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Italian ambassador bestows Knighthood of Order of Star of Italy upon Nizar Hani

 NNA - On behalf of the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, Italian Ambassador to Lebanon, Nicolleta Bombardiere, bestowed upon the Director of the Shouf Biosphere Reserve, Mr. Nizar Hani, the Knighthood of the Order of the Star of Italy, during a ceremony held at the Ambassador’s residence in Naccache.

In her delivered word, Ambassador Bombardiere said: “By decorating Nizar Hany, we decorate the Shouf Biosphere Reserve and all those who have contributed to this success story, many of whom are present here today. 

Today the Reserve is a living laboratory of integrated strategies that respond to the ultimate goal of protecting and promoting the territory, taking care of its fragility and exploiting at the same time its natural strengths and resilience, and engaging the local communities, whose involvement is critical for any lasting achievement.  

With this decoration, Italy intends to encourage political leaders and civil society in Lebanon to raise their engagement in the environmental issues in the country as a matter of priority and to increase their joint efforts to reduce the environmental impact, in fields like solid waste, water treatment, air quality and energy production. We must all bear in mind that, if the environment in Lebanon is doomed, there is not a spare Lebanon: there is just one Lebanon, and it must be saved. As well as there is only one Mediterranean, to which Italy and Lebanon belong to, that must be preserved.” 

In turn, Mr. Nizar Hani started his speech by thanking Italy, the Italian Embassy and the founders of the Reserve Mr. Walid Jumblatt; in addition to Mrs. Nora Jumblatt, Mr. Akram Chehayeb. He also thanked Mr. Charles Njeim, the president of the Al Shouf Cedar Society, for all his efforts for the past 20 years.
Hani extended this gratitude to all the parties that have supported the Reserve and on the top of them the Italian Embassy and the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation. In addition to that, he thanked United Nations institutions and other esteemed donors, not forgetting the Lebanese ministries, especially the Ministry of Environment, under which the reserve works.
Hani also added, “All these efforts made the Shouf Biosphere Reserve a Mediterranean success story for nature protection, conservation, and mitigation of climate change."
He ended his speech by stressing on the importance for the support that Italy has been providing, and asked Her Excellency to continue supporting Lebanon in environmental protection activities, especially those that support the local communities. 


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تابعوا أخبار الوكالة الوطنية للاعلام عبر أثير إذاعة لبنان على الموجات 98.5 و98.1 و96.2 FM

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