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Lebanon begins landmark reforestation campaign
By Olivia Alabaster – The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Fairouz first performed “Lebanon the Beautiful Green” back in 1957, singing, “Lebanon o beautiful green on your hills, My heart’s story and nostalgia of my mind, O stars that stay up late with me.”
Over half a century later and the landscape of Lebanon is a much changed vista. Forest coverage has fallen 35 percent in this time and while in 1980 forests still covered 30 percent of the land they now cover just 13 percent.
While Lebanon may be one of the most forested countries in the region, many factors – from chaotic urban construction to mismanagement, war, and forest fires – have contributed to the decimation of Lebanon’s green spaces.
Campaigners have recently increased efforts to protect the country’s forests, and last week saw the launch of the country’s first ever national forest strategy, under the auspices of the Agriculture Ministry and in cooperation with the German Development Cooperation Agency.
Over the course of one year, experts, nongovernmental organizations, and officials from various ministries and municipalities will meet with the aim of constructing a National Forest Program – a first-of-its-kind coherent strategy designed to halt and even reverse deforestation efforts.
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)
