Nat
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No.23 Winter 08 The Newsletter of IBSAR - AUB Nature Conservation Center for Sustainable Futures
Biodiversity conservation in rural landscapes: Reviving carob (agri)culture in Lebanon
The carob tree (خروب,
Ceratonia siliqua) is a
native to Lebanon and the
eastern Mediterranean.
The evergreen tree
reaches 6-8 meters at
maturity, bearing pea-like,
black pods that are rich in
protein and sugar. Carob
seeds, whose mass was
thought to be uniform,
have given their name
to the carat, and were
used as units of weight
to measure gold and
diamonds. Domesticated
and grown in the region
since antiquity, the tree’s abundant and nutritious fruit explains its biblical name,
St. John’s Bread. Just as significantly, carob tree cropping is a sustainable form of
agriculture and a living example of economically and environmentally sustainable
and efficient use of land and of natural and human resources. Carob trees tolerate
aridity, are well suited to the hilly terrain and poor calcareous soils, require no
irrigation beyond the first year and minimum care. The tree’s adaptability ensures
that carob trees are cultivated in landscapes that are good for little else.
Carob landscapes therefore are valuable not only because they are sustainable in
themselves but because they conserve soil and water resources in marginal lands.
Carob landscapes in addition are economically sustainable: their multifunctional
format ensures the annual harvest of carob pods, enables intercropping with grain
and provides ample grazing for sheep and goats. The carob pod is processed locally;
the flesh is used to produce molasses, the remaining pith used as fodder and the
seeds exported to Europe for use in the gum extraction industries. Recent studies
indicate that carob landscapes are equally wildlife habitats, a refuge for birds and
shelter for wild flora.
A sketch, by Dr. Jala Makhzoumi, of the AUB Observatory carob.
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Bio
dive
rsit
y Co
nser
vati
on
IBSAR helps preserve Lebanon’s biodiversity
IBSAR has launched its “Seeds of Hope, Trees for Tomorrow” campaign, as part
and parcel of the Center’s “Power of Planting” initiative, intended to mobilize
community members to participate in planting native trees and shrubs within their
own neighborhood . This campaign is aimed at preserving Lebanon’s biodiversity
and protecting its natural heritage. This is something that can only be accomplished
Carob agriculture in Lebanon is in decline. Limited processing, limited marketability
and competition from intensive cash crops such as citrus and banana have come to
undermine and replace this traditional form of agriculture. Ironically, the decline in
Lebanon occurs at a time when carob tree cultivation is being advanced in combating
desertification in other Mediterranean regions, the USA and Australia, when the
carob pod is gaining in popularity as fat-free, chocolate substitute and when gum
extraction from carob seeds continues to be as profitable as always.
Carob (agri)Culture Project was developed by an interdisciplinary team at IBSAR
Center to undertake a multifaceted assessment of carob agriculture in Lebanon.
The project justification is the economic benefits to rural communities, livelihoods,
indirect ecological and environmental benefits and the versatility of carob pods in
various industries, as a dietary supplement, and as a repository of native culture
and traditional knowledge that has existed for centuries in Lebanon and the eastern
Mediterranean.
Seed funds from AUB Taskforce for Reconstruction and Community Services have
launched the project with initial research to characterize varieties of carob as a
basis for comparison with global markets as well as assessment of quality of carob
gum in cultivated and wild carob varieties. Jala Makhzoumi
View from the “Seeds of Hope, Trees for Tomorrow” campaign.
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Ove
rsea
s Co
llab
orat
ion
IBSAR-AUB and DDTC-Helsinki University seek funding for drug development based on natural products
Today’s need for the development of drugs based on
natural products is immanent, and IBSAR is active in
this sector. It has joined efforts, with the Center of
Drug Discovery and Development Technologies (DDTC),
Helsinki University (Finland), to establish a collaboration
to facilitate drug research and discovery based on bio-
prospection of natural products for treatment of cancer
and chronic inflammatory disorders. Hosted by DDTC,
IBSAR faculty members, Drs. Darwiche, El-Sabban,
Saliba, and R. Talhouk met, on September 13-18, 2007,
with faculty members from DDTC and agreed to solicit
funds from Finnish, EU and UNDP sources to set up a
collaboration between them, and at later stages, between several EU partners and
IBSAR within the framework of FP7 program.
A draft document, prepared at the end of the visit, will serve as a backbone for
future solicitation of funds. Funds will also be sought for mobility and training of
students and to enhance faculty expertise, on either campus, in drug design and
drug discovery bio-systems. The group worked very hard over the entire stay, and
enjoyed Finnish hospitality as best exemplified by Dr. Urtti, Director of DDTC, and Dr.
Vuorela, Vice Dean on research in the Faculty of Pharmacy.
through enabling community members
to participate in nature conservation
activities. This project’s objective? To
secure the genetic resources of native
flora for the future, thus creating a field
bank analogous to that of ‘Noah’s Ark’ for
native trees and shrubs in Lebanon.
Rabih Talhouk
Drs. Nadine Darwiche (sitting),
Najat Saliba and Rabih Talhouk
on their last day touring
the town and relaxing after
a delicious sea-food meal
provided by the host. (Photo
courtesy of Dr. Marwan El-
Sabban).
Conf
eren
ce
Par
tici
pati
on
IBSAR participates in Jordan conference
Regional and international
conferences continue to be
an essential item on IBSAR’s
annual agenda. IBSAR was
invited to, and participated
in, the “First Regional
Conference of Traditional
Arabic and Islamic Medicine”,
held in Amman from August 7
Dr. Hala Muhtasib during the conference.
View from the “Seeds of Hope, Trees for Tomorrow”
campaign.
Arbi Sarkissian
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to 10, 2007. Researchers from around the world presented their work and gathered
to discuss recent advancements in their fields. Supported by IBSAR, professors
Nadine Darwiche, Najat Saliba and Hala Muhtasib, as well as 10 graduate students,
and assistants constituted the largest group at the conference.
Hala Muhtasib, Chairperson of the Biology Department at AUB and member of IBSAR,
was greatly involved in the conference’s events. Muhtasib presented a novel piece
of work titled “Thymoquinone: The Blessed Seed Extract” in which she explained
this drug’s health benefits, particularly its anticancer effects. She also discussed
thymoquinone’s mode of action at the molecular and cellular levels.
Two other posters from Muhtasib’s lab were presented. One was titled “Anti-colon
Cancer Effects of Salograviolide A isolated from Centaurea ainetensis”, and the
other was titled “Combined Treatment of Purified Lebanese Plant Extracts Tf and Ep
Hala Muhtasib
Shots from the conference.
Causes Synergistic Growth Inhibition and Apoptosis in Colon Cancer” representing
the works of her graduate students Nahed El-Najjar and Mohamed Salla, both of
whom received the first-prize award in their domain of in vitro research among the
presented posters.
Ibsa
r El
ecti
ons IBSAR Executive Committee elections
This fall, IBSAR faculty elected its executive board for 2007-2008. Membership in the
Executive Committee is open to any AUB faculty member who is a Regular Member
of IBSAR. The executive committee for this year consists of Drs. Elie Barbour, Jad
Chaaban, Marwan El Sabban, Jala Makhzoumi, Najat Saliba, Salma Talhouk, and
Rami Zurayk. Soon after the elections, the committee started its regular meetings,
and in its first meeting, elected Dr. Salma Tahouk as Chair and Director of the Center.
The Executive Committee is the body responsible for coordinating the Center’s work
and its committees. Every IBSAR Executive Committee member served a (renewable)
three-year term.
Salma Talhouk
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Rami Zurayk
AUB hosts the launching of the fourth Global Environment Outlook in West Asia
A major environmental event
launch was hosted by AUB’s
West Hall on October 26,
2007: the AUB Environmental
Sciences Department, United
Nations Environment Program
(UNEP), and the United Nations
Information Center (UNIC)
jointly presented the fourth
Global Environment Outlook in
West Asia (GEO-4). The GEO-4
launch in Beirut coincided
with UNEP’s release of the
GEO-4 Report in 27 other cities
around the world. From a global
perspective, the GEO-4 report
is the result of five years of analyses into causes, impacts and policy responses
brought on by environmental change, while at the same time suggesting methods
for staving off the rapid decline in the Earth’s natural environment.
At 572 pages, the GEO-4 report presents the findings of nearly 400 experts from
a wide array of fields – both scientific and sociological – with thousands more
having vetted the various chapters that went into the final report. AUB was a major
contributor to the report. The report includes 10 chapters. It mainstreams 2 critical
issues: Global warming and biodiversity.
GEO-4 includes a special section on West Asia, where 79% of the land is degraded
and 98% of this degradation is caused by people. Severe land use changes
are associated with significant decline in biodiversity. There have been serious
rehabilitation efforts, especially in rangeland management, reforestation, and the
establishment of protected areas. Yet there are still a number of problems, some
specific to this part of the world, such as war and security. The Lebanon oil spill
caused by Israeli bombardments is testimony to that.
The report ended with a global call for action to halt and reverse existing trends,
by relying on better science to influence appropriate policies, and deeper public
engagement. IBSAR’s objectives and core beliefs fall right into this category.
Dr. Rami Zurayk presenting at the GEO-4 launch in West Hall.
Glo
bal E
vent
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IBSAR staff
Here’s a chance to meet IBSAR staff, the people without whom IBSAR would not be
IBSAR! Different people, different educational backgrounds, but one goal: working
for nature conservation and sustainable futures.
Khaled Sleem: Born in a mountainous Lebanese village
called Nabeh El Safa, meaning “clear spring”, Khaled is
an agricultural engineer who graduated from AUB. Bad
luck, he says, had led him to work as a salesman in a
pesticide company for four years (1996 to 2000). It was
in 2001 that he joined AUB as a field coordinator (for the
bioprospection project) in charge of plant identification
and collection. He was at this same job when IBSAR was
founded and continues to be IBSAR’s field coordinator today. “I have always dreamt
of working in the research field, especially on environmentally-friendly projects and
away from pesticides. That’s why I consider myself lucky working with IBSAR. For
me, IBSAR is not just a workplace. It is a lifestyle,” says Khaled.
Monika Fabian: “This is Monika from IBSAR” – that’s
how everybody at AUB knows her. Coming from Hungary
with a horticultural engineer degree, she is married to
a Lebanese and has a newborn son. When she came to
Lebanon, she sought a place and an institution where
she can work “in a green environment for a green
environment”. She says: “As we all know, the best
place for that here in Beirut is AUB. In 2006, I had the
chance to work with IBSAR and to assist in teaching landscape students with Dr.
Salma Talhouk, so what more can I wish for? I am just lucky to work here”.
Josipa Sopf-Nuic: Josipa is a forestry engineer coming
from Croatia. Upon graduation from the School of
Forestry, University of Sarajevo BiH, she gained her
forestry field work experience. Later on, she continued
her research work at the Botanical Garden in Zagreb.
Change in career path led Josipa to expand her
experience in a variety of international humanitarian
organizations and NGOs in different countries. Upon
arrival to Lebanon, and learning about IBSAR’s mission to promote conservation
and sustainable utilization of biodiversity, she decided to return to her original
profession and joined IBSAR team to help in fulfilling their mission. In addition to
extensive NGO experience, she brings research experience of mapping Croatian
Vascular Flora, the project she worked on as Associate back in Croatia.
Insi
de Ib
sar
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Arbi Sarkissian: An IBSAR intern from the USA, Arbi is
in charge of IBSAR outreach activities. With the help of
IBSAR members and volunteers, he has been organizing
events and activities made possible through donations
collected for the “Seeds of Hope, Trees for Tomorrow”
campaign. These activities are aimed at mobilizing
students and community members to participate in the
tree planting process while promoting awareness about
biodiversity conservation through planting natives. He is currently coordinating
workshops for ACS students and AUB volunteers who have shown interest in the
tree planting campaign. The students who continue to show support will be invited
to participate in a community-based tree planting event at the beginning of 2009.
Samer Toutoungy: After completing his master’s
studies in biotechnology in Greece, Samer found
himself working with IBSAR, a “progressive and
proactive team” that reflects a great deal of his future
prospects. “The more I progress with IBSAR,” he says,
“the more I find myself in harmony with the vision
IBSAR sets for itself”. This vision aims, through its
actions, at re-instigating a constructive spirit in the
community by reminding the individual of the active responsibility he holds towards
his environment. Samer views himself as an individual whose passion is knowledge;
who pursues science as a lifestyle and a perception to satisfy his inquisitive mind
as well as a tool to serve social progress; and who “finds pleasure in searching
to understand life’s complexities and even more pleasure afterwards in retracing
his steps to perceive things in their holistic sense, appreciating how everything is
connected in this beautiful and mysterious creation”.
Ahmed Kardaly: A Lebanese University graduate with a
Diploma in Biochemistry, Ahmed found himself involved
with IBSAR’s mission for biodiversity conservation. This
prompted him to begin volunteering in January 2008.
He undertook many tasks in IBSAR, some related to
research and others related to project follow-up with
several Lebanese municipalities. His aim in joining
IBSAR, he says, encompasses involving himself in
biodiversity conservation activities, and “working harmoniously with people from
various backgrounds and cultures”.Monika Fabian
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Sum
mer
Inte
rnsh
ips An intense learning experience at IBSAR
A teacher at Algeria’s University
of Béjaia and a PhD candidate
preparing her doctorate on a
medicinal plant called Clematis
flammula, IBSAR summer intern
Dina Kilani initially found out
about IBSAR by coincidence,
upon discussing her thesis with
her sister, who works with IUCN.
Directed by head of IBSAR Dr.
Salma Talhouk to contact Dr. Najat
Saliba, a chemist and member of IBSAR, Kilani began training in Dr. Saliba’s lab for
a one-month period last summer.
Says Kilani: “Dr. Saliba and her team of young researchers made it easy for me to
learn. Despite being overwhelmed by their own research, they were helpful and
cooperative.”
Though the results of Kilani’s work are not yet complete, the experience she gained
is so intense that she hopes to return to finish what she started. She says: “It’s good
to find out that in a country like Lebanon, struggling politically and economically,
there are people like Dr. Saliba and Dr. Talhouk working to make a difference in the
environment”.Dina Kilani
Right to left: Dr. Najat Saliba, Dina Kilani, and researchers at
Dr. Saliba’s lab.
Ibsa
r La
test
IBSAR’s new home
IBSAR has moved, and our new office is in Faculty 1 W. It is nice, small, and as
always, bubbling with activities and volunteers. We will be holding a proper open
house event as soon as the weather permits. Our phone extension numbers are
4509 and 4505.
Send your news, articles, and editorial comments to
Visit the IBSAR website at www.ibsar.org.
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