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Chapter 21. West Asia

Figure 21-1. West Asia: forest cover map

The following countries and areas comprise the West Asia subregion: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cyprus, Gaza Strip, Georgia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, West Bank and Yemen[36] (Figure 21-1).

In general, these countries and areas are among those that are forest poor, with only 3.2 percent of the total areas under forest cover and less than 1 percent of the world's forest cover. The forest area per capita is 0.1 ha, which is very low, only 15 percent of the world average.

Owing to the prevailing arid conditions of the region, forests mostly comprise open woodlands and lands with scattered trees and xerophytic shrubs. However, in the highlands of Cyprus, Turkey, the Caspian Sea, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Afghanistan, temperate and moist forests are found.

In countries lacking natural forests, fast-growing and multipurpose tree species such as Eucalyptus spp., Casuarina spp., poplars and acacias are planted in the form of windbreaks or shelterbelts and used in agroforestry systems. In some countries that have natural forests, such plantations provide significant amounts of wood. In Turkey, 4 million cubic metres of wood per annum are produced, mainly from poplar plantations (Heywood 1997).

FOREST RESOURCES

The land area of the subregion is about 5.4 percent of the global land area. The total forest area is about 3.2 percent of the subregion's land area and less than 1 percent of the world's forests. Only six countries of the region have more than 1 million hectares of forest land. The largest area is in Turkey, with about 37.5 percent of the subregion's forests, followed by Iran, Georgia, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan and Afghanistan, which have about 24.5 million hectares and 89.7 percent of the total forest area in the subregion. The remaining countries have about 2.8 million hectares. Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have only plantations (Table 21-1).

Various factors external to the forestry sector have had a significant impact on forest resources. Among these are urbanization, economic changes and conflicts. Many countries of the subregion are undergoing rapid urbanization, including both seasonal and permanent migration of rural populations to urban areas. Economic difficulties in some countries have hindered efficient conservation and sustainable management of natural resources, including forests. National and regional disputes and wars have also caused serious forest resource degradation in some countries of the region such as Afghanistan, Iraq and Lebanon (FAO 1998).

The survey methods and quality of information vary among countries. Afghanistan carried out a systematic forestry inventory, published in 1993, based on remote sensing images from 1989 to 1991, with maps and technical reports. For Iran, a survey based on satellite images, aerial photos and a field survey was carried out for the Caspian forests and central Zagros in 1999. For other parts of the country a sample inventory was used. The information on forest cover for Yemen was done using satellite imagery, aerial photos and fieldwork. Data were published in 1993. For Iraq and Lebanon, information on forest cover is based on surveys and studies conducted prior to 1990. Estimates for Saudi Arabia are based on a 1994 inventory of the southwestern part of the country using aerial photos and fieldwork. For other parts of the country, estimates are based on annual reports and studies. Information for Jordan and the Syrian Arab Republic is based on secondary sources of annual reports and studies. For Armenia, Cyprus, Georgia and Turkey, information is based on literature review and secondary sources. For Azerbaijan and Israel, the data are based on secondary sources. Information on Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates is based on records and surveys of planted areas. No information was provided for the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Table 21-1. West Asia: forest resources and management

Country/area

Land area

Forest area 2000

Area change 1990-2000 (total forest)

Volume and above-ground biomass (total forest)

Forest under management plan

Natural forest

Forest plantation

Total forest

000 ha

000 ha

000 ha

000 ha

%

ha/ capita

000 ha/ year

%

m3/ha

t/ha

000 ha

%

Afghanistan

64 958

1 351

-

1 351

2.1

0.1

n.s.

n.s.

22

27

-

-

Armenia

2 820

338

13

351

12.4

0.1

4

1.3

128

66

351

100

Azerbaijan

8 359

1 074

20

1 094

13.1

0.1

13

1.3

136

105

1 094

100

Bahrain

69

n.s.

0

n.s.

n.s.

-

n.s.

14.9

14

14

-

-

Cyprus

925

172

0

172

18.6

0.2

5

3.7

43

21

172

100

Gaza Strip

38

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Georgia

6 831

2 788

200

2 988

43.7

0.6

n.s.

n.s.

145

97

2 438

82

Iran (Islamic Republic of)

162 201

5 015

2 284

7 299

4.5

0.1

n.s.

n.s.

86

149

-

-

Iraq

43 737

789

10

799

1.8

n.s.

n.s.

n.s.

29

28

-

-

Israel

2 062

41

91

132

6.4

n.s.

5

4.9

49

-

132

100

Jordan

8 893

41

45

86

1.0

n.s.

n.s.

n.s.

38

37

-

-

Kuwait

1 782

0

5

5

0.3

n.s.

n.s.

3.5

21

21

-

-

Lebanon

1 024

34

2

36

3.5

n.s.

n.s.

-0.4

23

22

-

-

Oman

21 246

0

1

1

0.0

n.s.

n.s.

5.3

17

17

-

-

Qatar

1 100

0

1

1

0.1

n.s.

n.s.

9.6

13

12

-

-

Saudi Arabia

214 969

1 500

4

1 504

0.7

0.1

n.s.

n.s.

12

12

-

-

Syrian Arab Republic

18 377

232

229

461

2.5

n.s.

n.s.

n.s.

29

28

-

-

Turkey

76 963

8 371

1 854

10 225

13.3

0.2

22

0.2

136

74

9 954

97

United Arab Emirates

8 360

7

314

321

3.8

0.1

8

2.8

-

-

-

-

West Bank

580

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Yemen

52 797

449

-

449

0.9

n.s.

-9

-1.9

14

19

-

-

Total West Asia

698 091

22 202

5 073

27 275

3.9

0.1

48

0.2

101

87

-

-

Total Asia

3 084 746

431 946

115 847

547 793

17.8

0.2

-364

-0.1

63

82

-

-

TOTAL WORLD

13 063 900

3 682 722

186 733

3 869 455

29.6

0.6

-9 391

-0.2

100

109

-

-

Source: Appendix 3, Tables 3, 4, 6, 7 and 9.
Figure 21-2. West Asia: natural forest and forest plantation areas 2000 and net area changes 1990-2000

Turkey and Iran have the highest proportion of forest cover in the subregion with 37.5 percent and 26.8 percent, respectively (Table 21-1, Figure 21-2). The rates of forest area change in the region vary from country to country. Forest cover increased in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cyprus and Turkey. The greatest increase in area was in Turkey. However, Cyprus has the largest annual rate of change. The greatest negative change in both the rate and gross area of forest cover was in Yemen. Afghanistan, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, the Syrian Arab Republic and Saudi Arabia had no change in the gross area of forest cover.

In general, forest lands in the region are State-owned, although there is some variation among the countries regarding ownership and the rights of forest dwellers and local populations. In Turkey, the Ministry of Forestry is responsible for forestry activities. In other countries, the Forestry Departments are under the ministries of agriculture or natural resources (Heywood 1997; Duzgun and Ozu-Urlu 2000; Loubani 2000).

Forests of the region are composed of productive forests, degraded forests and eroded unproductive forests as well as some mangrove areas along the Red Sea. The predominant species are pines and oaks. According to Duzgun and Ozu-Urlu (2000), in Turkey 51 percent of the forest area is considered as productive and 49 percent unproductive degraded forests, range lands and eroded forests. About 38.8 percent of the forest area is in pines and 26 percent in oaks.

The subregion has close to 3 percent of the world's forest plantation area. Iran and Turkey have the largest area of plantations. These are established for industrial and protective purposes in addition to fuelwood and charcoal production. Pines, Eucalyptus spp. and acacias are the main species. In Iran, afforestation is promoted by providing free seedlings to landowners. In Turkey, the National Afforestation and Erosion Control Mobilization law passed in 1995 increased the rate of afforestation to around 300 000 ha annually (Duzgun and Ozu-Urlo 2000). In the five Persian Gulf countries which have only plantations, the United Arab Emirates has the largest gross area. The remaining Persian Gulf countries have about 2.5 percent of the total planted area of the five countries. The annual rate of change in these countries is based on the ratio of the latest annual planted area to the total planted area. The country reports submitted for FRA 2000 are the first published data for Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar.

The forests of Georgia and Azerbaijan have a larger wood volume and biomass than the world average while Iran has the greatest biomass per hectare. The lowest volume and biomass values are for Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

FOREST MANAGEMENT AND USES

Six of the 21 countries and areas in West Asia provided national-level information on the forest area managed (Table 21-1). They all applied the definition used by industrialized countries of forests managed in accordance with a formal or an informal plan applied regularly over a sufficiently long period (five years or more). Georgia, which had the lowest percentage (82 percent) of the forest area under management of the six countries, did not include forests classified as "undisturbed by man" in the area of forest being managed. The remaining countries appear to have followed the recommendation of including areas where a conscious decision has been made not to undertake any management interventions and reported that 100 percent of their forest area was being managed according to the above definition.

During the last decade, there has been increased interest in improvement and sustainable management of natural forests. Some countries in the region (Turkey, Cyprus, Lebanon and the Syrian Arab Republic) have started national forestry programmes. Others have undertaken action on some elements of their national strategic framework, such as policy reviews or new legislation (FAO 1998). Countries are making efforts to implement integrated programmes involving forestry, pasture, agriculture and rural development institutions and introducing participatory approaches involving forest dwellers and forest villagers in planning and management of the forests on a sustainable basis. In Iran, 130 000 ha of forests were recently transferred to cooperatives with more than 500 members (Abdollahpour 2000). Use of forests by local communities exists, but has not been quantified. However, in Turkey there are more than 17 000 villages located in or near forests that depend on the forests for their livelihood (Duzgun and Ozu-Urlo 2000).

There are estimates on wood production for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Georgia and Turkey (UNECE/FAO 2000). With the exception of Turkey, the contribution of the forestry sector to the gross national product (GNP) in all countries is unknown, since it is combined with agricultural production. In Turkey, the forestry sector is independent. It contributes only 0.8 percent to the GNP of the country, but this excludes indirect and intangible benefits. It is difficult to calculate the economic value of non-wood forest products since most of the products are collected directly from the forests and consumed by local people. In Turkey, the income from exports of these products is around US$80 to US$100 million. The most important non-wood forest products are fruits, nuts, medicinal plants and animal fodder (Duzgun and Ozu-Urlo 2000).

Tourism and water and soil conservation are gaining importance in the region. In Cyprus, the social benefits attributable to recreation, tourism, improvements in agricultural yields and water and soil conservation were estimated to be more than US$70 million per year, while the annual revenue from timber sales is about US$1 million (Theophanous 2000).

Fuelwood is still a major source of energy in the region. Many forests are exploited by the rural population as a source of fuelwood and charcoal for their domestic needs. The percentage of total roundwood production consumed for fuel was 98 percent in Lebanon in 1998, 97 percent in Afghanistan, 67 percent in Iraq, 66 percent in Jordan, 44 percent in Turkey, 41 percent in Saudi Arabia, 32 percent in the Syrian Arab Republic, 29 percent in Iran and 23 percent in Cyprus (FAO Forestry Web page).

General information on forest fires is available for some countries. In the Syrian Arab Republic, there were 347 forest fires during 1995 to 1999 and around 1 400 ha were burnt (Ibrahim 2000). In Turkey, about 2 000 fires occurred in the last ten years and about 12 500 ha were burnt annually (Duzgun and Ozu-Urlo 2000). Forest fire control networks have been established in Lebanon in cooperation with the French Government (Akl 2000) and in Jordan with the assistance of international agencies (Loubani 2000).

CONCLUSIONS AND ISSUES

The 21 countries and reporting areas of the subregion can be classified into 14 countries with natural forests and plantations, five countries with plantations only and two reporting units, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, with no information.

Based on the country reports sent to FAO, there is accurate forest cover information based on satellite images for Afghanistan. Moderately reliable information based on surveys was found for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Georgia, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Yemen. For the remaining countries reported in this subregion, the data were collected from secondary sources.

The difficulty in estimating forest cover area and change for these countries is due to the lack of direct compatibility of the local definitions of forest types with the FAO definitions. Forest cover change has not been estimated for most countries owing to the lack of base data and/or owing to national over- or underestimates of forest cover in 1990.

All countries have policies for conservation and sustainable management of forest resources. They recognize the protective and environmental functions of forests, particularly the aspects related to combating desertification, the protection of watersheds and irrigated zones (FAO 1993) and their role in generating higher income and employment for rural communities.

Most forests in the subregion are State-owned. Privately owned forests account for a small percentage of the total forest area, mostly in the form of small woodlots and linear plantations. The participation of NGOs in forestry activities is still limited in most countries.

In many countries of the subregion, population growth and increased demand on forest products, overgrazing, shifting of forestlands to agricultural use and urbanization are leading to overexploitation and increased degradation of the forest resources, resulting in the inability of the forests to regenerate. The arid climate in most of these countries limits forest productivity (FAO 1993).

Although few countries in the subregion have national forest programmes, some of the actions now being undertaken in many countries include forest policy reviews, new legal instruments and review of institutions. Public participation in forest management and conservation is receiving more attention through governmental bodies, research institutes, NGOs and local communities. Other important issues include the need to identify criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management as well as quantifying the indirect benefits and services of forests and plantations.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abdollahpour, M. 2000. Forest policy in Iran. Country report. FAO regional workshop on forest policy formulation and implementation in the Near East countries, 3-6 June 2000, Cairo.

Akl, G. 2000. Forest policy in Lebanon. Country report. FAO regional workshop on forest policy formulation and implementation in the Near East countries, 3-6 June 2000, Cairo.

Duzgun, M. & Ozu-Urlu, E. 2000. Forest and Forestry Policy Development in Turkey. Country report. FAO regional workshop on forest policy formulation and implementation in the Near East countries, 3-6 June 2000, Cairo.

FAO. 1993. Forestry policies in the Near East region: analysis and synthesis. FAO Forestry Paper No. 111. Rome.

FAO. 1998. Overview and opportunities for the implementation of national forest programmes in the Near East. Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic, 6-9 December 1998. Secretariat note. Near East Forestry Commission 13th Session.

Heywood, H. 1997. The International Expert Meeting: plant resources and their diversity in the Near East, 19-21 May 1997. FAO Forestry Department. Cairo, FAO Regional Office for the Near East.

Ibrahim, H. 2000. Forests in Syria. Country Report. FAO regional workshop on forest policy formulation and implementation in the Near East countries, 3-6 June 2000, Cairo.

Jafari, M. & Hosseinzadeh. 1997. Present status of afforestation in Islamic Republic of Iran. Technical Publication No. 176. Tehran, Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands.

Loubani, M.S. 2000. Forest policy and national forest programs in Jordan. Country report. FAO regional workshop on forest policy formulation and implementation in the Near East countries, 3-6 June 2000, Cairo.

Theophanous, S. 2000. Forest policy of Cyprus. Country report. FAO Regional workshop on forest policy formulation and implementation in the Near East countries, 3-6 June 2000, Cairo.

UNECE/FAO. 2000. Forest resources of Europe, CIS, North America, Australia, Japan and New Zealand: contribution to the global Forest Resources Assessment 2000. Geneva Timber and Forest Study Papers 17. New York and Geneva, United Nations.
www.unece.org/trade/timber/fra/pdf/contents.htm


[36] For more details by country, see www.fao.org/forestry

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