Hima is a traditional system of managing natural resources that has been used for more than 1400 years in the Arabian Peninsula. It is based on sharing, participation and joint governance.
However, the political and socio-economic changes of the 20th century led to the decline of the Hima system, until the Lebanese Nature Protection Society, in partnership with the IUCN and BirdLife, successfully revived and adapted the concept for the management of protected areas. These practices, rooted in the history of local people and conveyed in their vernacular language, contribute considerably to the social acceptance of nature protection.