Deforestation in Morocco
When travelers think of Morocco, they rarely think of vast forests of cedar and oak trees filled with Barbary Apes. However, in scattered regions across the country, forests are alive, but aren’t doing so well. In a recent attempt to get agencies and the government to take emergency action, those in the Forest Department claim that they are losing tens-of-thousands of hectares annually. For most cases, the loss is a direct result of human activity – something that can be controlled.
Forest fires are not the only reason that Morocco is losing its protected lands. But, most fires are caused from negligence, namely from shepherds starting camp fires, tossing cigarettes onto the ground, and even bee keepers who have to use fire in order to smoke the hives. The issue has escalated to the point that emergency measures have to be taken, namely the restoration of the forest’s density. However, this is difficult when the demand for wood outweighs the implemented programs that can’t keep up with the loggers or the poverty-stricken who must gather wood in order to heat their homes.
A new program recently outlined will attempt to plant more trees than what is cut. Additionally, the program calls for prevention and control for fires in high-risk regions. The hope is to increase reforestation efforts from around 40,000 hectares to above 50,000 hectares. However, education and natural resource management are also the culprits to the problem. For those who travel to Morocco to see the Sahara, many more are surprised when they see the rolling hills with forests as far as they eye can see – another reason to protect Morocco’s diversity.
Brought to you by: Morocco Travel News at Journey Beyond Travel
Source: Magharebia.com
Tags: morocco morocco news morocco travel morocco tours environment
One Response to “Deforestation in Morocco”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
December 3rd, 2007 at 9:11 am
[…] has been trying to reclaim forest from Morocco deforestation areas that have been destroyed by the demand for lumber and the exploitation of the forest […]