With rare fuel, Yemen’s forest is the next victim of war

Khamis Banisaad: Yemen Lumbajack Ali al-Emadi spent hours cutting the Acacia tree with ax because his 12-year-old niece helped split the log.
In a tiring country by war, Emadi had to turn to enter in the northern Al-Mahweet region to make a living.
The collapse of the economy has destroyed agricultural work and the building he used to tour the country.
But with demand for firewood soaring because of the shortage of fuel, there are now concerns that the country’s humanitarian crisis, with millions facing starvation, has exacerbated the risk of deforestation, threatens the Yemeni environment and expectations of long-term livelihoods for men like emptiness.
“Bakery owner …
Use wood and stones to heat their ovens.
In the past, they used to use gas, but now there are only wood,” Emadi said.
“Should there be a number of wood available, we make a living, thank God.
But at this time a rare tree,” said the seven Father.
“If I get something, we eat.
At least we live or die together.” More than six years of war between the recognized government supported by the Saudi LED coalition and the Houthi movement which was in harmony with Iran had killed tens of thousands of people and left 80% of Yemen’s population depending on assistance.
Fuel’s shortage of coalition blockade in areas held by Houthi, including limiting access to the main port of Hodeidah, has led business and family to exchanging diesel and gas for firewood.
Alliance said the blockade was needed to thwart the smuggling of weapons.
The tree revoked around 886,000 trees lowered every year to feed a bakery and restaurant in the capital Sanaa alone, said Abdullah Abul-Futuh, head of biodiversity and natural reserves in the Yemeni environmental protection authority in the city, which was carried out by most of the authorities.
North Yemen.
About 5 million trees have been cut down for the past three years in the north, he said.
“It is equivalent to 213 square kilometers (82 square kilometers) forests, knowing that only 3.3% of the total area of ​​Yemen is classified as forest,” said Abul-Futuh.
Authority cannot provide a comparative number, say this is a recent phenomenon.
After the gas was found in the Marib area in the 1980s, wood cutting was limited to remote areas but the war had strangled Yemen’s energy output, forcing first dependence on imports and now on wood from trees is usually used to build a house.
Yemen has a little forest but a variety of relatively rich flora in the area of ​​the Arabian peninsula that produces oil.
In Al-Mahweet, known for a thick canopy, several types of acacia, cedar and spread spread.
Lumberjacks who have a way to buy acacia trees from landowners with an equivalent of around $ 100 and then sell logs to traders who send them to cities.
A 5-ton truck loaded with log nets is equivalent to $ 300- $ 700 in Sanaa, depending on the wood and distance of Uulage.
“The request depends on the number of fuel vessels that make it a Hogreaid port.
These days (demand) are very high,” said Logger Sulaiman Jubran, which scratched a living that sells firewood to visit traders.
“We are afraid that the country will be a desert, it has happened …
You no longer see trees that have ever covered the mountains,” he said.
Forest mostly private property and poor families are traditionally permitted to cut wood for free as long as they only cut branches and avoid stems for regeneration.
“Now, we revoke it with Mattocks (pickaxe) …
Nothing left,” Emadi said.