Course:CONS200/2023/Restoration of Degraded Coastal Forests in Lebanon

Background

In the past several decades, the coastal forests of Lebanon have been greatly impacted by natural disasters and human interferences . Due to the increasing damages and degradation of the land, multiple research groups have sought to determine the causes and the impacts of the degradation of Lebanon's coastal forests. Land degradation has been proven and documented through several forms of assessments and analysis, however, it is an extremely difficult terminology to conceptualize as subjective perception based on the observers values ultimately pertain the quality of the land . In the case of land degradation of coastal forests, the impacts that the human have on the biodiversity and the quality of the forest is an integral aspect of conservation and restoration. The Lebanese cedar (Cedars Libyan) in particular is a native species which is under pressure of being placed on the threatened species list of The World Conservation Union Redlist , and is a common subject in the conversation of restoration and conservation of the Lebanese forests. These cedar forests play in integral role of conservation and are key contributors in either the degradation or restoration of the forests as a whole as their presence increase economic, cultural, and ecological value . Economically, it have been highly valued for its timber as the durability and the resistance of decay is well sough after . Culturally, the cedar has been symbolized as a sign of beauty, strength, and the longevity . Ecologically, the drought resistant characteristics of the cedar facilitates the growth of the forest with little precipitation which makes this certain species an ideal tool to mitigate land erosions soil degradation during the hot dry summer months. As the impacts on the Lebanon cedar influences the quality and the value of the forests, it is crucial to determine the multidisciplinary causes that are impacting the health of the coastal forest of Lebanon and how interventions to mitigate the causes can result in the restoration of the degraded forests.

Causes and the Impacts of Degradation

Cedar of Lebanon

Across studies, both natural and human caused factors have been identified in causing the degradation of the coastal forests of Lebanon. With aspirations to restore the degraded forests of Lebanon, the comprehension of the causes and the impacts as well as the effectiveness of the interventions are crucial. In terms of forest degradation, deforestation is the leading issue as the change in the land use negatively impacts the quality and stability of the soil . As one of the countries situated near conflicting countries, Lebanon has the third highest population density and the largest number of refugees per capita . This population growth of Lebanon has been described as one of the major drivers in the changes of land use and ultimately the degradation of the forests as the threshold of sustainability has been surpassed . The impacts of overpopulation has forced the country to adapt the use of the land and the resources to adequately supply the needs of the population . An adaptation to fulfill the demand for resources is through the development and uses of quarries which pose both initial and residual degradation , as well as changing the land use. The initial impacts of quarries are deforestation and exploitation of the finite resources available for their monetary values. When the forests are clearcut and the biodiversity disappears, the exploitation of the resources cause the soil and the topography to decline . Further assessments of the quarries of Lebanon have revealed that around 62% of the quarries are situated in highly unsuitable areas, leaving just under 38% of the quarries profitable and attaining any value after its negative impacts on the forests . The residual impacts of these quarries have also been discovered that following the excavation, 87% pose a serious threat to the quality of the ground water. Changes in the land use also occurred due to the overpopulation and the high demands for urbanization. This shift in land use increased the land use for urban use by 208% along with 35% decrease in overall forest covers, losing over 971ha of prime land . One other consequence of deforestation is the increase in the quantity and intensity of the wildfires during the dry hot summers . Though the causes of wildfires are not direct correlation to the human use, the land degradation caused by deforestation creates a more dry and combustable environment .

Interventions to Mitigate Degradation

There are two approaches within the interventions of restoration of degraded forests, to decrease the likelihood of the same instances occurring and the restoration of damaged lands. The implementation of the land degradation neutrality has been proven successful in both restoring the damaged land as well as decreasing the risk of future disasters . In the Awali basin of Lebanon, a 94% decrease of land degradation was observed due to the implementation of LDN . This intervention method brings light to the importance of proper planning, research, and preparation before altering the usage for the land as 36% of the degraded land was found to have been caused by inadequate planning. This study also had found that proper monitoring and treatment of the runoff from the water source, successfully counterbalanced 34% of the degraded land successfully reducing the degraded land down to 2%. An addition of an intervention to gain the attention and facilitate the conservation efforts of the future generation could potentially increase the success of the other interventions. A conducted with the youth of Lebanon determined that by labeling degraded land under important plant areas, increased the likeliness of protection by 84% . Furthermore, the study found that 96% of the students from a study group had positive ecological behaviours and that placing degraded forests in need of restoration under the label of IPA could be an effective intervention method to attract the next generation. The LDN was also successful at reducing the degradation caused by wildfires by 36.97% through adequately planning the use of land and considering the potential factors that could ultimately cause such disasters . As successful as LDN is at mitigating possibilities of wildfires, collection of satellite imagery and weather data from MODIS sensor facilitated the prediction of future wildfires by the recognition and understanding of the temperature, humidity, wind speed, and precipitation all factor into degrading forest fires. Final and most simple form of restoration of degraded and lost forests can be the achieved through reforestation and afforestation. As both of these intervention methods introduce or reintroduce trees back into the degraded land, the conservation of the Lebanon Cedar as well as restoration of the degraded land can be achieved .

Conclusion

The degradation and restoration of the forests of Lebanon is an intricate and complex issue that both natural and human causes are at fault for. Deforestation caused by population growth and the changing needs for the country have have strongly contributed to the degradation and become the target of conservation. The Lebanese cedar that is under pressure and is undervalued can be both restored and conserved through mechanisms like labeling the area as IPA and proper monitor the human involvement with such areas. Additionally, the implementation of technology and science have a crucial impact on future degradation as wildfires could potentially be predicted and avoided.