The municipality of Fneideq has called for more state support in combatting illegal tree felling. (Credit: Michel Hallak/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — The municipality of the Akkar village of Fneideq has called on the state to take action against illegal logging “before it’s too late,” L’Orient Today’s correspondent in the area reported Wednesday.
Here’s what we know:
• According to our correspondent, the municipality’s complaint follows the sighting of an unidentified person cutting down trees in a forest on the side of the Fneideq–Al-Qamoua highway,
• In its statement, the municipality said that for “more than a year” it has been “crying out and appealing to the consciences of those responsible for protecting these forests,” but little has been done to stop illegal logging. The statement goes on to contend that those in charge seem to be “cooperating with this gang that cuts down trees and sells them for profit, in broad daylight and under the pretext of ‘we want to stay warm.’”
• The municipality condemned the lack of action against illegal logging, claiming “the relevant security services are capable of tracking this gang one by one, and with conclusive evidence that condemns their heinous acts.” The municipality called on “the state, with all its agencies, and the Public Prosecution in particular” to combat illegal tree cutting.
• Illegal logging has been a long-standing issue in Lebanon, particularly following wildfires that set many hillsides ablaze, particularly in the Aoudine Valley of Akkar, last summer. In addition, as the cost of heating fuel rose following the removal of state subsidies last year, many people turned to wood as an alternative heating source, leading to a rise in the illegal felling of trees.
• Speaking to L’Orient Today in February, Agriculture Minister Abbas Hajj Hassan, whose administration is responsible for overseeing forestry said that there are “hundreds” of illegal logging complaints filed to his ministry, but the lack of resources and funding doesn’t allow for reparations.