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Table
of Contents:
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Overview
The USDA Forest Service International Programs advances
sustainable forest management and biodiversity conservation
worldwide. The USDA Forest Service works with partners
in the Middle East on a broad range of technical assistance
and cooperative programs funded by the USDA
Forest Service, the US
Agency for International Development, the US Department
of State Middle East Regional Cooperative Program, and
other international donors. Through training workshops,
collaborative research, exchanges, technical assistance
and demonstration projects, both the United States and
our cooperating partners have opportunities to learn
from each other. Partners include Israel, Jordan, Lebanon,
the Palestinian Authority, and Turkey.
Threats
to the Resource Base
Although
forest cover is not an obvious or dominant natural resource
topic in the Middle East, the native forests and afforested
areas that do exist in the Middle East are jeopardized
by forest fires, health threats, slow rates of regeneration,
and increasing loss of unique native species. Since
water often dominates a discussion of natural resource
threats in the Middle East, it is important to note
that the interconnectedness of vegetation and water
resources presents both opportunities (slowing the rate
of desertification, creation of microclimates, water
retention, erosion control) and challenges (afforested
areas impacting groundwater availability, irrigation
requirements) for natural resource managers. Additional
challenges for the resource base of the Middle East
include invasive species, wildlife eradication, and
institutional weaknesses that impact resource management.
Protected areas in the Middle East suffer similar threats
to those in most places in the world, including recreation
overuse, encroachment, and multiple - often competing
- management objectives.
Why
Does the USDA Forest Service Work in the Middle East?
The
USDA Forest Service has been working in the Middle East
for nearly two decades, both bilaterally on a country-to-country
basis and multilaterally through regional initiatives.
Topics of collaboration have included fire management
and mitigation, watershed management, tree species improvement,
wildlife management, and protected area management.
As mentioned previously, this collaboration has taken
the form of technical assistance, training, seminar
participation, and scientific cooperation. Given the
dynamic political environment of the region, regional
cooperation and information sharing remain goal worthy,
albeit challenging. Often, technical exchanges serve
as a bridge and a means for communication when political
realities preclude discussion in other venues.
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Regional Programs
A)
Middle East Watershed Monitoring and Evaluation
Project
The Middle East Watershed Monitoring and Evaluation
Project, an environmental component of the Middle
East peace process, has been underway since 1999.
This project represents a collaborative research
effort among partners in Israel, Jordan, the Palestinian
Authority, Turkey and the United States. United
States partners include the USDA Forest Service,
the Department
of State, US
Agency for International Development, and
Colorado State University. The goals of the Middle
East Watershed Monitoring and Evaluation Project
are to:
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·
Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of watershed
management practices in preventing erosion and increasing
the efficiency of water use in arid and semi-arid
watershed pilot programs;
·
Evaluate the biophysical measurements appropriate
for evaluation of watershed management practices utilized
for erosion control and biomass production in arid
and semi-arid regions; and
·
Demonstrate effective practices for forest and grassland
management using pilot watershed programs
By
participating in this unique program and by focusing
on ecological resource issues such as the management
of watersheds, the USDA Forest Service and its partners
in the region hope to contribute to the development
and improvement of the quality of life in the Middle
East and to establish and foster strong working relationships
that will last beyond the life of the project.
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Bilateral Cooperation
A) Israel
Israel
experienced one of its worst fire seasons ever in 1987,
when devastating blazes ravaged forests in the corridor
between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The USDA Forest Service
responded by sending a technical team to conduct a damage
assessment and to make recommendations for future mitigation
and management strategies. Thus, a cooperative exchange
program between the Jewish
National Fund (JNF)/Keren
Kayemeth Leisrael (KKL) and the USDA Forest Service
was born. Soon after the first technical exchange mission,
it was evident that both organizations shared many of
the same resource management challenges. Over the last
18 years, the partnership between the Forest Service
and the Jewish National Fund blossomed and expanded
into a number of programs. The partnership has led to
the application of better land management practices
on behalf of both agencies. Key areas of collaboration
have focused on the following:
- Technical
Exchanges -- Exchanges have taken place on issues
ranging from fire management, watershed monitoring,
soil stabilization, grazing and range management,
geographical information systems, recreation planning,
silviculture, urban forestry and tree improvement.
Israeli professionals have come to the US, and US
professionals have visited Israel under this program.
- Professional
Education -- Several hundred individuals in both
countries have shared ideas and solutions to forest
and range land management problems through technical
training and a spectrum of learning opportunities,
from short courses on specific subjects to graduate
level degrees in natural resource management.
- Conservation
Education and Outreach -- In the United States,
the Jewish National Fund and the USDA Forest Service
collaborate on education efforts; co-sponsor Tu B'ishvat
(similar to Arbor Day) celebrations of life; and promote
conservation education programs for school children
in urban and suburban areas. Some of these programs
have enabled students in both Israel and the United
States to test water quality in streams, rivers, lakes
and coastal areas. Students join participants worldwide
in collecting and entering their data into the World
Water Monitoring Day website. In the process, they
learn about the importance of water, water quality,
and its relationship to healthy forests.
- Research
-- A number of research initiatives have been generated
by the partnership between the Jewish National Fund
and the USDA Forest Service over the past 18 years.
The results of these initiatives are often helpful
to both agencies in improving their management techniques.
Recent and active research programs in Israel are
focused on tree improvement, wildlife habitat management,
recreation management and water monitoring.
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B)
Jordan
Protected
Area Management -- The USDA Forest Service partners
with the Royal
Society for the Conservation of Nature, a long established
non-governmental organization that manages nature reserves
while promoting socio-economic development within the
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. In 2004 and 2005, three
technical teams from the USDA Forest Service traveled
to Jordan to provide assistance in developing a management
plan in the Dibbeen Forest, one of the last unspoiled
pine-oak habitats in the Near East. USDA Forest Service
technical teams worked with Royal
Society for the Conservation of Nature ecologists
and managers in forest inventory techniques and in creating
a recreation plan for public use. Additional teams are
collaborating with the Royal
Society for the Conservation of Nature on sustainable
planning strategies for this unique area, with a focus
on conservation activities that also promote socio-economic
needs of local communities. The collaboration is focused
on fostering community based economic initiatives in
Dibbeen that include eco-tourism, nature-based crafts,
grazing and non-timber forest products. Additionally,
USDA Forest Service has sponsored Jordanian participation
in the International
Seminar on Protected Area Management.
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C)
Lebanon
A
technical assessment team sponsored by the USDA Forest
Service traveled to Lebanon in February, 2005 to identify
collaborative opportunities and partnerships to strengthen
and promote agency objectives and programs. Team discussions
and site visits focused on 1) assessing current capabilities
in watershed, recreation/tourism, and forest management;
2) identifying local level actions that can improve
management and ensure sustainability of Lebanon's water
and forest resource base; and 3) evaluating where USFS
expertise could strengthen in-country capacities. The
technical assessment team included a research hydrologist,
a specialist in recreation/tourism and forest management,
and a USDA Forest Service staff member. As a result
of this visit, USDA Forest Service will provide further
technical assistance in protected area management and
has entered into discussions with USAID/Lebanon on how
to provide further support to USAID program implementers
on the topics above. Additionally, USDA Forest Service
has sponsored Lebanese participants to attend the International
Seminar on Protected Area Management and the International
Seminar on Forest Administration and Management.
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Partners
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