Spring shooting took place again in 1993 following the lifting of the ban by the 
President, Glafkos derides. Many conservationists have written to the President 
in protest. 
EGYPT 
A survey of all Egyptian wetlands, carried out between December 1989 and June 
1990, produced the remarkable total of 52,769 Little Gulls Larus minutus wintering 
in the Nile Delta lakes. Over 47,000 were recorded at Lake Manzala in early 
January 1990. Until recently, the species was considered a scarce winter visitor to 
Egypt but this survey shows that a considerable proportion of the world 
population may use the eastern Mediterranean at least in some years. (Source: 
British Birds 86: 407-410.) 
ISRAEL 
Israel has recently signed the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International 
Importance subject to ratification. It joins Jordan, which has also ratified the 
Convention, as the second signatory in the Middle East. We hope to be able to 
report on other countries signing up to this important Convention in due course. 
(Source: IWRB News July 1993.) 
Plans . for the huge Voice of America radio transmitter in the Arava Valley, which 
were revived in 1992 (see OSME Bull. 30), have finally been scrapped. The 
transmitter would have affected millions of migratory birds. 
JORDAN 
The ancient "rose-red" city ofPetra has recently been designated a World Heritage 
Site and there are plans to protect the area as a national park. The site will also be 
listed in the forth-coming Important Bird Area Directory of the Middle East. 
(Source: Geographical Magazine 65(1).) 
LEBANON 
Lebanon's first government nature reserves were declared in March 1992. The two 
reserves are Ehden Forest Park, a forest of cedar, oak and fir in the north of the 
country, and Palm Islands Park, a group of islands off Tripoli which formally 
held Mediterranean Monk Seal Monachus monachus and nesting Audouin's Gull 
Larus audouinii. Protection may lead to recolonisation by the gulls as well as other 
seabirds. There is a glossy colour booklet on the Palm Islands Park. It is available 
in English, French, German and Arabic from The Committee for Environmental 
Protection, BP 341, Tripoli, Lebanon. (Source: World Birdivatch 15:5.) 
OMAN 
Hunting banned - The hunting, trapping and shooting of animals (including birds) 
has been banned throughout Oman. Anyone caught breaking the law may be 
fined or imprisoned for up to three months. Collecting for scientific or educational 
purposed is allowed subject to the issue of a permit from the Ministry of Regional 
Municipalities and Environment. (Source: Oman Daily Observer 19 July 1993.) 
TURKEY 
On 28 December 1993 Turkey ratified the Ramsar Convention on the Protection 
of Wetlands of International Importance, and declared the country's first five 
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