Intensive efforts to reclaim the forests affected by recent fires in Hama countryside

HAMA, (ST)- Forests in Syria are a national wealth and one of the most important factors for the stability of environment, climate and tourism. Recent wildfires in the western countryside of Hama have caused a catastrophic loss to Syria’s natural forests and destroyed the charm of nature in that area, making the issue of intensifying and expanding reforestation campaigns to compensate for this painful loss and restore life to the forests an urgent need.

Government and civil society sectors in Syria are working hard to restore the green cover in the affected areas.

Eng. Ahmad Mirza, Head of the Protection Section at the Directorate of Agriculture in Hama, told SANA reporter that the directorate’s workers are getting ready to reclaim the forests sites that have been affected by fire and to prepare them for reforestation, indicating that no one is allowed to enter these sites for lumbering. He added that work teams are collecting the firewood and damaged branches using a special methodology that gives a chance to damaged trees to bloom again.

 According to Mirza, the Directorate’s plan for this year includes implementing 12-kilometer-long roads and fire lines distributed over the Misyaf Forest Ranger Station, Deir Shamil and Rubuo areas, in addition to restoring 28 other roads, including in Deir Mama, Sindiana, Rubu and Masyaf areas.

Ahmad al-Ashi, Head of the forestation at Hama Agriculture Directorate, said that the annual plan for the reforestation of the burned lands cover 300 hectares to be planted with different kinds of pine trees as well as eucalyptus, Indian and Japanese berries, linden, sumac, cypress, carob trees and others. 

On his part, Tarek Mousa Pasha, Head of the Forests Management Department, said that restoring life and green spaces to the areas affected by the fires is a difficult process, as fires cause climate change especially because many types of forests grow in humid and temperate regions. He noted that restoring the forest wealth in the western Hama countryside that have been damaged by fires may take decades.

He made it clear that the soil of the sites that were destroyed by the fire hosted seeds of trees that were fiercely resistant to weather factors and that were consistent with climatic characteristics for hundreds of years, thus compensating for this natural loss may take a long time.

Ghaydaa Dheimish, a teacher, affirmed that implementing reforestation campaigns and initiatives that help in restoring the green areas in the mountain slopes located in Al-Ghab and Misyaf areas constitute a moral and humanitarian duty shared by both the government and civil society sectors alike.

Director of Forestry at the Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform, Dr. Hassan Fares, said that the ministry has completed its forestation plan that will be implemented as part of the national reforestation campaign which is due to start by the beginning of next month and end late in March next year.

He stressed that replanting the areas that were exposed to fires is a top priority in the coming era, pointing out that the number of seedlings scheduled to be planted this season amount to 6 million to be distributed over an area of 4000 hectares.

Trees are a symbol of giving and beauty, so all should join efforts to restore the splendor of Syria’s forests, said some students and employees, calling for intensifying forestation activities countrywide and adopting more feasible programs to protect the forests, including early warning stations.

Hamda Mustafa