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The Palestine Museum of Natural History (PMNH; متحف فلسطين للتاريخ الطبيعي) is a natural history museum in Bethlehem, West Bank. Founded in 2013, it opened to the public in 2017. Its collections include botany, zoology, entomology, amongst others. Its remit includes research, collecting and education to record and amplify the importance of Palestine's biodiversity and environmental heritage.

Location
It is part of Bethlehem University and is closely linked to the Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability. As of 2019 it had 10 full-time staff, both Palestinian and Israeli. The museum also features a botanic garden, a wildlife rehabilitation centre, and an aviary. As well as its work as a museum and research centre, it also runs educational programs for children.

History
The museum opened to the public on 12 April 2017 and is the first of its kind in Palestine. Its collection began to be established in 2014 by Mazin Qumsiyeh, who many years previously had recognised the need for an archive of Palestinian biodiversity and research programmes to understand its significance. The initial foundation costs were supported by Mazin and Jesse Qumsiyeh and Bethlehem University: with $250,000 donation from the former, supported by $450,000 by the latter.

Mission and Goals
The institution describes its mission as fomenting research, education, and conservation of the natural world, culture and heritage - as well as promoting responsible human interactions with the environment. Its goals include; “research and knowledge dissemination on the fauna, flora, and human ethnography of Palestine; promoting environmental protection and responsible interaction between people and the environment, including cultural heritage; and using research results in areas such as biodiversity, history, culture, permaculture and biological control to promote sustainable communities, focusing on marginalised communities.”

In the 10 years since its founding in 2014, it has achieved the following objectives:


 * 1) Published 128 scientific research articles across diverse fields, from agriculture and biodiversity to climate change and environmental justice.
 * 2) Developed collections of over 10,000 invertebrate specimens, 500 vertebrate specimens, 1,500 herbarium specimens, 200 geological/paleontological specimens, and 100 ethnographic, historical, or cultural items.
 * 3) Formulated national policies and action plans, including the crucial National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans (NBSAP) and Protected Area Network (PAN).
 * 4) Established the Bachelor’s program in Environmental Sustainability at Bethlehem University, accredited by the Palestinian Ministry of Education

Infrastructure Milestones
2014: Bethlehem University, granted a $250,000 donation and space, laying the foundation for the institution. The institution developed an eco-pond for rain harvesting, nurturing sustainable practices.

2016: Solar panels are installed and systems of aquaponics and hydroponics constructed, as well as compost facilities, embracing eco-friendly solutions.

2017: A hideaway structure for observing migrant birds is built, a food forest (biotope) is developed, a Biogas unit (digester to produce methane gas) is developed, and the Natural History Exhibit opens its doors to the public in April of 2017.

2018: A community garden and children’s playground is opened, alongside a plant nursery.

2019: An amphitheatre is built, providing a space for educational and cultural events. The Animal Rehabilitation Unit is opened. The Ethnographic Exhibit is opened to the public.

2021: The a Biodiversity Center is developed, which includes a molecular laboratory, taxidermy laboratory, herbarium, and a scientific library.

2022: A Mobile Educational Unit is launched.

Natural History
The natural history collections of the museum include: old books, herpetology, ethnology, mammalogy, land and freshwater snails, flora, fungi, entomology, geology, palaeontology, ornithology and displays on environmental threats such as climate change.

Building a collection of Palestine's biodiversity is a core aim of the museum, and field-based research has assembled the collection. One project collected ten species of freshwater snails from Palestinian territories, which were accession into the museum collection. The freshwater mollusca collection expanded and now includes the first record of Planorbella duryi, an invasive species in Palestine, from the museum's own pond. Another research programme recorded the biodiversity and unique species at the protected site of Wadi Qana, the only known site of Pelobates syriacus in the West Bank.

The entomological collection includes Cetoniinae species from the occupied West Bank, as well as building a collection of 340 grasshopper and locust species, a teratological example of Nezara viridula from the museum garden, and the first Palestinian record of the invasive species Cacyreus marshalli. Another find from the museum garden is the first record of a "bat ensnared by a plant in the Arab world". The bat, Pipistrellus kuhlii, was caught in Picris altissima L. Delile.

The collection also includes geology, with a discrete assemblage of molluscan and echioderm fossils collected at Beit Ummar. The botany collection includes examples of Orchidaceae, and macrofungi in the museum's herbarium collection. One vertebrate species collected is an unusual specimen of Heremites vittata.

Museum biologist, Mohammed Abusarhan, describes the PMNH's work as: "“Our work at the Palestine Museum of Natural History deepens our knowledge of the Palestinian ecology and environment. We make field trips to collect samples to study biodiversity in Palestine and publish scientific papers that are the first of their kind in Palestine.""

- Mohammed Abusarhan

The museum has conducted research on the impact on biodiversity of Israeli settlement and the subsequent effects of pollution associated with this expansion. One study examined changes to the diet of eagle owls locally, which suggested a decrease in biodiversity in the region.

As of 2019, the museum was home to over 260 plant specimens, and had just opened an exhibition, funded by the British Council, on collecting Palestinian agricultural heritage through objects and oral histories. Other cultural research undertaken by the museum includes changes in traditional knowledge of wild plants in Artas.

The museum itself has also been the subject of research examining the role of botanic gardens as sites of nation-building and resistance.

Ethnography
The ethnographic displays at the museum aim to increase Palestinian cultural heritage awareness as well as knowledge related to agriculture and the environment. The exhibits include tools, implements, traditional bee hives, farming equipment, native seeds, farmer’s cloths, old books and ledgers, heirloom seeds of plant varieties, artistic objects made from plants and animal products.

Animal Rehabilitation Unit
An animal rehabilitation unit was created in 2019 that managed to treat or rescue and release over 20 injured animals including hyenas, eagle owls, golden eagles, snakes, kestrels, and foxes. Animals are either released back into the wild or temporarily housed within the institute for further rehabilitation as needed.