by Hana Namrouqa JORDAN TIMES

AMMAN — Mosque and church goers will leave on Friday with tree saplings to plant in their gardens under a campaign to raise awareness about challenges facing the country’s forests.

Volunteers will distribute 8,000 saplings to people in the Amman, Mafraq, Salt, Karak and Ajloun governorates as they leave mosques and churches following noon prayers and masses, organisers said on Wednesday.

The campaign is organised by the Jordan Green Building Council (JGBC) in cooperation with the Forestry Department, the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature and a group of volunteers from several governorates, according to JGBC Outreach and Marketing Officer Sulaf Mubaideen.

“Under the campaign, thousands of saplings of wild almond trees will be distributed to mosque and church goers as well as stickers bearing the logo of the For a Green Jordan Campaign,” Mubaideen told The Jordan Times.

“The trees will be distributed to support and sustain efforts seeking to protect the country’s forests from further degradation.”

Launched last month, the For a Green Jordan Campaign calls for approving an already-formulated national forestry strategy and a new agriculture law that protects forests from destruction.

Campaign organisers urged the Lower House to give urgency status to both to stop rising violations against the country’s shrinking woodlands.

“This initiative comes to symbolise the significant role each individual could play in greening our country. Imagine how Jordan would look like if each citizen planted one tree every year!” JGBC Chairman Mohammad Asfour said.

“We are proud of the positive cooperation between the public sector, the NGO community and youths who are working together as one team. More initiatives of this sort will, for sure, make Jordan a better place for all,” Asfour added.

Illegal logging during winter, wild fires during summer and insufficient rain due to climate change are the main threats to Jordan’s shrinking green cover, which stands at less than 1 per cent of the country’s total landscape, according to experts.

Official figures indicate that forestry department rangers seized and confiscated more than 52 trucks loaded with trees heading towards Amman between mid-November and mid-January.

NOTE BY THE EDITOR: They have good intentions, however, just to ‘hand out’ saplings does not ensure its correct planting. I think the mosque- and church-goers need help to actually plant the trees correctly to ensure success.

In this file photo people leave King Hussein Mosque in western Amman after attending Friday prayers