DUBAI, May 16: Twisting out of the sand in the piping heat of the Arabian Peninsula is one of nature’s toughest trees.
Known for its coarse bark and green canopy that provides rare shade from the sweltering sun, the ghaf tree is considered a steadfast survivor of the brutal desert.
But climate change, groundwater overuse, excessive woodcutting and increased camel grazing are threatening the ghaf’s existence, environmentalists say.
The World Wildlife Fund and the Emirates Wildlife Society are fighting back — launching a campaign to save the ghaf. They hope increased awareness will convince the Emirates’ government to declare it the country’s national tree.
“It should result in greater respect for the tree from the public,” said Rashmi de Roy of the WWF’s Dubai office.
The WWF has set up a website where the public can learn about the ghaf, buy ghaf seedlings and register their support. The groups also hope to designate protected ghaf woodlands across the Emirates and plant 100 ghaf trees in a protected part of Abu Dhabi in September. “The campaign will be finished when we succeed in getting government approval for the ghaf tree to be formally declared the national tree of the UAE,” de Roy said.
The ghaf tree, which is also found in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, is an essential part of the fragile desert ecosystem, the groups say. Its wood can be used for fuel, its fruit for food and its flowers and bark are said to have medicinal qualities.
Birds built their nests in the tree’s large canopies, and the desert eagle owl, brown-necked ravens, gazelles and hares used the ghaf for shelter, de Roy said. Gerbils burrowed among its roots, she added.
It has long survived in the harsh desert climate here —where temperatures soar to more than 50 degrees Celsius —and can cope with long periods of drought and poor soil. To extract groundwater stored deep below the surface, the tree’s roots stretch as far as 30m into the soil.—AP
