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On March 14, 2010 The Eastern Native Tree Society and Western Native
Tree Society switched from discussion lists on Google Groups to a new
discussion list in a Bulletin Board format at:
http://www.ents-bbs.org/index.php Posts made since the
inception of the BBS on march 14, 2010 will be sorted and archived on
the BBS. Click on the link above to go to the equivalent section on the
new BBS. This website will continue to serve as a front end for the ENTS
and WNTS groups. It will continue to serve as a repository of older
posts, and will serve as the host site for special projects and features
that are not well suited for a BBS format. Please visit the BBs for the
latest information and trip reports.
External Links
Afghanistan
Afghanistan Forest Information and Data
http://rainforests.mongabay.com/deforestation/2000/Afghanistan.htm
2.1% or about 1,350,000 ha of Afghanistan is forested, according to FAO.
Afghanistan's Forests
http://www.igreens.org.uk/afghanistans_forests.htm
Bare mountains, poor people; Missing trees reflect the country's woeful
recent history.
Afghanistan's Pistachio Forests Felled for Fuelwood
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/may2010/2010-05-13-02.html
By Mohammad Saber. HERAT, Afghanistan, May 13, 2010 (ENS) - Mullah
Samandar finds it hard to control his emotions as he swings his axe at
the trunk of the pistachio tree. "When I cut down pistachio trees, I cry
and my tears don't stop," the 55-year-old said, explaining that he has
no other way to provide his family with fuel. "Times are hard and I do
not have a job, a salary or any opportunity to find a job. We are even
forced to eat plants we gather on the mountains."
Afghanistan's Web Site - Natural Areas
http://www.afghanistans.com/Information/NaturalR.htm
The trees that vanished: crisis in the Hindu Kush
The Independent, UK, 09/25/2005
http://www.e-ariana.com/ariana/eariana.nsf/allDocsArticles/139FF4C0F5A0C4B2872570870044D18D?
OpenDocument: The aromatic groves of cedar and pine that once covered
Afghanistan are disappearing, cut down by smugglers. Justin Huggler
reports from Kabul on a desperate struggle to avert ecological disaster.
South East Afghanistan Loses 80% of Forests
Saturday, 11 December 2010 19:09 Written by TOLOnews.com
http://www.tolonews.com/en/afghanistan/1291-south-east-afghanistan-loses-80-of-forests
Afghanistan's south eastern region, including three provinces, has lost
80% of its forests, the Environment Protection Office in the south east
saysAbdul Ghias Jalatzai, head of the southeast office for Environmental
Protection says if illegal deforestation is not stopped, the region will
lose all its forests soon.
The Lost Forests of Afghanistan
UBC Reports | Vol. 53 | No. 11 | Nov. 1, 2007
UBC Profs Use Science and Sociology to Help Restore World’s Forests
http://www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/ubcreports/2007/07nov01/afghanistan.html
This month, Assoc. Prof. Gary Bull from UBC’s Faculty of Forestry is
spending time in Kabul training an Afghan field crew. He is joining
forces with the New-York based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in a
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded
project. Bull and UBC Forestry PhD student KiJoo Han are leading an
effort to help protect and restore Afghanistan’s remaining forest in the
north east province of Nuristan.
Afghanistan: Environmental degradation in a fragile ecological setting
Int. J Sustain. Dev. World Ecol. 8 (2001) 279-289 by Daud S. Saba
Geology Department, St. Xavier's College, Mumbai-1, India.
http://www.mindfully.org/Heritage/Afghanistan-Environmental-Degradation-Saba.htm
Currently, only 6% of the 15% of land in Afghanistan is usable and, if
all the refugees were to return, problems of land ownership and adequacy
of available land are inevitable. Natural forests have been severely
degraded. Due to the nature of the topography and the arid climate, vast
areas are subject to soil erosion. Loss of vegetation and soil humus
have created ever more arid conditions....
Wild Pistachio Forests Replanted in Balkh
Pistachio reforestation brings jobs and improves the environment.
Mazari Sharif, Afghanistan | Wednesday, August 12, 2009
http://afghanistan.usaid.gov/en/Article.921.aspx
USAID is helping rural Afghans improve their environment and their
incomes by planting pistachio seedlings. Wild pistachio forests were
once common in northern Afghanistan, but years of improper harvesting
and neglect led to the destruction of many forests. Now, a USAID
cash-for-work project is underway that will restore pistachio forests
covering 700 hectares in Balkh Province while providing jobs for local
residents.
East Afghan montane conifer forests (PA0506)
http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/pa/pa0506_full.html
The East Afghan Montane Coniferous Forests [PA0506] are found between
2,000 and 3,300 m. These temperate coniferous forests of western
Pakistan and northeastern Afghanistan support a variety of avifauna and
harbor the largest remaining populations of Chiltan markhor (Capra
falconeri chiltanensis).
Bahrain
Bahrain Forest Information and Data
http://rainforests.mongabay.com/defores ... ahrain.htm
1.4% or about 1,000 ha of Bahrain is forested, according to FAO. Of this
100.0% ( 1,000 ha ) is classified as primary forest, the most biodiverse
and carbon-dense form of forest. Bahrain had 1,000 ha of planted forest.
Change in Forest Cover: Between 1990 and 2010, Bahrain lost an average
of 50 ha or #DIV/0! per year. In total, between 1990 and 2010, Bahrain
gained #DIV/0! of its forest cover, or around 1,000 ha.
World Resources Institute - EarthTrends: The Environmental Information
Portal
http://earthtrends.wri.org/text/forests ... le-13.html
The Tree of Life in Bahrain is a 400 year-old mesquite tree which lives
in the middle of desert. The mystery of the survival of the tree has
made it a legend.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_of_Life,_Bahrain
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... ofLife.JPG
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C945wrFKRY
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Jordan
Kuwait
Kyrgystan
Lebanon
Oman
Pakistan
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Syria
Tajikistan
Turkey: Forests and Trees
National Parks, Wild Life, Wetlands
of Turkey
http://www.twarp.com/nature/park.htm
National Report to the Fourth
Session of the United Nations Forum on Forests: Turkey.
http://www.un.org/esa/forests/pdf/national_reports/unff4/turkey.pdf
8 pages. Forests cover about 26 percent (20.7 ha.) of Turkey’s land area
and have significant economic,environmental and cultural functions.
Almost half of the country’s total forests are unfortunately degraded,
unproductive and needs to be rehabilitated and protected. Furthermore,
forested areas in the country are not evenly distributed and some parts
of the country are totally poor of forest resources.
Central Anatolian deciduous forests
(PA0410)
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/pa/pa0410.html
Birds such as avocets and cranes that migrate across Turkey find a
welcome home in the Central Anatolian Deciduous Forests. Lakes and ponds
dot the countryside, providing habitat and breeding grounds for
waterfowl such as white pelicans. Throughout the high plateaus and
mountains of this ecoregion, the rugged landscape is dappled with
brilliant yellow patches of Turkey oak trees in the fall. Forests of
European black pines and Cilician fir trees contain abundant animals,
including the European marbeled polecat.
Ecotourism in Old-growth Forests in
Turkey: The Kure Mountains Experience
http://www.bioone.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1659%2Fmrd.0926
The Kure Mountains, located in the provinces of Kastamonu and Bartin—one
of the largest protected areas in Turkey with old-growth forest
formation—have been visited by growing numbers of tourists since 2000.
There are no statistical visitor data about the Kure Mountains, but
tourism statistics for Kastamonu (2000–2006) give a picture of the
increasing numbers of tourists in the region.
Southern Anatolian montane conifer
and deciduous forests (PA1220)
http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/pa/pa1220_full.html
This ecoregion is one of the most biologically diverse in the
Mediterranean Basin. Extremely mountainous, its high peaks and deep
valleys create isolated ecological niches resulting in a high level of
plant endemism, particularly among the bulbous species. The overlapping
of the Mediterranean and Irano-Turanian floristic zones here has also
contributed to the evolution of unique species.
Turkmenistan
United Arab Emirates
Uzbekistan
Yemen
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Discussion
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