Climate change, human exercise threaten Libya nature reserve

A nature reserve close to the capital of war-scarred Libya that has lengthy been a sanctuary for hyenas, uncommon birds and crops is now below menace on account of local weather change and human exercise.

A two-hour drive east of Tripoli into the Nafusa mountain vary, the Ashaafean park was added to UNESCO’s listing of biosphere reserves final month.

It consists of dry woodland, grassland and desert on the sting of the Sahara—ideally suited habitats for the more and more uncommon houbara bustard, a big hen.

“Ongoing climate change, the associated lack of rainfall and long waves of drought in the summer have made the reserve vulnerable to repeated fires in recent years,” mentioned Anas al-Qiyadi, of the Libyan Wildlife Trust.

Along with unauthorised logging and building, these components have “damaged the diversity of flora and fauna,” he mentioned.

But Qiyadi is hoping that the UNESCO itemizing will assist shield the park.

“The biosphere reserve’s 83,060-hectare (around 205,000-acre) core area is home to a variety of rare and/or endangered species,” the UN cultural company mentioned on its web site.

They embody 350 plant species, some medicinal or fragrant, in addition to threatened birds, reptiles and mammals.

Some 65,000 individuals additionally dwell within the wider park space.

Decades of violence

Ashaafean was designated as a nature reserve below dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 1978.

But within the decade of violence that adopted Kadhafi’s 2011 overthrow in a NATO-backed revolt, the delicate and divided Libyan state has supplied little safety to its 9 nature reserves, more and more threatened by human exercise.

Qiyadi mentioned a number of initiatives had been underway to guard the reserves, together with a programme to breed endangered tortoises in captivity and launch them into the wild.

“A few days ago, we released 36 endangered tortoises into the (Ashaafean) park,” he mentioned.

Volunteers have additionally signed as much as water timber all through Libya’s lengthy durations of drought, Qiyadi mentioned, including that irrigation networks alone weren’t sufficient.

“Because the water source is a long way from the reserve, we and a group of volunteers have started campaigns to irrigate and plant more trees, but that needs ongoing attention.”

‘International consideration’

Drought and lethal forest fires hit a number of international locations throughout the Mediterranean this 12 months, notably in neighbouring Algeria.

Libya was largely spared this time, however since 2015 it has seen big fires which have killed many endangered animals and timber over a century outdated.

Ashaafean is the primary Libyan website to be categorised as a UNESCO biosphere reserve.

The designation goals to advertise sustainable improvement, shield ecosystems and assist assist analysis and schooling.

Tareq al-Jdeidy, a scientist on the University of Tripoli who led a marketing campaign for the itemizing, mentioned it was a step in the direction of higher safety for one in every of Libya’s most treasured reserves.

The designation means “it will attract attention internationally from organisations focusing on the environment, plant and animal life—there will be studies on how to develop it,” he mentioned.

According to UNESCO, a lot of the reserve’s residents make a dwelling from conventional sustainable agriculture in addition to wooden gathering and beekeeping.

“The region is known for the quality of its olives and oil,” it mentioned when asserting the designation.

Jdeidy hopes the park will each assist the native economic system and serve for instance of efforts to fight desertification.

“It will support local residents both directly and indirectly through development programmes linked to the reserve,” he mentioned.

© 2021 AFP