Syria: Hubble bubble means forest trouble

It is thought that hundreds of Syrians work in the production of charcoal today, especially in the heavily wooded northern coastal areas of Tartous and Latakia. The numbers have increased because of the recent rise in unemployment and inflation, observers say. Some people with other jobs produce charcoal in their spare time to raise cash because their salaries are insufficient.

Mahmoud Ali, a professor of environmental sciences at Tishreen University, said the green cover is declining “dangerously” in Syria and the area of forest per inhabitant and relative to the country’s total land area is low.
“Producing charcoal could kill the trees or affect the quality of the wood by making them more vulnerable to attacks by pests,” Ali said.

The growing deforestation is also leading to undesirable effects on the environment, said Amin Moussa, an agricultural expert also teaching at Tishreen University. Especially on the steep mountainous slopes, cutting down trees is causing landslides and leading to a deterioration in soil fertility, he said.

Extensive production of charcoal is said to have been a major cause of deforestation, especially in Central Europe, before the widespread use of coal.

Asia Times