09/10/2026
🦦 CFN Wednesday | Protecting Lebanon’s Eurasian Otter
The Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) is considered Critically Endangered in Lebanon, according to the IUCN Otter Specialist Group’s Global Otter Conservation Strategy (2018). Yet important knowledge gaps remain around the country’s surviving populations.
To help bridge this gap, the Lebanon Reforestation Initiative (LRI) is using advanced, non-invasive research techniques, including environmental DNA (eDNA), spraint collection, and camera trapping, to better understand otter distribution, population density, diet, spatial organisation, and population structure.
The findings will help identify key populations and priority areas for restoration and conservation, informing the development of a national conservation plan and supporting efforts towards a national decree for the protection of the species.
As a keystone species, protecting the Eurasian otter also means helping safeguard the health and resilience of Lebanon’s riparian ecosystems. 🌿💧
This project is supported by the Disney Conservation Fund, U.S. Forest Service International Programs (USFS IP), and Idea Wild.
👏 Thank you to Lebanon Reforestation Initiative (LRI) for sharing this important initiative through the IUCN Contributions for Nature (CfN) platform and for its continued efforts to protect biodiversity and strengthen ecosystem conservation in Lebanon.
🌿 Have a conservation success, restoration project, or biodiversity initiative to share?
📢 Submit your contribution through the Contributions for Nature platform and help showcase conservation action from across West Asia.
🔗 https://www.iucn.org/our-work/contributions-for-nature