Al Bawaba
The legendary cedar of Lebanon
is the oldest recorded tree in human history, having been first
mentioned some 4,500 years ago. The Egyptian pharaohs and other ancient
Mediterranean civilizations used the wood to build their palaces,
temples and ships. Centuries later, the cedars of Lebanon are in
trouble, with only a few isolated groves left, due to deforestation and
illegal logging. But that is changing. In the last six years, more
than 600,000 trees — cedars as well as other native species — have been
planted throughout the country as part of the Lebanon Reforestation
Initiative (LRI). The goal of the initiative, launched in 2010
with help from USAID, the US Forest Service, the Lebanese government and
local business sponsors, is to expand existing wilderness reserves and increase forest cover by 50 percent by the year 2020.
“Getting trees to grow in these
severely degraded lands is a major challenge,” says Darin Stringer, an
Oregon forester and head of the consultancy Pacific Stewardship, who was
brought in by the Forest Service as an adviser to the LRI. But
the Lebanese are “passionate in their desire to reclaim their forests,”
Stringer says. The initiative has helped introduce sustainable forestry
practices and wildfire management to Lebanon, in combination with
traditional methods.
