ANALYSIS ...

its resources.”

- ‘Motivating’ -

“Before the fire, there was a dense forest here,” says 46-year-old Khlifa Jaidi, pointing at a rocky hill.

Reforestation is a crucial part of curbing erosion and fighting global warming -- trees capture carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, and transform it into oxygen.

But it’s also a way of creating local revenue. “People used to gather Aleppo pine seeds to make zgougou (a traditional dessert) and rosemary, sold for its essential oil,” adds Jaidi, a local guide from the nearby town of Kesra.

Forest fires, both deliberate and accidental, eat away at hundreds of hectares each year.

But the state is increasingly joining forces with local residents and its reforestation strategies seem to be paying off.

Forests and scrubland now cover more than 1.3 million hectares (over 3 million acres), or around 8.5 percent of the country, up from 7.4 percent in 2011, according to the directorate general for forests.

The aim is to reach 10 percent by 2024. Whether it’s post-fire reforestation or fighting desertification in the south by planting palms and olive trees, the task is enormous.

Nessim Zouaoui, 26, says he is sometimes discouraged.

“I spend most of my free time cleaning beaches and planting trees,” says the young entrepreneur and activist.

“But we just went to see a neighbouring plot where we worked in March and we realised that we had completely planted a forest. That’s really motivating!”Agence France-Presse