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Editorial
Provost Ahmad Dallal
The Newsletter of Ibsar, the Nature Conservation Center for Sustainable Futures
Ibsar exemplifies several key initiatives that we are committed to advance at AUB. Its research has a social impact on both the region and the country. While remaining sensitive to the needs of society, Ibsar simultaneously delivers high quality, original research, and Ibsar faculty members and students have been able to cultivate impressive research agendas. These Ibsar affiliates volunteer to do work of manifest social impact; they come from different disciplines, and by pooling their resources together they are able to maximize the impact of their work, but also broaden their intellectual horizons and produce high quality research. President Dorman and I are committed to support and advance the work of units that combine research and social impact. My hope is that Ibsar can add to its advocacy of nature conservation an explicit educational and teaching component that is already implicit in its work. In the future, it is also conceivable that Ibsar becomes a degree granting program or have links with such programs, thereby providing students with the theoretical and vocational skills that will enable them to deal with real life problems related to nature conservation.
Layal Jradi ©
No.29
To reiterate, Ibsar exemplifies some of the best possibilities that we hope to actualize at AUB. Whether examining the medicinal application of traditional knowledge in the treatment of cancer, or monitoring and conserving biodiversity, the need for Ibsar’s work is self-evident. Moreover, Ibsar and sister units like the Center for Civic Engagement and Community Service, are embodiments of the commitment of AUB to serve our regions. Thanks to units like Ibsar, service is no longer a sideshow or extramural volunteer work, but is now part of the daily business of our institution. Cutting-edge research – indeed, the best research – applies the highest academic standards to real life problems, in the hope of finding sustainable solution to these problems. Units like Ibsar, that dedicate themselves to this mission, will undeniably play an increasing role in shaping the education of future generations of students.
Every year, Ibsar, contributes to an event known as “Days of Science,” or Ayam Al Ouloum. Arranged by the Ministry of Culture at the Beirut Hippodrome, “Days of Science” aims at popularizing nature-based scientific experiements. Ibsar’s participation in Days of Science in October 2010 was through “Nature Lab,” which focused on emphasizing biodiversity through experimental science. The year 2010 was dubbed the year of Biodiversity by the United Nations, and thus Nature Lab was accurately able to portray the importance of biodiversity in the community. Marwa Adawi, former Ibsar administrator and Nature Lab coordinator, remarked that “for this very reason, Ibsar plans to focus on bringing Nature to the Science Laboratory.” The volunteers performed experiments that were prepared by AUB students for the IBDAA event which is held every year on the International Biodiversity Day at AUB (May 22nd). Children were fascinated by the different sciences present while adults gained useful knowledge about environmental awareness. Biology Junior and volunteer, Nada Sadek, explained how the event helped stir people’s perceptions about the usefulness of natural products. The “Hot Box,” for example, is an experiment which employs chemicals as a heating source instead of other potentially environmentally harmful sources of heat, Sadek explained. Other experiments performed included: Chromatography, Air Purifier, Acid Attack, Sage not Rage, Composting, Medicine Box Photo Album, Light and Enlighten, Biodegradable Planting Pot, and Oily hair.
The various volunteers delegated the work among them and were able to enjoy the experience alongside the audience. Volunteer Rana El-Jarrah said, “It was a lot of work planning, but it was fun and definitely worth it,” adding a few words of appreciation for the work Ibsar is doing.
AUB Student ©
Days of Science - Nature Lab
Lojine Kamel
Biology Junior Christopher Khoury, on the other hand, commended the big audience received and stated that “it was a very family-oriented exhibition – we catered to all ages.” Adawi also expressed her enthusiasm at the reaction of audience members in light of the experiments, saying “Live performances helped in attracting an audience of various ages and educational backgrounds to our tent, thanks to our enthusiastic team-spirited volunteers who worked really hard and gave their best during this event.” Adawi emphasized the importance of Days of Science in protecting Nature while at the same time benefiting from it. She stated, “There are many things that we can do at AUB besides studying and working, something new and different like bringing science into practice and volunteering with Ibsar for the spread of knowledge.” It is through programs and events like Ibsar’s Nature lab that students can truly take part in the scientific community, sharing their knowledge and raising awareness, be it 2
environmental or otherwise, onto the Lebanese people. Remarking on this notion, Adawi expressed her hope in Ibsar’s continuous participation in Days of Science so that more experiments can be created, more knowledge disseminated and a wider range of audience reached. In an effort to stimulate public awareness about a broad range of controversial topics concerning Nature Conservation, Ibsar hosted a series of lectures at AUB, entitled “Ta3a Ne7ke,” or “Let’s Talk.” The first debate, “Is our Natural Language Threatened by New Technology?” tackled the impact of technology on the development of native language. The lecture was led by AUB professors Drs. Lina Choueiri, Nidal Najjar, Tamar Kabakian, Mazen Al Ghoul, and moderated by Dr. Jad Melki. Both Drs. Choueiri and Al Ghoul believe the internet to have a positive impact. While Kabakian favored a negative standpoint, Najjar adopted a socio-behavioral one. The speakers then concluded that technological advancement and the subsequent dependence on it were irreversible, so much so that our adaptation to our surroundings and functioning in today’s society is dependent upon it.
Layal Jradi ©
Ta3a Ne7ke
Lojine Kamel
The second debate, “The Art of Healing: Western or Alternative Medicine,” boasted an impressive audience and panel, consisting of Mrs. Farida Khizam, Drs. Fuad Ziyadeh, Jamal Hoballah, Edmond Ibrahim, and moderated by Dr. Hala Mohtaseb. The panel was divided, with Dr. Ziyadeh and Dr. Hoballah strongly supporting Western Medicine and Dr. Ibrahim and Mrs. Khizam preferring Alternative Medicine Khizam believed that treating a certain person should involve him/her as a whole, his/her psyche, emotions, and physical body. According to her, that comprises a real treatment. Ziyadeh concluded his own segment with a quote by the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins: “There is no alternative medicine. There is only medicine that works and medicine that doesn’t work.” The third debate was entitled “Who’s Responsible for the Indifferent Destruction of Lebanon’s Nature? The Media, People, Environmentalist Groups, or the Government?” The event was mediated by AUB Landscape Professor Dr. Salma Talhouk, while the panel consisted of Ms. Sobhiya Najjar, Mr. Mazen Abboud, Dr. Jad Melki, and Dr. Rima Nakkash. Introducing the topic at hand, Dr. Talhouk remarked: “We have many newspapers and news stations, yet a population that is highly destructive to nature.” 3
The panel reacted with mixed views; while Najjar and Aboud blamed media outlets and the government for the lack of environmental awareness, Melki and Nakkash believed it to be a combination of different factors. Melki, in accordance with Najjar, particularly emphasized this point, stating: “Journalists are an easy target – If they can’t understand what you’re saying, find an alternative understandable way to present your info.” Aboud maintained that the public should always be aware of the origin of their media outlet, asserting that “behind every media station there is a political warlord.” The last debate, “Can Green Business Protect Nature,” was moderated by Chemistry professor and Ibsar Director Dr. Najat A. Saliba. The panel consisted of Mr. Nizar Hani, Dr. Jad Chaaban, Dr. Hassan Machlab, and Ms. Maya Abboud. The panelists were divided between those in favor of green business and in support of an environmentally aware business plan, and those believing businesses to be more detrimental to nature than possessing a positive impact. While Hani, Abboud, and Machlab actively supported green business in the role of environmental protection, Chaaban fervently disagreed,“We need to move from a culture of consumers to a culture of protection,” he said. The final consensus emphasized the importance of individual consumers becoming environmentally aware themselves.
Mohamad Medawar ©
The “Ta3a Ne7ke” lecture series successfully generated an outpour of conversation, achieving Ibsar’s aim of courting controversial topics to the public. Further, the underlying theme of the entire series concerned society’s collective hope to achieve sustainability not just in issues dealing with the environment, green businesses, social welfare, and medicine, but in all beneficial aspects of life.
Food & Biodiversity
Farah Aridi
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Ibsar organized an open poster forum for AUB community during which faculty, research assistants, and students from AUB and the University of Ottawa, Canada, presented their preliminary findings following two years of field research within the context of a project entitled “Food and Health in Rural Lebanon.” The interdisciplinary team follows an ecosystem approach to human health, known as Ecohealth, and works closely with the communities of Aarsal, Batloun, and Kwakh, all of which are villages constituting the focus of this three-year project. The open forum included contributions from over 12 disciplines that addressed topics such as cultural, economic, and dietary benefits of local foods and rural lifestyles, exploring possibilities for introducing healthy eating habits among the youth, promoting food safety by investigating traditional methods of food production, determining the impact and potentials of natural resources and their value and use to communities, using a landscape approach to propose local solutions and engaging AUB community to respond to local needs.
Miriam Mattouk Š
Among the visitors to the forum were President Peter Dorman, Provost Ahmad Dallal, and Dean Patrick McGreevy. The Provost thanked the participants for their work and emphasized the importance of such projects that involve teams of faculty and students and make room for social impact on communities without affecting research quality. Following the poster forum, the research partners, faculty, students, and research assistants convened a three-hour retreat and discussed ways to further integrate research activities and relay findings to the communities. This proved to be a very much needed exercise where participants were able to deliberately bring in their field experience, share, and integrate their findings in view of a more holistic outcome. Ibsar launched its program Nature ConVersation or 3al Tabi3a, which is funded by the Coca-Cola Foundation at the Agriculture Department at AUB. During the launching ceremony, the program was officially announced and its objectives and methodologies discussed with participating schools.
Dima Ousta Š
Nature ConVersation
Farah Aridi
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Nature ConVersation is a two-year program which seeks to produce a set of extracurricular activities which enable schools to contribute to nature conservation with their students through networking with other schools, civic engagement, and experiential learning. By the end of the two years, the program expects to engage a total of 22 public and private Lebanese schools, and an estimated 2,160 students. A discussion between various participating parties about the various activities done within this program followed a brief session of introductions. Negative and positive effects as well as modest triumphs and challenges were exchanged.
Fall Tree Planting Activities
Compiled by Farah Aridi
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The students, aside from engaging in nature oriented activities, were able to mingle, work, and have fun alongside children from a different socioeconomic background than their own. In so doing, a mild cultural exchange, on a small scale, takes place between the two different groups. Not only will the children learn how to cooperate and accept the other and their natural surroundings, but they will also become more welcoming and more liberated towards doing so.
Miriam Mattouk ©
The discussion entailed briefings and praise of various activities which represented schools have been engaging their students with through Ibsar. These activities included tree planting, spring cleaning and watering, weeding, trail rehabilitation, photography, mural walls, and mosaic benches.
For the past three years, Ibsar’s Power of Planting program has successfully initiated the “Seeds of Hope, Trees for Tomorrow” campaign which aims at developing new techniques and methodologies as well as collecting information about tree planting and the native trees in Lebanon. The aim of this program is to share the acquired information with the public and conserve the sustainability of tree planting in arid regions. Ibsar’s third planting season officially started on October 16th and included various tree planting trips in various areas in Lebanon with the help of AUB volunteers and the locals of the different villages visited which included: Fneydek, Chinai, Niha, Barouk, Rihan, Dar al Ahmar, Miniara, and Damour. The Center for Civic Engagement and Community Services (CCECS) at AUB was able to mobilize AUB students to participate in these events as well as in other naturerelated activities at Ibsar. Fneydek was first contacted in 2008 and given seedlings for the planting season. Fneydek is well known for its massive production of apples. However, it is also among the poorest and economically marginalized villages in Lebanon. Two planting sites were supposed to be visited but due to some technical inconveniences, the planting
took place in an abandoned public garden with the help of the locals who were very hospitable. The species planted in the public garden were Redbuds (Cercis siliquastrum), wild almond (Prunus dulcis), and three-lobed crabapple (Malus trilobata). In Chinai, the planting site is now named and treated as a reserve by the municipality. The municipality took the initiative of digging 200 planting holes before the arrival of Ibsar and supplied watertrucks. Locals and neighbors from nearby villages participated in the planting of 200 seeds supplied by Ibsar. The species planted were Montpellier maples (Acer monspessulanum L. ssp. microphyllum), Amara wild almonds (Prunus dulcis ssp. amara), and a handful of Lebanese cedars.
AUB Student ©
Planting in a rainy season can affect a seed’s full penetration of the soil as wet soil will act as a “virtual clay pot” hindering the free spread and firmness of the plant’s roots in the soil. By conducting some research, Ibsar was able to produce a new technology called Seedling Boxes which will enable the healthy growth of roots at a low cost. In Niha, the municipality received around 900 trees, but the aim was to plant as many as needed only. The importance of tree planting in semi-arid regions resides in the continuity, sustainability, and survival of the planted trees. Therefore, it was crucial that every tree be planted with care and consideration of the nature of the area in which it is planted as well as the care it is to be given so as to ensure its survival. During the said visit to Niha, 300 trees were planted with the help of volunteers and locals. The species planted were stone pines (Pinus pinea), wild pears (Pyrus syriacus), nettle trees (Celtis australis), myrtles (Myrtus communis), and Kermes oak (Quercus coccifera). Ibsar’s fourth visit was to the Barouk village (the Barouk Cedar Reserve) along with Lebanese writer and activist Zena El-Khalil who has approached Ibsar a few years ago with a gesture of a personal nature. Seeing that El-Khalil’s idea was beneficial to the environment and in line with Ibsar’s objectives to enrich and sustain the greenery in Lebanon, Ibsar organized the said visit to Barouk. With Ibsar’s help two different planting events were organized and included AUB volunteers, Ibsar members, ElKhalil’s friends, and Animal’s Lebanon NGO, during which 200 Montpellier maples (Acer monspessulanum) were planted and 200 others were planted, ranging from Brant’s oaks (Quecus ithaburensis), wild pears (Pyrus syriacus), and wild apples (Malus trilobata). The village of Rihan is well-known, according to its Mayor, for its natural and cultural heritage and wide traditional use of wild edible and medicinal plants. Out of 600 seedlings received by the municipality, the volunteers who accompanied Ibsar team
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Miriam Mattouk Š
to Rihan successfully planted around 200. The seedlings received included Judas trees (Cercis siliquastrum), Strawberry trees (Arbutus andrachne), Syrian pear (Pyrus syriacus), and Stone pines (Pinus pinea).
The village of Dhar Al Ahmar is located near the famous town of Rachaya below Mt. Hermon, known as Jabal al Sheikh in Arabic. During Ibsar’s visit to this village nearly 200 seedlings were planted with the help of 16 volunteers and some AUB alumni. The species of trees planted included Nettle trees (Celtis australis), Levantine pistachio or Terebinth (Pistacia palaestina), Kermes oak (Quercus coccifera), and Turkey oak (Quercus cerris).
The last village visited during that period was Miniara. It is worthy to note that out of all villages which have received seedlings in 2008, Miniara is the only village which has successfully planted all seedlings it has received. Various visits have been made to these villages. In total, the number of seedlings successfully planted in Miniara reached 300. The species of trees planted included approximately 60 Judas trees (Cercis siliquastrum), 60 Syrian maples (Acer obtusifolium), and about 30 nettle trees (Celtis australis) by volunteers and IC students who accompanied Ibsar during its visit to the village. An additional number of 150 trees were later successfully planted by the municipality. 8
As part of the program Nature ConVerSation and Ibsar’s collaboration with schools from different regions in Lebanon, Miriam Mattouk, project coordinator, and Wassim Kays, field coordinator, have incorporated art and creativity in Ibsar’s campaign for nature conservation. Art, in its various expressive forms, has the ability to address various topics and reach out to many, including the youth. The benches and the murals are not mere beautification tools, or distinct colorful canvas. Rather, they are both living pieces of art each with its own story. The collaborative effort, talent, and creativity, with which they were all created, make out an inspiring tale to be told and a collective accomplishment to be proud of.
Wassim Kays ©
In the village of Barouk, students from Barouk School and the American Community School (ACS) in Beirut, aided by AUB volunteers and Ibsar members, have successfully enjoyed transforming an abandoned wall in Barouk School into a beautiful tree or forest painting. Blending in with the green surrounding the school, while at the same time stressing the spirit and significance of trees and their preservation, the mural also encouraged the spirit of community among the participating children. The creation of the mural wall constitutes the first step in beatifying the natural environment in which we live, complementing in so doing, its conservation. This acrivity was supported by Tinol. The mosaic benches were created under the supervision of Wassim Kays who accompanied the participants step by step through the procedure and process of creating a mosaic bench. With collaboration with students from the village of Aarsal and Ain Zebde, as well as the American Community School (ACS), Ibsar was able to build and decorate four mosaic benches bringing the joyous blend of art and nature into the Bekaa. This activity was supported by Lecico and Al-Maha Ceramics.
Miriam Mattouk ©
Ibsar’s Art: Mosaic Benches and Murals
Farah Aridi
Through these experiences and many other nature-related activities carried out within Nature ConVersation, Ibsar is opening venues for communication and “conversation” between the youth and nature through art. The sense of creation, innovation, achievement, and community gained through such activities would help raise awareness towards the conservation of one’s direct environment, in the least, while at the same time allowing them a “new,” convenient, beneficial, and practical space to express themselves. 9
Miriam Mattouk ©
IC donates 555 worth of Trees
Farah Aridi
The International College (IC) has been collaborating with Ibsar on a variety of activities, engaging its students with hands-on experience in nature, be it tree planting, spring cleaning and watering, weeding, or trail rehabilitation. Working in and with nature for the benefit of their society, participating students were enthusiastic about contributing to the conservation and beautification of their environment, on the one hand, and enjoying the sense of achievement they have been able to get in return, on the other.
The significance of this donation lies in the direct involvement of children in an activity aimed at conserving and respecting nature since the money collected would be used for tree planting. 10
Miriam Mattouk ©
On March 22nd, 2011, Middle School students at IC donated 5,400,000 L.L. to Ibsar, worth 555 trees. IC has engaged its students in an optional game whose outcome was directly returned to Ibsar. A certain amount of money was collected from participating students and a Question and Answer game was created by Ibsar. The game was circulated at school, with students asking each other questions. Each child later took the game home and shared it with his/her family. Every wrong answer necessitated a certain amount of money to be donated. At the end of the game, all money collected by all participating students, was gathered and donated to Ibsar as a token of appreciation for the center’s efforts and encouragement for future activities. With proud smiley faces, the students welcomed Dr. Salma Talhouk who in return offered the students a thank you certificate for their kind donation. The students were proudly dressed with customized T-shirts which read: “Plant For the Planet,” and “Trees for Climate Justice.”
Miriam Mattouk ©
Fall 2010 brought several exciting changes to Ibsar, one of which was the change in its location. This past semester, Ibsar’s main office has been relocated to Bliss Street, on the 6th floor of Demachkieh Building. Dr. Najat A. Saliba, Ibsar Director and AUB Chemistry Professor, believes that AUB activities should not stand confined within AUB walls, stressing the importance of moving into near-campus location in influencing “some sustainable practices.” However, Dr. Saliba remarked, “Our presence in a building on the 6th floor is contradictory to our mission of being the guardians of Nature and we will work very hard with the administration to establish an office that reflects our image and teachings.”
Miriam Mattouk ©
Ibsar on Bliss Street
Lojine Kamel
Ibsar’s mission is to promote the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity for the purpose of enhancing the wellbeing of people and nature by providing an open innovative and collaborative platform. This mission is achieved through research, education, community outreach, and knowledge dissemination. Ibsar functions under the vision of establishing itself as a recognized reference center for the study and sustainable use of dry land biodiversity.
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Send your news, articles, and editorial comments to Ibsar@aub.edu.lb. Visit the Ibsar website at www.Ibsar.org. Edited by Dr. Najat Aoun Saliba and Farah Aridi Designed by Layal Jradi Š 2011
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