Last Updated: 15 July 2025

1. Who We Are

This platform is developed by the Lebanese Environment Forum (LEF) in partnership with the Institute of the Environment at the University of Balamand, under an EU-funded project for the establishment of a Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) network in Lebanon.

We are committed to citizen-based monitoring of Lebanon’s marine biodiversity and enabling the public to participate in conservation efforts by sharing validated ecological observations.

Contact information:
Email: news@lbeforum.org
Address: Najjar Building, 2nd Floor, Wadih Neem Street, Chiah, Beirut, Lebanon
WhatsApp: +961 78 767 149
Tel: +961 1 386 570

2. Your Privacy Is Critically Important to Us

At bahr.lbeforum.org, we adopt the following fundamental principles:

• We collect personal data only when necessary.
• We store personal data only as long as required.
• We empower you to control your information’s visibility.
• We safeguard your data against unauthorized access.
• We commit to full transparency in data collection and use.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your information, and reflects the same openness and care as outlined in the Automattic Privacy Policy (licensed under Creative Commons ShareAlike).

3. Information We Collect

a. Information You Provide

• Comment and Submission Forms: Includes your name, email address, species observation data, photos, and environmental details.
• Media Uploads: Photos and videos submitted for biodiversity monitoring.
• Contact Forms: When you reach out to us via contact page or email.

b. Automatically Collected Information

• Cookies and Usage Tracking: We use cookies to understand how you interact with our site, including login status, session info, and content engagement.
• Log Data: Includes IP address, browser type, device information, pages visited, and time of access.
• Analytics: Aggregated usage statistics may be collected via internal tools.

4. Use of Information

We use collected data to:

• Facilitate species identification and ecological monitoring
• Validate and analyze biodiversity trends
• Contact you for submission verification or feedback
• Display public contributions with attribution (if applicable)
• Inform scientific and policy-making processes
• Improve our website and citizen science engagement

5. Media

Users uploading images should ensure they do not contain embedded GPS data unless it is part of the intended report. Uploaded media may be publicly displayed alongside validated reports.

6. Cookies

Cookies are used for:

• Remembering form input (e.g., name/email)
• Managing login sessions
• Site analytics and performance improvement
• Enhancing user experience

You may disable cookies via your browser settings. Note that this may affect functionality.

7. Embedded Content

Our site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, maps, datasets). Such content from external websites behaves in the same way as if the user visited that site directly.

These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed third-party tracking, and monitor your interactions.

8. Data Sharing and Disclosure

We do not sell your personal information. We may share it with:

• Scientific validation teams
• Partner institutions (e.g. University of Balamand, EU project partners)
• External service providers for website operation and spam detection
• Public, once data is validated and anonymized where necessary

9. How Long We Retain Your Data

• Comments and biodiversity submissions: retained indefinitely
• User account data (if applicable): retained until user requests deletion
• Media and validated observations: retained as part of the public biodiversity dataset

10. Your Data Rights

You may request to:

• Access or export your personal data
• Rectify or delete your personal data
• Withdraw consent for future use

To submit a request, please email news@lbeforum.org.

11. Where Your Data Is Sent

Submitted data may be:

• Validated by the SVT and scientific professionals
• Reviewed via anti-spam and security systems
• Stored on secure servers compliant with applicable privacy laws

12. Children’s Privacy

Our site and services are not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from children. If you believe a child has submitted personal data, contact us to request removal.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy periodically. Any significant changes will be communicated via the website. Continued use of the site after changes indicates your consent to the updated policy.

14. Licensing and Credit

This Privacy Policy incorporates portions of the Automattic Privacy Policy, which is made available under a Creative Commons ShareAlike license. We thank Automattic for this openness.

15. Contact Us

If you have questions or requests regarding this Privacy Policy, contact us at:

Lebanese Environment Forum
Najjar Building, 2nd Floor
Wadih Neem Street, Chiah, Beirut, Lebanon
📧 Email: news@lbeforum.org
📱 WhatsApp: +961 78 767 149
📞 Tel: +961 1 386 570