Introduction:  The Effects of Deforestation (by Rania Masri)

The first procurement and subsequent deforestation originates from the
site where civilization first emerged, the Fertile Crescent.  I would like
to share with you an episode from the Epic of Gilgamesh known as the
Forest Journey.  Through this story lies the understanding of ecological
processes and the consequences of human action. 

Approximately 4700 years ago in Uruk, a city-kingdom in southern
Mesopotamia, Uruks ruler Gilgamesh sog ht to ensur ehis immortality
through the material greatness of his city. He wanted large amounts of
timber to accomplish his plans, and he set his sight on the cedars of
Lebanon.  Extending before Gilgamesh lay an area of land so large its
exact size was not known.  An almost unbroken forest flourished near
southern Mesopotamia, in the hills and mountains surrounding the Fertile
Crescent.  The forest was so dense that the suns light barely penetrated
through its foliage. 

The chief Sumerian deity Enlil protected these glorious forests by
entrusting the ferocious demigod Humbaba to protect the interests of
nature against the desires of civilization.  Enlil understood the
unlimited appetite of civilization, and predicted that once humans would
enter the fo rest, they would remove all the gods beautiful garden of
trees; they would destroy the divine beauty where the cedars raise aloft
their luxuriance. 

After a moment of enjoying the glory and awe of the magnificent, virgin
cedar forest, Gilgamesh and his lumberjack companions began destroying the
“abode of the gods.” They cut the cedars, chopped their branches and
trunks into transportable sizes. A fight erupted between the intruders and
the mighty forest demigod... the greed of civilization won; the forest’s
guardian lost his head; and the cedars wailed with fear now that Gilgamesh
was master of the forest.  The trees were correct to cry, for the men
stripped the “mountains of their cover, leaving bare rock .  When Enlil,
who forever must watch over t he well-being of the earth, learned of the
destruction of the cedar forest, he sent down a series of ecological
curses on the offenders:  May the food you eat be eaten by fire; may the
water you drink be drunk by fire. 

So ended the tale, lamenting the soon-to-be sorry state of southern
Mesopotamia...and the many other civilizations bent on destroying their
forests.  Gilgameshs war against the forest - a war in which there are
only losers - has been repeated for generations in every corner of the
globe to satisfy civilizations ever increasing appetite formaterial growth

Gilgamesh was succeeded by numerous other rulers in southern Mesopotamia,
each striving to accumulate more material wealth than their own
predecessor.  The savage deforestation that ensued resulting in the
decline of the Sumerian Civilization.  Once large quantities of trees were
felled near the banks of the upper courses of the Euphrates, Tigris, and
Karun rivers and tributaries, salt and silt as well as timber filled the
waters, and threatened to clog up the irrigation canals.  Deforestation
also exposed salt-rich sedimentary rocks of the northern mountains to
erosion.  After 1,500 years of successful farming, a serious salinity
problem suddenly developed.  Declining food product ion due to increased
salinity was one of the factors that contributed to the fall of the
Sumerian civilization.  The building schemes that sought to strengthen
this great empire brought on the very destruction of the civilization. 


Forests of Lebanon

As is evident through history and science, deforestation affects the
foundation of society.  Forests provide numerous significant services.  
In Lebanon, the forests are desperately needed to provide the following
services: 

1. Reduction in airborne pollution

2. Protection against erosion

3. Water conservation:  A judicious reforestation policy could reduce by
20% water lost into the sea; water availability in the country could
increase by 50 to 100%. 

4.  Supplying the country with timber:  The production of wood a s a
raw-material (mainly for case manufacture) and a source of heating is in
normal times 300,000 m3 per year. 

5. Wildlife habitat / ecosystem protection

6. Tourism and recreation

In addition, the reforestation of the mountains could provide employment
for the Lebanese workers. 

At present the wooded areas in Lebanon cover some 60,000 hectares,
approximately 5.7% of the area of Lebanon (Table 1).  This percentage is
dangerously low, for it is recommended that a country'’s forest area
approximate 20 percent. The current reforestation rate in Lebanon (5 to
7%) is definitely insufficient for a country in which mountains cover 73%
of the territory. 


Land Utilization	Area (Hectares)		Percentage of Total land area
Irrigated cultivated land	67,000			6.4
Non-irrigated cultivated land	218,000			27
Uncultivated agricultural land	75,000			34
Wooded areas			60,000			6
Urbanized land and other	630,000			60
   Total			   1,050,000		   100

Table 1: Current Land Utilization in Lebanon, 1991

The war in Lebanon prevented the development
 of woods and seriously hampered the control and conservation of forest
resources.  Before the war in 1975, the wooded areas in Lebanon occupied
some 80,000 hectares.  The state was the largest owner of forest property
(Table 2).

Type of Forest Property		Surface (ha)
State woods			46,000 
Public woods			16,000
Private woods			18,000
Total				80,000

Table 2:  Types of Forest Property (1975)

The main forest types in 1975 were dominated primarily by Oak, Pine, and
Juniper species (Table 3).  The area of the woods has decreased since
1975, but, most likely, the species percentage has not changed
significantly.

Forest Type	Surface(ha)
Oak		45,000
Pine		17,200
Juniper		14,000
Cedar		2,000
Beech		1,500
Cypress		300
Total		80,000

Table 3: Forest Types (1975)

Presently, the wooded area in Lebanon is estimated to be 60,000 hectares,
with cedars comprising only approximately 1,700 hectares., a mere 2.8 % of
the total wooded area.  The current reforestation rate in Lebanon (5 to
7%) is definitely insufficient for a country in which mountains cover 73%
of the territory. 

It is to be expected when the total wooded area is less than 6% that a
number of tree species, along with vegetation and animal species, become
endangered and consequently in danger of local ext inction.  In Lebanon,
the known endangered trees are the Abies cilica (Cicilian Fir), the
Quercus cerris (Turkey Oak), and the Ceratonia silica (True Locust Bean). 
In addition, due to its low germination rate in nurseries and small total
area, the Junipe rus excelsa (Grecian Juniper) could likely be endangered.