If you visit the countryside near the city of Damascus, you observe the markets for the sale of wood for heating. Prices vary depending on the type of wood and the price of a kilogram of apricot wood reaches 60 Syrian pounds, while wood nuts is sold at a price of 40 Syrian pounds and governorate Deraa, the price of olive wood reached 35 Syrian pounds. You could watch the trees cut down and if you wanted cut alone, the price per kilo fall to 15 Syrian pounds. And when I asked the seller why the wood of the apricot is more expensive than other wood, he said he leaves little ash in the fireplace is more demand for this type of wood and the not other wood. Unfortunately I was not able to know the prices in the rest of the provinces.
Recent studies seek to preserve the environment integrated environmental systems (forest agricultural integration systems), the best of these systems are those that were available in the Ghouta in Damascus. This system has contributed in the past to preserve the soil and improve the local climate in a dry environment (the amount of rainfall in the city of Damascus does not exceed 200 mm per year), it has also helped to ensure the needs of the population relative to various agricultural crops, forests and grazing for livestock, besides the production of honey and obtaining more aromatic and medicinal materials for family use.
This system is one of the oldest forest farming systems in dry zones known in the world, there are advantages and multiple functions and is rooted in the lives of people in the Damascus region, the inhabitants of the whole campaign like those of the city, because of the social and economic close relationship that binds them to this system.
And taking into account the area that covers it, this system is considered the lungs of the city of Damascus that ensures its oxygen, purify the atmosphere of carbon dioxide and reduces dust generated from surrounding dry regions. It is also considered a popular place for the comfort of the inhabitants of the region.
In recent years, given the over-exploitation of groundwater, invasion of buildings, forestry and the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides to an unbalanced way, we see the crack this system, such as groundwater becomes scarce, polluted and good land for agriculture regress, which influenced negatively on the effectiveness of this system in the protection of the environment and the dust of different car emissions , factories and homes in a harsh environment, dry, cold and dusty.
It is necessary to keep this system for the environmental, economic, social and entertainment that guarantees the population of the city of Damascus and its countryside. This requires the protection of trees and existing natural shrubs.
