By
Stephen Dockery
BEIRUT:
To grow a tree in Lebanon’s semi-arid soil, roots must be long and dense, and
carefully pre-grown in a nursery so a young seedling can leech the deeply
buried nutrients from the ground.
The
fragile seedlings must be hardened during a period of drought before being sunk
into the dry earth. Once buried, the wild plum, wild apple and juniper trees
need to be totally covered with just the right soil mixture, then weeded and
watered for months before a young tree has the strength to grow on its own.
For
years, one or all of these steps had been neglected by many environmental
activists who had more enthusiasm than know-how. Thin and shallow root
structures starved the seedlings before they could take root while weeds and
overgrowth choked off sunlight to the few that did.
Of
the hundreds of thousands of seedlings that were planted over the past 20 years
the majority died, says Maya Nehme, a tree growth specialist who works at the
USAID-funded Lebanon Reforestation Initiative.
For
years, projects run by a number of groups spread out around the country
continually yielded underwhelming results.
“It’s
less than 25 percent coverage,” Nehme says.
LRI
and a handful of other environmental groups are trying to change that. They are
determining the best growth conditions for dozens of species of seedlings in a
wide range of areas and hope to work with other NGOs to standardize growing
practices.
Last
year, the American University of Beirut backed a number of reforestation
efforts with better practices. Other NGOs have launched better-sourced projects
yielding higher results. But the money and energy wasted on low yield projects
have been considerable.
Private
firms have staged feel-good environmental trips and cedar plantings in the
summertime, the worst time for a fragile seedling to try and take root. Other
organizations simply didn’t have the funding to finish their projects.
In-country
knowledge has also been limited. Until recently, universities did not offer
environmental-studies training, and most reforestation workers studied
agriculture, which does not address wilderness environments.
On
a mountainside in Bsharri, less than a dozen trees have taken root in terraces
intended to hold hundreds.
Across
the country, hundreds of hectares of land that environmental groups envisioned
becoming lush new forests are bald just like in Bsharri.
“In
most cases there’s been no follow up,” Nehme says. “Most of the work that has
been done, from most groups, has been volunteer work.” She notes the lack of
funding and persistence necessary for the work to be successful.
The
low success rates have created a backlash from local governments.
Municipalities were promised forests and got empty fields. Activists say it’s
been difficult to establish projects in some areas because of a lack of trust.
But
carefully cataloging the best growth conditions and tending to seedlings is
starting to yield results. LRI has planted 88,000 trees so far with a success
rate of around 75 percent. They hope to reach nearly 90 percent for the next
round of seedlings, planting 300,000 trees in all.
“It
still is trial and error,” says Karma Bouazza, a nursery specialist. She adds
that the trials and errors are routinized, cataloged and learned from.
The
group is standardizing growing practices in partnership with other
environmental activist groups across the country and getting nurseries to change
the way they handle seedlings to get a more robust seed.
Bouazza
says they are looking for the right practices but also ones that are
cost-efficient.
The
organization has five planting sites currently active, including along the
border in the south, in a former Syrian base along the southeast border and
near Tannourine in the north.
LRI is also planning on
following up on projects for three years after planting to make sure the trees
are growing. They are coordinating with local shepherds to move grazing sites
away from plantings, as well as paying for irrigation and weeding.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2012/Apr-26/171439-ngo-tackles-wasteful-reforestation-practices.ashx#axzz1t3sxycbq
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