Cedar of Lebanon on the Red List!
Feb 2009
An undated handout picture released by the press office of the Shouf Cedar Nature Reserve on February 2, 2009 shows snow covering a cedar tree in the Baruk forest in the mountainous Shouf area southeast of Beirut.
Lebanon’s majestic cedar trees have withstood the test of time for centuries but ‘climate change’ is threatening the country’s most treasured symbol. Or rather: Man’s destruction of the expansive forests of Lebanon and the subsequent effects of a heating climate now threaten the last remaining – pathetically small – cedar stands with drought and extinction.
Used by various civilisations throughout history for their strong and durable wood, Lebanon’s last remaining cedars are now on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s ‘Red List’ as a ‘heavily threatened’ species.
