Countries

Forests and the forestry sector

Resources
The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya is very lightly forested, with less than 1 percent forest and woodland cover. Forests cover 400 000 ha (0.2 percent of land area), and other wooded land 446 000 ha (0.3 percent). Most of this land is covered with scrub and minor vegetation. For commercial purposes, the country has no forests. Most of the country is desert or semi-desert with only the Mediterranean coast having extensive areas of vegetation. The country has only patchy areas of natural forest in the Jabal al-Akhdar mountains, east of Benghazi; these forests are characterized by juniper (Juniperus spp.) and mastic (Pistacia spp.) species.

Libyan vegetation is mostly extremely sparse, particularly in the desert areas. Shrublands occur on the Jabal Nafusah plateau with predominant species being non-woody shrubs such as asphodel (Asphodeline spp.) and wild pistachio. Inland, vegetation is mainly confined to oases, where date palms predominate. Oases also support the growth of olive trees and orange trees. Other natural vegetation includes tamarind, fig and Acacia arabica. Acacia species are sparsely scattered in desert regions.

Before the 1950s the only wooded area in Libya was the region of scrub brush in the Akhdar Mountains. Between 1957 and 1964, a government afforestation programme planted 27 million acacia, eucalyptus, cypress, cedar and pine trees. These activities were accelerated in the 1970s. An estimated 213 million seedlings had been planted by 1977, about 33 million of which were fruit trees. Most of the afforestation has been in western Libya. During afforestation efforts, scientists experimented with a petrochemical spray that is sufficiently porous to allow the occasional rain to trickle and seep through, yet sturdy enough to prevent seedlings from being blown away during the country¿s frequent and severe sandstorms. The government¿s long-term goals for the massive planting programme include the raising of enough trees to meet its domestic lumber needs, which have been met until now by imports. Short-term goals include soil conservation and reclamation and the creation of windbreaks for crops and settlements. Information on the success of these afforestation programmes, however, is unavailable.

Libya has larger areas of planted forest than natural forest. Much of this has been planted in sand dune stabilization projects, particularly in the Gefara plain and Jebal Nefusah plateau, or as windbreaks. Principal species include Acacia cyanophylla, A. saligna, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, E. gomphocephala, and Pinus halepensis. Libya has several forest and nature reserves designated as protected areas.

Products
Libya produces modest quantities of sawn timber and paper. The majority of Libya¿s industrial wood products demand is met by imports. Moderate quantities of wood are burned for fuel.

Last updated: February 2004