveillance cameras to monitor the security of our newly deployed garden.
Fishing is forbidden, but fish won’t be restricted to the reef and will thrive freely again in all of Jounieh bay and beyond. Divers are welcome to visit the reef landscape and enjoy the marine biodiversity.
Friends of Nature cherish this achievement and aims to replicate this prototype along the Lebanese coast; we are willing to take our experience to other countries too.
