Frunluk Forests Protection Campaign Part of National Efforts to Preserve Environment

Jun 26, 2010

A campaign for protection of Frunluk Forests in Lattakia, the Syrian coast, was launched on Thursday aimed to raise awareness of cleaning forests and keeping in line with the principle of sustainable environment management.

The campaign comes as a part of series of environmental activities and studies conducted by Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs out of Syria's commitment to protecting local environment and its various components, including a national study of biodiversity which have so far documented 7000 botanical and animal genres.

State Minister for Environmental Affairs Kaukab al-Sabah Dayah said that the Ministry has also set up a national biodiversity strategy and the conditions of nature reserves in conformity with the standards of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The Frunluk Forest Campaign, dubbed "Visit Them and Keep Them Natural", was organized by Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform and the UN Development Program (UNDP) on the occasion of the International Year of Biodiversity.

Dayah pointed out the Frunluk Forests have been chosen among the three targeted sites of the project of biodiversity preservation and nature reserves management due to its rich biodiversity.

She cited studies of the forests which have recorded the existence of 260 botanical genres, 50 species of birds, 22 species of reptiles and amphibians and 18 species of mammals.

She also added that the Ministry is seeking to make this project a starting point for drawing up modern national policies for management of all sorts of reserves and natural sites in Syria to make them models of environmental tourism.

There were 99 sites declared by Syria as nature reserves including 68 in the Syrian semi-desert (al-Badia) and 31 others varying between wet lands, coastal and marine reserves, making a total of 6.4 % of the Syrian land.

Dayah referred to the Ministry's efforts to make the percentage of nature reserves in Syria reach the international level of 10 % of a country's total area in the coming two years and 15 % by 2025.

A plan has been put to update the National Biodiversity Strategy to further activate the participation of local communities in the national efforts toward sustainable management of natural life and increase opportunities of investment in natural resources.

The Ministry is also preparing a longer-term strategy to ensure reliance on solar energy and other renewable resources and to enhance environment protection efforts.