Yemen War: Nature reserve abandoned, trees cut down

 

 

Once hailed as a beacon of conservation efforts by the united nations Yemen's al-haswa nature reserve today has turned into a wasteland reeking of sewage civil war in the country has left the nature reserve abandoned the 47 47-acre site in Yemen's southern city of Aden was once green with trees now almost all of them have been cut down and the reserve is full of construction waste what was long a haven for flamingos and other migratory birds is now swarmed by Crows the reserve was a great outlet for residents and visitors from near and far but now after the war it has become a waste dump with insects mosquitoes and Sewage we call on the specialized authorities and the local governments to intervene quickly to protect what remains of the was declared a nature reserve in 2006. it was a one of the 35 initiatives awarded the united nations Ecuador prize in 2014 for meeting climate and development challenges through sustainable use of nature but since 2014 Yemen has been embroiled in conflict between the government supported by a Saudi-led military Coalition and the Iran-backed hoodie rebels and the reserve has been left in ruins as a result of the fighting with no visitors some parts of the reserve have been used as an informal waste dump site  Yemen is the poorest country in the Region the united nations considers the war-torn country the world's worst humanitarian disaster it estimates hundreds of thousands of people have been killed as a result of the war and millions have been forced to leave their homes the country has been pushed to the brink of famine.