Shafaq News/ Day after day, Mosul's forests recede, the number of trees decline, and the lung of the city and its main source of oxygen is stifled to demise.
The forests of Mosul, one of the city's most beautiful tourist destinations, were established on the city's left coast in 1954 and were named after the "Al-Hadba Minaret".
These forests include different types of trees such as eucalyptus, elms, pines, and other species that grow in the city's climate.
In just one month, three fires broke out in the forests of Mosul. Many bloggers and activists wrote about the issue on social media, demanding the relevant authorities to save the rest of those forests. Many citizens complained, "Once you stand at the entrances of the Mosul forests, you will witness the scenes of misery and drought. The forests are dilapidated by the repercussions of the war against ISIS and the lack of care."
Engineer Zaid Ahmed, the forestry division official, stated, "The division suffers from a terrible shortage of personnel. Four hundred workers used to work in the forest. After 2017, only 12 workers remained."
Ahmed added, "In addition to the shortage of personnel, the division has lost all agricultural machinery and has only a small tractor and a small bulldozer left. We are trying as hard as I can to preserve the forests with this minimal potential."
"The forests are infested with war remnants, and organizations are working to clear them. So far, an area of 50 dunums have been cleared and forested," he continued, "In the years following the liberation of Mosul, 21,000 trees have been planted, but forests need more. The forests are not entirely municipal, 80 of which were lost after the Directorate of Education legally challenged the municipality and proved that the land is theirs. So, the remaining forest that belongs to the municipality is only 275 dunums, i.e., Less than 20%."
For his part, Mosul's governor stated, "the cause of the fires is the lack of an integrated irrigation system. Inventories had been prepared to equip the Forestry Division with a modern irrigation system."
"The municipality is seeking to create new forests in Mosul and surround the city with a green belt to reduce the dirt winds that sweep through the city every now and then. Although these are among the municipality's priorities, it is working per the financial allocations and what is available," he added.
Hussam Khalil, Director-General of Civil Defense in Nineveh, said, "This year, 15 fires in the forest area were reported. However, the civil defense successfully controlled them all, including the last three fires."
"In all the 15 fires, civil defense teams have succeeded in reducing the expansion of fire within the forest," Khalil added.
Regarding the causes, he stated, "Negligence is the main cause. The directorate has not recorded any signs of arson as some doubts have been raised during the past period."
Director-General of Nineveh's Civil Defense concluded, "Thick bushes and weeds cause these fires; cigarette stubs are another reason."
