Assault on two forest rangers ‘isolated incident’ — ministry

AMMAN — On Wednesday, two forest rangers were assaulted by illegal loggers in Jerash, 45km north of Amman, according to the Agriculture Ministry.

The rangers were admitted to Jerash Public Hospital, where they were visited by Agriculture Minister Ibrahim Shahahdeh and several other officials.

"The assault is not part of a phenomenon, but a single case that does not reflect the general situation,” Lawrence Majali, the ministry's spokesperson told The Jordan Times on Thursday.

The Agriculture Ministry, in cooperation with the relevant agencies, has implemented several projects to better observe and protect the Kingdom's forests, the spokesperson said.

The ministry has deployed several drones, built watchtowers and employed rangers with an "advanced" network of communication with security agencies to control logging, which also contributed to decreasing violations, Majali said.

The number of illegal logging cases also dropped by 75 per cent in 2018, compared with 2017, the official said.

Last year, the ministry facilitated the import of firewood in a bid to reduce the demand on local logging, and thus reduce illegal logging, said the official.

"Parliament is currently discussing a law to allow leasing some of these lands to residents neighbouring forests for nature-friendly businesses," the spokesperson added.

The law would better protect forests, as they would become an important source of income for locals, leading them to join with agencies in their efforts to preserve nature, according to Majali.

Jordan has 850,000 dunums of forested land, 450,000 of which was seeded by the government over the past two decades, according to the official. 

The majority of forested land is located in Ajloun and Jerash, said Majali.