Editing Tyre, Lebanon (section)

== Coast Nature Reserve ==
{{Multiple image
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| image1            = SeaTurleTyre-RomanDeckert11092019.jpg
| caption1          = A sea turtle off Tyre's Southern bay
| image2            = GreenTurtle TyreSourLebanon SubmergedAncientHarbour RomanDeckert18102019.jpg
| caption2          = A [[green sea turtle]] diving through submerged antiquities (Quay of the Spring)
}}
Tyre enjoys a reputation of having some of the cleanest beaches and waters of Lebanon.<ref name="Carter-2004">{{Cite book|title=lonely planet: Syria & Lebanon|last1=Carter|first1=Terry|last2=Dunston|first2=Lara|last3=Jousiffe|first3=Ann|last4=Jenkins|first4=Siona|publisher=Lonely Planet Publications|year=2004|isbn=1-86450-333-5|edition=2nd|location=Melbourne|pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781864503333/page/345 345–347]|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781864503333/page/345}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/lists/seasonal/best-beaches-in-the-middle-east/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190605053105/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/lists/seasonal/best-beaches-in-the-middle-east/|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 June 2019|title=Discover the best beaches in the Middle East|last=Sewell|first=Abby|date=29 May 2019|website=National Geographic|access-date=28 October 2019}}</ref> However, a UN HABITAT profile found that "seawater is also polluted due to wastewater discharge especially in the port area".<ref name="Maguire-2016" /> There is still also considerable pollution by solid waste.<ref name="Rahhal-2018">{{Cite web|url=https://www.executive-magazine.com/special-report/the-peoples-beaches|title=The people's beaches|last=Rahhal|first=Nabila|date=5 July 2018|website=Executive Magazine|access-date=4 December 2019}}</ref>

[[File:PalestineSunbird TyreSourLebanon RomanDeckert03122019.jpg|thumb|A [[Palestine sunbird]] on ''[[Tecoma capensis]]'' near Al Mina]]

The [[Tyre Coast Nature Reserve]] (TCNR) was decreed in 1998 by the [[Ministry of Public Works and Transport (Lebanon)|Ministry of Public Works]]. It is {{cvt|3.5|km|mi}} long and covers over {{convert|380|ha|acre}}. The TCNR is within the best preserved stretch of sandy coastline in southern Lebanon and divided into two section zones: a 1.8 km (1 mile) sand lined beach, 500 meters (yards) wide-ranging from the Tyre Rest House in the north to the Rashidieh Refugee Camp in the South, and a stretch of 2 km (1¼ miles) with agriculture lands of small family farms and the springs of Ras El Ain with three constantly flowing [[Artesian aquifer|artesian wells]], ranging from Rashidieh to the village of Chaetiyeh in the South.<ref name="Yacoub-2011">{{Cite web|url=https://rsis.ramsar.org/RISapp/files/RISrep/LB980_RIS170706.pdf|title=Information Sheet on Ramsar Wetlands (RIS)–2009-2012version|last1=Yacoub|first1=Adel|last2=El Kayem|first2=Cynthia|date=15 September 2011|website=Ramsar Sites Information Service|access-date=15 March 2020|last3=Moukaddem|first3=Tala}}</ref>

The former is divided into two zones: one for tourism that features a public beach of some 900 metres (yards) and restaurant tents during the summer season hosting up to 20,000 visitors on a busy day, and another 900 metres (yards) of conservation zone as a sanctuary for sea turtles and migrating birds.<ref name="Rahhal-2018" />

Due to its diverse [[flora]] and [[fauna]], the reserve was designated a [[Ramsar Convention|Ramsar Site]] in 1999 according to the international [[treaty]] for the conservation and sustainable use of [[Wetland]]s, since it is considered "the last [[Biogeography|bio-geographic]] [[ecosystem]] in Lebanon". It is an important nesting site for [[Bird migration|migratory birds]], the endangered [[Loggerhead sea turtle|Loggerhead]] and [[green sea turtle]], the [[Arabian spiny mouse]] and many other creatures (including [[Lacertidae|wall lizards]], [[common pipistrelle]], and [[European badger]]).<ref>{{cite web|title=Protecting marine biodiversity in Lebanon|url=https://www.iucn.org/about/union/secretariat/offices/iucnmed/iucn_med_programme/?9741/Protecting-marine-biodiversity-in-Lebanon|publisher=[[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] (IUCN)|date=2 May 2012|access-date=17 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811180131/http://www.iucn.org/about/union/secretariat/offices/iucnmed/iucn_med_programme/?9741%2FProtecting-marine-biodiversity-in-Lebanon|archive-date=11 August 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author1=Hany El Shaer |author2=Ms. Lara Samaha |author3=Ghassan Jaradi |title=Lebanon's Marine Protected Area Strategy|url=https://portals.iucn.org/library/efiles/documents/2012-081.pdf|publisher=Lebanese Ministry of Environment|date=December 2012}}</ref> Also, there are frequent sighting of dolphins in the waters off Tyre.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.the961.com/news/a-giant-dolphin-was-just-found-stuck-between-rocks-on-tyre-shore|title=A Giant Dolphin Was Just Found Stuck Between Rocks on Tyre Shore|last=Kabboul|first=Tamarah|date=October 2019|website=The961|access-date=28 October 2019|archive-date=28 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191028071719/https://www.the961.com/news/a-giant-dolphin-was-just-found-stuck-between-rocks-on-tyre-shore|url-status=dead}}</ref> Altogether, the TCNR includes:

<blockquote>275 [[species]] distributed over 50 families. In addition, the reserve is home to seven regionally and nationally [[threatened species]], 4 [[Endemism|endemic]] and 10 [[rare species]], whilst 59 species are restricted to the Eastern Mediterranean area. It is also worthy to indicate that, several [[Bioindicator|bio-indicator]] species as well as 25 [[Medicinal plants|medicinal]] species were recognized. TCNR encloses flora species belonging to the various habitats: the sandy shore, rocky shore, [[Littoral zone|littoral]] and [[Freshwater ecosystem]]s. A wide number of [[Poaceae|Gramineae]], [[Fabaceae]], [[Asteraceae]] and [[Apiaceae|Umbellifereae]] families dominate the floristic resources.<ref name="Yacoub-2011" /></blockquote>

However, the biodiversity of the TCNR is threatened as shown by a strong decrease in the numbers of the caspian [[terrapin]] ''[[Caspian turtle|Mauremys caspica]]'', the green [[toad]] ''[[European green toad|Bufo viridis]]'' and the [[tree frog]] ''[[Hyla savignyi|Hyla savigny]]''. Also, since the 2000s, the North American camphorweed ''[[Heterotheca subaxillaris]]'' has invaded the TCNR as a [[Neophyte (botany)|neophyte]] from Haifa across the Blue Line.<ref name="Yacoub-2011" />

During the 2006 war, turtle breeding areas were affected when the IDF bombed the conservation site.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Sarraf|first1=Maria|title=The Cost of Environmental Degradation: Case Studies from the Middle East and North Africa|last2=Croitoru|first2=Lelia|last3=El Fadel|first3=Mutasem|last4=El-Jisr|first4=Karim|last5=Ikäheimo|first5=Erkki|last6=Gundlach|first6=Erich|last7=Al-Duaij|first7=Samia|publisher=World Bank Publications|year=2010|isbn=978-0821383186|editor-last=Croitoru|editor-first=Lelia|location=Washington D.C.|pages=93|editor-last2=Sarraf|editor-first2=Maria}}</ref>

The [[oil spill]] which devastated the coast north of [[Ashkelon]] in February 2021 also contaminated Tyre's beaches.<ref>{{Cite news|author=((Reuters Staff))|date=2021-02-22|title=Oil spill off Israel reaches south Lebanese beaches|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-environment-oil-spill-lebanon-idUSKBN2AM19V|access-date=2021-02-23}}</ref>