Lebanese Association for Migratory Birds visits Poland
06.10.2025
The Polish Embassy in Beirut has long supported environmental protection efforts, with particular interest in protecting the white stork, which migrates annually between Africa and Poland through Lebanon.
At the end of September and beginning of October 2025, members of the Lebanese Association for Migratory Birds visited Poland. This organization collaborates with the Embassy to educate Lebanese society about bird conservation, raising awareness of the importance of biodiversity and the negative impact of hunting. Under the leadership of Dr. Michel Sawan, the organization operates a rescue centre for injured wild birds.
During their stay in Poland, the visitors travelled to the University of Gdańsk to meet Professor Przemysław Busse, an icon of Polish ornithology and founder of Operation Baltic – a pioneering programme for ringing birds and researching bird migration – and Professor Magdalena Remisiewicz, head of the Bird Migration Research Station at the Faculty of Biology. The Lebanese guests participated in research at a field bird ringing station on the Polish Baltic coast and also benefited from a multi-day training session on medical procedures at the Warsaw Zoo's Protected Bird Rehabilitation Centre. The visit also included a meeting with authorities and non-governmental organizations from the Zbuczyn community in Mazovia, where the "Stork Centre" environmental project is planned.
The main theme of the study visit was environmental protection, one of the priorities for Polish diplomacy. The goal of the visit was to draw on the research and practice of Polish zoologists, ecologists, and scientists in order to improve bird conservation efforts in Lebanon. The study visit highlighted the ties between Poland and Lebanon and their shared responsibility for environmental protection.
