All life on this planet, and in this country, depends on two things: water and vegetation. The latter depends on the former, and vice versa, in a circle of life that is being broken in every corner of the globe. Water gives life to vegetation which feeds and shelters many other forms of life and keeps our precious water in the equation by reducing runoff and evaporation.
Vegetation, including trees, is the basis of human existence, but all over Earth we are destroying this natural heritage for short-term gain and long-term disaster. Trees give us food in the form of nuts and fruits, shelter in the form of timber, transportation in the form of boats and carts, aesthetic pleasure in the form of inspirational landscapes and artistic creations, recreation in the form of tools and challenges, warmth for comfort, and heat for cooking. Yet in Yemen, as in many countries around the world, we are mining this resource in a short-sighted policy that may even be changing our climate and with it a safe future for all living things.
Poverty and greed lead to the unsustainable exploitation of trees in the inexorable process of deforestation. High gas prices leads to uncontrolled cutting for fuel. The value of timber leads to illegal razing for profit. Overpopulation leads to overgrazing which denudes the landscape and prevents the establishment of new seedlings to replace the old while increasing runoff and evaporation. This prevents water from returning to our underground aquifers with serious long-term consequences for animals and humans. As a result of these trends and practices the country once known for its greenery as “Arabia Felix” is fast becoming a desert.
June 25th, Yemen Arbor Day, gives us a chance to celebrate a history that was built largely on trees and to reverse the process that is needlessly causing their destruction. Join us for Yemen Arbor Day to give thanks for these precious gifts from Allah by planting trees in our denuded landscape. Plant a tree and put the ‘Felix’ back in Arabia. Help make Yemen a country whose forests are expanding, not shrinking as they are everywhere else. Help return Yemen to the natural state that has nurtured us throughout the thousands of years of our history. Celebrate life and plant a tree.
For more information on this event, please contact our Project Coordinator:
Dr. Mohammed Alhaifi
Assistant Professor in Environmental Sciences (Environmental Pollution)
Head Dept. of Chemistry and Biology
Faculty of Education
Arhab, University of Sana'a
E-mail: alhifi@yahoo.com
Tel:+967 777787024
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Posted:
3/28/2009 3:10:03 PM