Controversy in Ehden Over New Map: What Is Happening?

Zgharta - Ehden Municipality and the administration of the Ehden Forest Nature Reserve announced their rejection of a proposed map from the Ministry of Environment, which stipulates reducing the reserve's area from 1700 hectares to 1410 hectares, affirming their adherence to its current boundaries established by a law issued by the Parliament on March 9, 1992.

The municipality confirmed, in a statement, that any regulatory or administrative measures should not come at the expense of the reserve's area or its protection scope, stressing the importance of preserving this environmental and national heritage.

It noted that the mayor and head of the reserve committee, Engineer Pierre Zakaria Douaihy, is following up on the file and making necessary contacts with relevant authorities to prevent the approval of any amendment leading to a reduction in its area.

For its part, the reserve administration clarified that the circulated map remains merely a proposal that has not obtained the approval of the municipality or the reserve committee, and does not have any legal effect due to its lack of approval by the Council of Ministers or ratification by the Parliament.

It added that it communicated with Minister of Environment Tamara Al-Zein, who affirmed her commitment to not cutting off any part of the reserve or reducing its area.

The administration denied the existence of sectarian, demographic, tourism, or construction motives behind the proposed map, considering what is being circulated in this context to be mere rumors.

The municipality and the reserve administration stressed the necessity of maintaining the boundaries and area adopted since the declaration of Ehden Forest as a nature reserve, while expressing readiness to cooperate with the Ministry of Environment to address any administrative issues without compromising the protection scope.