| 22 Jun 2010 |
|
Nature Reserves Maintain Biodiversity, Activate Ecotourism in Tartous
- Text size
Tartous - Nature reserves play an important role in achieving sustainable development and preserving the stability and balance of the environment in the coastal Syrian Province of Tartous.
They also provide a suitable environment for conducting scientific research and protecting the biological diversity in addition to investing the marginal lands in addition to developing tourism industry in Tartous.
Tartous Province is famous for its natural and artificial forests which extend over the western cliff of the coastal mountains as the Province embraces four nature reserves; East al-Shaara, al-Nabi (Prophet) Matta, Qarkafti and al-Kahf (Cave) Forest.
Director of the Biological Diversity and Nature Reserve Department in Tartous Hiba Salhab said the reserves were established because they enjoy a biological diversity as they embrace various rare plants in addition to the fact that they are surrounded by several archeological monuments.
Salhab pointed out to the role of the reserves in activating ecotourism movement in a way that would preserve these natural areas.
She underlined the importance of these reserves in linking forests with each other and enhancing the environmental and preventive role of the forests in cleaning the air of pollutants and industrial gases.
"The reserves promote the public health of the locals and improve the vegetation cover through protecting the soil from water and air erosion and preventing torrents," she added.
Director of Tartous Forest Department Hassan Salih said that his department works on protecting nature reserves through providing all the required infrastructures and the qualified technical staff for achieving the hoped-for goals behind establishing these reserves.
Salih added "the reserve of 'East al-Sharaa' in al-Kadmous is 70 Kms away from the city center. It consists of mountainous hills. It was established for preserving oak and terebinth trees in addition to protecting rare plant species such as maple, Syrian pear, Fir trees and some species of oak trees."
The reserve also aims at increasing animal diversity in the area and protecting the perennial medical and seasonal plants in addition to qualifying the area for ecotourism and spreading awareness over the importance of forests.
Medical plants also grow in the reserve such as thyme, wild garlic, hyssop, dandelion, narcissus, Artemisia and lilies.
Al-Nabi Matta Nature Reserve is located in Dreikish area. It expands over an area of 650 hectares, 450 hectares of which are artificial forests and 200 hectares are planted with chestnut.
The reserve was established with the aim of preserving the mountainous ecosystem and the artificial forests in the area and protecting the endangered animals.
It enjoys a moderate temperature as the rate of rainfalls reaches 1800 millimeters annually. It includes several springs of pure water free of calcium. It is also surrounded by some important archeological sites such as 'Shiekh Deeb Castle', 'Bait al-Wadi Cave' and the archeological ' waterwheel'.
Qarkafti Nature Reserve was established in 1998 over an area of 41,0 hectares. The reserve aims at preventing soil erosion and torrents and preserving springs and water resources.
It also enhances sanitation and preserves the natural scene and the agricultural crops in the area.
Al-Kahf Forest reserve is a mountainous reserve surrounded by green valleys. At the center of the reserve there is an important archeological monument. The reserve was established for keeping the biological diversity and the wildlife in the area.
By Ruaa al-Jazaeri/Zahra
© SANA (Syria Arab News Agency) 2010
Zawya is a distributor (and not a publisher) of content supplied by third parties and subscribers. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers, or other information or content expressed or made available by those third parties, including information providers, subscribers or other users of the Service, are those of the respective author(s) or distributor(s) and not of the Company. The Company neither endorses nor is responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, advice or statement made on the Service by anyone other than authorized Service employee spokespersons while acting in their official capacities. The Company is not responsible for any infringement of intellectual property rights or breach of any applicable law or regulation, including regulation in relation to financial services or the distribution of financial products, defamation, data protection, telecommunications (including regulations relating to excessive use, spamming or other abusive activities) or obscene, offensive or illegal content). Under no circumstances will the Company be liable for any loss or damage caused by a member's reliance on information obtained through the Service. It is the responsibility of member to evaluate the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information, opinion, advice or other content available through the Service. Please seek the advice of professionals, as appropriate, regarding the evaluation of any specific information, opinion, advice or other content.
Read the full Member Agreement
http://www.zawya.com/legal/NewsLetter.cfm?name=disclaimer
Post a Comment
1.1 Contain any material which is libelous or defamatory of any person, is obscene, offensive, hateful or inflammatory or causes damage to the reputation of any person or organisation.
1.2 Promote sexually explicit material, violence, discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age or any illegal activity.
1.3 Be made in breach of any legal duty owed to a third party, such as a contractual duty or a duty of confidence.
1.4 Be threatening, abuse or invade another's privacy, or cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety.
1.5 Be used to impersonate any person, to misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person, or be likely to deceive any person.
1.6 Give the impression that they represent Zawya.
1.7 Advocate, promote or assist any unlawful act such as (by way of example only) copyright infringement or computer misuse.