AMMAN —
Snowfall, not habitual to Jordan’s
climate, was much anticipated and brought excitement and joy to many, but it
also brought a slew of unfortunate incidents, hazards to lives and property, and expansive damage to trees, most
unfortunately to decades-old trees in the Al-Hussein Youth City premises, where
an estimated 1,500 trees fell victim to the blizzard as it wiped out a considerable
amount of existing green spaces.
اضافة اعلان
Minister of Agriculture Khaled Hneifat and
Minister of Youth Mohammad Nabulsi were at the Youth City on Saturday to inspect
the full extent of the damage on the forest areas that were affected by high
winds and heavy snow.
According to Nabulsi, the ministries of youth
and agriculture are steering their efforts and resources to address the harm on
the City’s green spaces.
Nabulsi said a campaign, sponsored by the
government, will soon be launched in collaboration with youth initiatives to
plant some 5,000 trees in the City’s premises to refurbish the forest
areas.
Spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture
Lawrence Majali told
Jordan News, that
the exact number of trees that have been damaged across the country remains
undetermined at present, and the full extent of losses are still being surveyed
by the Ministry. “It is also difficult to pinpoint an exact estimate of the
financial losses incurred,” he said
Majali said that sports facilities and densely
forested areas were particularly vulnerable to the recent severe weather
conditions. He said the ministry is working in close collaboration with the
Greater Amman Municipality to trim broken branches and restore affected areas.”
With weather reports forecasting more cold
fronts in February, Majali said that the Ministry “will be prepared for any
challenge.” He said the ministry has an emergency department that responds to
emergency conditions and is fully equipped with the necessary machinery.
“When we look at the impact of harsh weather
on trees and on forests, I prefer to assess the damage in terms of years rather
than money, as some of the forest trees that were damaged last week have been
standing for over fifty-five years. Replacing these trees will cost a lot of time” said environmentalist and head of
Dibbeen for Environmental Development, Hala Murad.
According to Murad, the Ministry of
Agriculture has received over 700 complaints about fallen trees. In previous
storms, areas like Ajloun and west Irbid were most affected, but in this storm,
Amman was impacted the most.
Greater Amman Municipality media spokesperson
Nasser Rahamneh affirmed that the municipality has been working diligently
since Saturday to lift off damaged trees, especially those obstructing streets
and pathways. “We have resolved nearly 95 percent of the problem,” he said.
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