SHAFAQNA- The sound of chainsaws in the mountains of southern Yemen to cut down trees does not stop because wood has become an alternative source of fuel for the people of Yemen who are dealing with one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.
The war in Yemen, which has been going on since 2014, has left hundreds of thousands dead and millions of displaced people, destroyed the country’s fragile economy, and caused about 30 million Yemenis to fall into poverty and hunger.
On the outskirts of Taiz city, located in the southwest of Yemen, “Hussein Abdul Qavi” and his friends are collecting wood and loading it on trucks. He says: We collect wood and sell it in the markets because we have no other source of income but cutting down trees. And destroying vegetation is another disaster, so there is no choice for us except selling and for people except buying wood.
Wood for baking bread
The improvement of the economic situation after the corona virus and the war between Russia and Ukraine has caused an increase in the price of oil and fuel, Abdul Salam Debwan, a baker in Taiz city who uses tree wood to bake bread, says: due to the significant increase in the price of gas and Fuel, we have to use firewood to bake bread in order to deliver bread to people at a lower price.
Environmental effects of deforestation
In this regard, “Anwar Al Shazli”, a Yemeni environmental expert, said: since the beginning of the war, especially in Sana’a, more than 6 million trees have been cut down and used for heating and cooking.
Al-Shazli stated: Deforestation has directly affected underground water, biological diversity and soil erosion, although people have to do this to deal with inflation and the economic effects of war, but it is necessary to think about this issue urgently in order to prevent environmental disasters.
Source: SHAFAQNA PERSIAN
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