War, local powers are complicit in the destruction of Lake Maydanki

Enab Baladi – Ali Darwish

One tree after another, a father cut them down to warm his children, or a military faction sought to profit from the price of their wood; this pathway summarizes the stages of the destruction of more than 90% of the trees in the Maydanki forest, located on the eastern edge of the dam lake after which the forest is named.

The cutting operations have continued for about ten years, starting slowly around 2012, increasing in pace during the years 2019, 2020, and 2021, until most of it was destroyed, leaving a section near the Sultan Murad Brigade camp, part of the Syrian National Army (SNA) supported by Turkey.

The reasons for the cutting were varied, but the result was the eradication of a forest extending over about 100 hectares, with shy efforts to revive it, yet they would be futile, as it needs special and continuous care for years, as specialists confirmed to Enab Baladi.

This report discusses the reasons behind the deforestation of the Maydanki forest in the Afrin countryside, northwest of Aleppo, the scientific conditions necessary for its revival, and the impact of the cutting operations on the environmental reality in the region, especially since Syria is depleting its green cover for several reasons, most notably rampant cutting and fires.

According to a study by the PAX organization, based on satellite analysis and open-source research in March 2023, cutting operations have impacted more than a third of forests.

Role of Sultan Murad Brigade

On its eastern side, near the lake waters, in an area inaccessible by vehicles, members of the Sultan Murad Brigade of the National Army began cutting trees in the Maydanki Lake forest in 2019.

Brigade members transport the cut trees to boats that cross the lake’s waters to another point, where vehicles wait to transport the wood to markets or traders for sale, to be used either for heating or for making furniture.

This marked the worst phase of the Maydanki Lake forest destruction due to the acceleration of cutting operations, approximately a year after the National Army and Turkey took control of Afrin during a military operation dubbed “Olive Branch” against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which previously controlled the area.

Activist Ahmed al-Barhou, residing in Afrin, stated that the cutting operations were carried out by the faction and expanded during the years 2020 and 2021, affecting nearly 90% of the forest, with the faction preserving a small part of its trees near one of its camps.

Enab Baladi contacted the Agricultural Directorate in Afrin to inquire about plans or efforts made to compensate for the cutting operations and maintain the remaining forests and woodlands in Afrin, but received no response to its questions.

The public relations office of the Sultan Murad Brigade did not deny that members from the controlling faction (the Martyrs of al-Safira Brigade) led by “Abu Mahmoud Safira” have been cutting trees.

The office stated that the cutting operations are not solely the responsibility of the brigade members; there are also civilians who cut trees due to their need to secure any means of heating for their children.

The office explained that the brigade punished many of its members with imprisonment after complaints were made against them for cutting trees, and other members tasked with preventing cutting were held accountable for allowing it during their shifts.

Those responsible for protecting the forest responded to their allowance of cutting operations by noting that many displaced families, especially during the winter of 2019-2020 and 2020-2021, were unable to provide a means of heating for their children. The fathers went to the forest and cut down trees, and the guards did not prevent them due to the displacement and harsh cold and their need to heat their children.

The increase in the number of displaced people fleeing from bombings raised the rates of tree cutting, leading to chaos and difficulty in controlling it.

From 2019 until March 2020, there was an increase in displacement due to military operations by the Syrian regime’s army, supported by Russian forces and various Iranian militias, against opposition-controlled areas in the rural areas of Aleppo, Idlib, and Hama.

Military operations ceased on March 5, 2020, following the signing of the Moscow Agreement between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin, yet the regime’s and Russia’s bombings on northwestern Syria did not stop.

The number of internally displaced persons in opposition-controlled areas is 3.54 million, with 2.1 million people living in camps spread across 1,523 camps.

The number of people in need in northwestern Syria is 4.27 million out of 5.16 million living in the region.

Memories of the locals

Mohammad (a pseudonym for a seventy-something-year-old man living in Maydanki) recalls his near-daily trips to the forest and the area’s underbrush and its beautiful nature, and how it was rich in trees, but has now changed significantly due to “an environmental violation against it,” according to him, as he told Enab Baladi.

The cutting affected both young and ancient trees, erasing part of the region’s identity. “It is extremely painful to see trees that took decades to grow being cut down and destroyed in such a brutal manner,” according to Mohammad.

The random logging not only destroyed the area’s nature but also affected the lives of the residents, as the region was a place for fishing and recreation. Mohammad would take his family to the area to collect mushrooms in the winter and was accustomed to fishing in the lake.

According to locals in Maydanki, who spoke to Enab Baladi, the scenes of cutting were “terrifying and harsh,” occurring openly in front of everyone without any deterrent, referring to members of the Sultan Murad Brigade, who would cut hundreds of trees in a single day at times.

The logging extended to uprooting trees after cutting them, resulting in changes to the area.

Between 2011 and 2018.. Did it survive the assault?

About a year after the Syrian revolution began, the Syrian regime started handing over a number of areas to the Democratic Union Party (PYD), leaving behind military supplies from army units to be taken over by the PYD.

Afrin was one of the areas that came under the administration of the Democratic Union Party along with its military wing, the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which became known in October 2015 as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) after the joining of various military factions into its ranks. It currently controls vast areas of northeastern Syria.

Afrin remained under SDF control until Turkey and the Syrian National Army launched the military operation “Olive Branch” against the SDF in March 2018.

Agricultural engineer Mohammed Tubal Hamou (who previously worked at the Aleppo Agriculture Directorate) stated in his book “The Environment and Forestry in the Afrin Region – Kurd Mountain” that the forestry departments responsible for monitoring forest affairs ceased operations in Afrin at the end of 2011. The Kurdish People’s Protection Units seized the forestry centers, including machinery, guard posts, nurseries, development and cultivation projects, and wood and fuel storage facilities, resulting in the complete cessation of forestry work.

The loss of fuel and the rise in prices, coupled with the displacement of large numbers of people from Aleppo and other provinces to Afrin, increased its population significantly. Residents turned to the forests to secure heating during winter and for cooking and daily washing.

Random deforestation began to spread to both natural and artificial forests chaotically, according to Hamou.

The ancient and rare forest trees, including oak, prickly juniper, terebint, plane, willow, and hawthorn, as well as various conifers and wild olive, were cut down. Displaced residents began to build makeshift shelters within the neighboring forested areas.

Artificial forest

In “The Environment and Forestry in the Afrin Region – Kurd Mountain,” agricultural engineer Mohammed Tubal Hamou provided statistics from 2011 regarding the area of natural and artificial forests, sourced from the Afrin Agriculture Directorate.

The area of natural forests in Afrin was 18,500 hectares, the area of artificial forests was 21,000 hectares, and the area of Lake Maydanki was 1,100 hectares.

Lake Maydanki is an artificial lake created by the Maydanki Dam, which was completed in 2006 after 22 years of construction starting in 1984. It is located east of the village of Maydanki and extends north to the village of Wyrkan.

The dam’s height is 340 meters above sea level, with a maximum storage capacity of 180 million cubic meters; the lake is 14 kilometers long and its width ranges from 200 to 1,000 meters.

The Maydenki forest is situated on the western slope of the highland forming the eastern bank of the Afrin River’s course, beginning north of the village of Halubi and heading northward opposite the village of Maydanki, ending near the lands of the village of Ali Bazanli, alongside Lake Maydanki.

The forest forms a green belt on the eastern edge of the lake, with an area of 74 hectares, expanding to 100 hectares when including part of the large Halubi forest.

The height of the forest ranges from 350 to 400 meters above sea level. In 2000, a portion of it under 345 meters above sea level was cut down due to the lake’s highest water level being 340 meters.

The types of trees in the forest include Aleppo pine and Turkish pine, most of which were planted during industrial reforestation efforts that began in the region in 1960 and later expanded to cover various areas in Afrin.

In Maydanki, there were Turkish pine groves that spread across several areas in Afrin, but the forest is dominated by trees that grew over decades following their industrial planting.

Reber Sheikh Abdi, a former employee in the Afrin forests, told Enab Baladi that in 2007, cultivation and development operations were conducted in the forest (thinning and removing dead, tilted, and broken trees), and the forest was designated as a site for popular ecological tourism.

The estimated number of trees in the forest per hectare ranges from 350 to 400 trees, with an average age of 40 years, according to Sheikh Abdi.

The area of Maydanki forest (74 hectares), when combined with part of the large Halubi forest, reaches 100 hectares. Only a small portion of the forest remains, accounting for about 10%, according to activist Ahmed al-Barhou, meaning that the area cut could be estimated at about 90 hectares.

Estimating the number of cut trees, given that each hectare contains between 350 and 400 trees, indicates that the number of trees cut ranges from 31,500 to 36,000 trees.

Decades of protection and monitoring

The first forestry department in Afrin was established in 1955, following the issuance of Forestry Law No. 60 in 1953 to protect forests and to legally document forestry violations involving cutting, charcoal burning, and damages to forested lands, according to the book on the environment and forestry.

The establishment of the department was accompanied by the formation of forestry outposts in the region, distributed in Bulbul, Rajo, and Iki Khor, where forestry guards were stationed to protect natural forests and prevent the grazing of mountain goats, which are considered a primary threat to the forests (as they destroy new growth on the branches of forest trees and halt their growth).

Until the 1970s, these operations progressed, leading to the establishment of new forestry outposts, expanding the tasks of the forestry department and initiating industrial reforestation efforts in 1978. Three observation towers were built in each of the mountains of Hawara, Haj Hasanli, and Khalidiya, and the forestry outposts were extended to Maydanki and Afrin, including a wireless communications center between the region and Aleppo province in the village of Qatma to oversee protection and law enforcement regarding natural and artificial forest sites.

In 1990, a working group was formed for a project aimed at cultivating and developing both natural and artificial forests at the site of Haj Hasanli, designed to conduct reforestation and improvement work involving thinning, density reduction, and the removal of dead, collapsed, twisted, and defective trees, as well as the trimming of lower branches.

Subsequently, a fire control center was established in Afrin, located on Mount Sawal, supported by personnel for prevention and firefighting and equipped with tools for carrying out the work.

Negative environmental impact

The drawbacks of deforestation on the environment are evident, according to the academic agricultural sciences professor Dr. Abdul Aziz Dayoub, as forests act as the lungs of nature and aid in cleaning the environment through the process of respiration, absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen.

This contributes to one of the vital aspects of life, particularly wildlife, which includes various animals and insects, preserving biological diversity essential for the survival of living species.

During a tour in the region, an Enab Baladi reporter observed tree roots being uprooted following rampant cutting. In response, Dr. Dayoub commented that damaging trees by uprooting their roots will prolong the time required for their regeneration.

He explained that if the roots are left intact, growth could resume, whereas cutting the roots disrupts the physical structure of the soil and eliminates beneficial microorganisms essential for tree nutrition.

Zaher Hashim, a Syrian journalist specializing in environmental issues, previously explained to Enab Baladi that rampant tree cutting impacts people’s lives and health considering the considerable benefits provided by trees, such as clean air and mitigating climate change—the annual carbon dioxide absorption of a single tree can reach around 150 kilograms.

Tree planting in urban areas contributes to filtering air pollutants and fine particles that endanger the respiratory system, providing food, such as fruits and nuts, regulating water flow and improving its quality. Additionally, trees play a crucial role in preserving soil stability, preventing erosion, reducing dust storms, and improving both physical and mental health.

Regarding the effects of logging and tree cutting on biological diversity, Hashim pointed out that forests are home to about 80% of biological diversity, making tree cutting a threat to living organisms that dwell within these forests, losing their habitat. This situation renders some organisms vulnerable to predation while threatening the extinction of certain species due to the loss of their food sources.

Tree felling has denied 111 bird species belonging to 79 genera of living in the forest, whether permanently or intermittently, or even passing through during their migration journey.

According to a study concerning the components of biological diversity (fauna of birds) in the Maydanki Lake area, Afrin, northwest Syria, there are 111 bird species from 79 genera, categorized into 53 species of winter migratory birds, 45 that are resident in the area in general, 8 transient species that appear momentarily during their annual lifecycle, and 5 stray species.

The study was conducted by Dr. Nabegh Ghazal Aswad and Roushan Khalil at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Aleppo, published in the 113th issue of Aleppo University Research Journal in 2015, aiming to identify bird species observable in the vicinity of the Maydanki area and the shores of the dam lake throughout a full annual cycle, including mountain plateaus located at the Maydanki Lake site.

Regarding environmental significance, most of the recorded species in the forest area are associated with wetland areas, which include aquatic and wading birds, in addition to some passerine birds (birds that have a particular resting place they return to for sleep or rest) and raptors. The region was not observed to have any endemic species specific to the region or country.

The study, published in 2015, indicated that biological diversity in the region has been, and continues to be, subjected to various types of degradation, suffering from a steady decline due to agricultural expansion, especially the cultivation of olive trees across various regions.

Moreover, investing in medicinal, decorative, and aromatic plants incorrectly and unsystematically could lead to the deterioration of habitats that support different bird species, risking extinction in a natural setting, especially if the violation involves complete deforestation.

Restoration takes years 

The public relations office of the Sultan Murad Brigade stated to Enab Baladi that the faction responsible for the area was fined two years ago by planting 5,000 trees in the area, pursuing its care and protecting it from encroachment.

Additionally, the agriculture office of the local council in Afrin launched a planting campaign in Maydanki, with Sultan Murad Brigade expected to plant more trees in the first month of 2025, according to the public relations office, which confirmed the presence of supervisors from the agriculture office overseeing the planting campaigns to ensure they were conducted properly.

The types of shrubs that were planted include poplar, cypress, and olive.

Activists and organizations have also initiated reforestation campaigns in the Maydanki area over the past few years.

Reber Sheikh Abdi (a former employee of Afrin Forestry) indicated that reforestation and rehabilitation of the deforested area require a ten-year protection plan, asserting that “if there is no protection plan for ten years, the project will be 100% unsuccessful,” as the new seedlings must be protected from human encroachment, grazing, and require continuous care.

Previously, there was a forestry patrol linked to the Ministry of Agriculture, with armed personnel conducting foot and motorcycle patrols and wearing standardized uniforms. In cases where any violations were observed, the violators would be detained and a report would be generated for prosecution.

Dr. Abdul Aziz Dayoub emphasized that compensation requires a long time, “to restore the plant cover to the same number of trees that were cut down.”

Environmental journalist Zaher Hashim clarified that restoring the environmental scene and addressing the damage caused by this phenomenon requires considerable time, as forests need many years to recover, depending on the age and growth rate of the trees, as well as genetic differences and surrounding conditions.

Some trees may need over 70 years to return to their former state prior to the cutting, but even for some fast and moderate-growing species, recovery time does not usually fall below 10 to 25 years.

To accelerate the recovery pace, Hashim recommends consistently planting trees in deforested areas and regions affected by fires, while taking into account species appropriate to localized environmental conditions, such as drought or water scarcity. There should also be reinforced fire prevention measures, observation points, and early warning techniques in forested areas and adjacent residential zones, alongside an immediate halt to tree cutting.