The cedar tree, a symbol of Lebanon, is under threat from global warming, as too little snow, sawfly infestations and forest fires disturb the balance in the Mediterranean, writes ALASDAIR SOUSSI
WHEN the French Romantic poet, Alphonse de Lamartine, travelled through the Middle East in the 1830s, he was so taken with Lebanon’s natural beauty that he declared: “Scotland, Savoy and Switzerland, do not exhibit to the traveller a busier scene of life, with more contentment and peace, than the foot of these mountains of Lebanon, where we had expected to meet only barbarians.”
He also commented on “the most famous natural monuments in the world”, Lebanon’s majestic cedar trees. These were described in the Scriptures as “the glory of Lebanon”, and the wood was fittingly used by King Solomon in the construction of the temple that would bear his name.
Today, these same wondrous monuments are in trouble. Global warming has effectively thrown the natural cycle of Mediterranean winters off kilter, putting this unique symbol of Lebanon in great jeopardy.
Once blanketing Mount Lebanon and the anti-Lebanon range in a sea of green, and covering some 500,000 hectares, the cedars were felled by a succession of ancient empires and now cover little more than 2,000 hectares or around 5 per cent of the country’s land area. With such statistics laying bare the fragility of the nation’s forests, Lebanon’s scientists and conservationists are all too aware of the challenges ahead.
“There is a minimum [amount] of snow and rain needed by the cedar forest, needed for their natural regeneration, and to minimise the impact of the [sawfly] insects,” says Nizar Hani, who manages the project development unit at the Al Shouf Cedar Reserve, home to some 600 hectares of trees.
“But, because of global warming, and over the last few years, the winters in Lebanon have been shorter, and the quantities of snow are less than before. These weather conditions are having an adverse effect on the cedars, because the seeds need to be in a cold place, under snow lets say, for the natural regeneration of the cedar forests.”
The cedar tree, Cedrus libani, is emblazoned on the national flag, currency and other objects of everyday officialdom. These fragrant, instantly recognisable evergreens, some 2,000 years old, are a crucial part of Lebanon's make-up.
It is for these symbolic reasons, not to mention those of an environmental nature, that another potentially disastrous by-product of global warming is being tackled – infestations by the cedar sawfly, Cephalcia tannourinensis.
“These cedar sawflies are not present in Al Shouf Cedar Reserve, but in the Tannourine Nature Reserve, which has about 400 hectares of cedar,” says Hani.
The insect is unique to Lebanon. “They eat the new leaves and during the spring and summer you can see not the normal green colour of the cedar forest, but a red colour, which due to the infestations cause the leaves to dry.”
The sawfly, while unlikely to be eradicated, is being kept in check by mass spraying of the forest in a joint effort between the American University of Beirut (AUB) and the ministries of agriculture and environment.
Forest fires, yet another result of global warming, which has meant shorter winters and longer dry-seasons, are an additional concern. The fires would have been almost unthinkable 10-years-ago, Hani believes.
And though he acknowledges that the Lebanese government has more pressing concerns of a political and security nature, he is encouraged by its involvement in the protection of the cedar tree.
“Ninety per cent of the cedar forests in Lebanon are within the protected areas now. They are protected by law and the ministry of environment, but we need more efforts from everyone, though the situation is much better now than before,” he says.
“The cedar of Lebanon is part of our culture, and only with the co-operation of the different parties in Lebanon can we protect its cultural and natural value.”