Lebanon

Lebanon borders the Mediterranean Sea in the Middle East, located at the confluence of three continents. The Anti-Lebanon Mountains create its border with Syria, descending to the Bekaa Valley and a low, coastal plain. Most of the country is used for human activities, in its majority by rainfed agriculture. Lebanon has high biodiversity rarity of terrestrial land vertebrates at a global scale. When analysed as single taxons, the rarity of amphibians, birds and reptiles is also high. The rarity of marine fish and mammals is also high. Challenges to biodiversity include deforestation; soil erosion and desertification; air pollution; coastal water pollution; and poor waste-water management.