Adloun Beach Natural and Cultural Reserve

Adloun Beach Natural and Cultural Reserve

Adloun Beach (Zahrani District) stretches over an area of approximately nine kilometers and is one of the rare coastal sites that combines both environmental and historical value. The beach is distinguished by its varied terrain, including rocky and sandy coves, and by its biological richness on land and in the sea. It serves as one of the last habitats for endangered sea turtles along the Lebanese coast, alongside diverse native plants that provide shelter for numerous birds, reptiles, and insects.

Beyond its biological richness, the Adloun coast is part of the historical continuum extending to Sidon through Sarafand (the Phoenician Serpta), and it is rich in archaeological remains from the Phoenician, Roman, Byzantine, and early Christian periods. Notable features include the remains of the Phoenician port of Adloun, known as "Mina al-Zabal"; open and closed rock basins that were used as artisanal workshops; as well as Phoenician burial caves and prehistoric Adloun caves dating back over 90,000 years. These sites were excavated by prominent researchers such as Godfrey Zumoffen (1898–1908) and Dorothy Garrod (1958–1963).

Based on these environmental and cultural characteristics, the Green South Association submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Environment in December 2014, and later in March 2015 to the Ministry of Culture, to declare Adloun Beach a natural and cultural reserve. The association called for halting any projects or activities that could threaten the beach and for requiring environmental impact assessments and archaeological surveys for any activity, in accordance with Environmental Protection Law No. 444. The association’s recommendations were based on specialized studies and reports, including:

“Adloun: Chronology and the Sequence of Civilizational Layers” by Dr. Hisham Younes, President of the Association (published in Chronos Journal, University of Balamand, Issue 34, 2016).
The Environmental Resources Monitoring in Lebanon (ERML) project report (University of Balamand, 2012), which classified Adloun Beach among sites of “highest priority” for protection, as one of 15 sensitive sites along the Lebanese coast, and one of four sites combining both cultural and environmental significance.
Field monitoring conducted by the association during the 2016–2017 sea turtle nesting seasons revealed significant nesting activity of the Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta) and the Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas), both globally endangered according to the IUCN. The association documented groups of these turtles using the beach as a habitat, further reinforcing Adloun’s status as a national conservation priority.

Thus, Adloun Beach represents an exceptional model that combines biological diversity and archaeological richness, laying the foundation for a sustainable development vision that protects the environment, preserves heritage, and promotes eco-cultural tourism.