Beirutopia: Could Lebanon's capital become a garden city?

 

 

 

 

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Architect's "Wonder Forest" concept would turn Beirut skyline green
• The plan involves installing 60,000 potted trees on the city's rooftops
• Benfits include improved air quality, reduced CO2 emissions and increased shade

(CNN) -- The legendary Hanging Gardens of Babylon are the inspiration behind an ambitious plan to grow a rooftop forest high above Beirut's crowded streets.

The cityscape is currently overshadowed by concrete highrises, with parkland making up just 3% of Lebanon's capital, according to a study by the American University of Beirut.

The lack of greenery has contributed to poor air quality and trapped heat, among a host of other environmental issues, claims architect Wassim Melki. This led him to the the unconventional idea of greening over the city's rooftops.

"We want to cover the top of nearly every building in the city with trees," said Melki.

Challenging though it sounds, Melki's proposal does not involve complicated drainage systems or engineering.

"We're just talking about planting small to medium-sized trees in relatively large pots and securing them to the roofs," he added.

Aside from the major environmental and social benefits, it would also be incredibly iconic
Wassim Melki, architect

The 28-year-old architect claims there are 15,000 suitable rooftops -- around 80% of those in the city. "Even planting just one on each would result in as many trees as there are in New York's Central Park," he said.

With colleagues at local NGO ReAct, Melki aims to plant 60,000 trees eventually. They say that as well as making a sizable dent in the level of carbon dioxide in the air, the trees would also create a rooftop canopy, casting shadows on the streets and helping to keep the city cool.

Nevertheless, Wonder Forest, if realized, would not be comparable to a public park. "Planting trees in the ground is always preferable, and nothing can replace a wide open space to walk through," said Melki.

Comment: Would you give the scheme your support? Is the Wonder Forest project a feasible and much needed innovation or a pretty but impractical pipe dream? Tell us you thoughts in the comments section below.

Melki estimates the total cost of the project at $3.5-4 million and is currently lobbying for the Wonder Forest via NGO ReAct and aFacebook page.

Ultimately though, the success of the idea is in the hands of Beirut's residents -- who would need to tend the gardens, particularly over the hot summer months.

"Even if all the trees and their installation is provided, if the residents don't subsequently get involved, then the plan will fail," said Melki.

There could also be benefits for the green fingered, says Melki, who could turn a profit growing and selling olives and citrus fruits, which thrive in Beirut's Mediterranean climate.

Read more from Road to Rio: Futuristic farm shop grows food in synthetic veg patch

"Aside from the major environmental and social benefits, it would also be incredibly iconic," he says. "Just imagine: The world's first rooftop garden city."

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Nato to discuss funding Afghan forces after pull-out

South Sudan says it sent forces into Heglig after Sudan attacked its territory

Nato foreign and defence ministers are set to meet in Brussels to discuss how to fund security forces in Afghanistan once international troops leave.

They insist there will be no change in strategy despite Sunday's co-ordinated attacks by the Taliban.

Nato has agreed to start handing over security to Afghan forces, leaving them in full control from the end of 2014.

The US is expected to ask international partners to provide up to a quarter of the costs of backing Afghan forces.

Washington is looking for other countries to pay up to $1 billion (£630 million) a year, while it provides around $3 billion a year in support.

The meeting is preparing for a summit of Nato heads of state being held in Chicago next month, where a final commitment on funding Afghan security is expected to be announced.

The BBC's defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt says one of Nato's toughest jobs now will be holding the military coalition in Afghanistan together as the alliance's combat mission draws to a close.

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On Tuesday Australia announced that it was bringing home most of its troops almost a year earlier than expected.

Other nations in the coalition, including Canada, the Netherlands and France have already pulled their forces out of combat or speeded up their withdrawal.

Afghans 'can cope'

The Afghan National army will number around 350,000 soldiers in the next few months, with the US providing most of the training and logistical support.

A US plan predicts the Afghan army will be cut to around 230,000 in few years time. The planned reduction has worried some security experts in Afghanistan.

Co-ordinated gun and rocket attacks on seven sites in the Afghan capital Kabul on Sunday saw two Afghan soldiers killed and 17 militants.

Nato officials have acknowledged that the attacks helped highlight the challenges ahead, but the BBC's Caroline Wyatt says they are keen to stress their view that the attacks show that the Afghan army can cope in providing security.

Nato spokeswoman Oana Lungescu pointed out that Afghan forces dealt with the situation and defeated the attacks, largely on their own.

"Clearly, we still face security challenges," she said. "This was not the first such attack, and I don't expect it will be the last. But such attacks don't change the transition strategy."

Nato ministers will also be discussing how to improve the sharing of equipment among European members in an initiative known as "smart defence", as they try to cope with falling defence budgets.

During the two-day meeting they will also discuss the next stages of Nato's plans for a missile defence system across Europe.

High-profile attacks on Kabul

• 15 April 2012: Seven sites including parliament, Nato HQ and foreign embassies attacked
• 13 September 2011: Gunman seize unfinished high-rise to fire on Nato HQ and US embassy
• 19 August 2011: Gunman storm British Council HQ, killing 12 people

Are you in Afghanistan? Are you affected by the issues raised in this story? Please send us your comments and experiences.

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UN told Sudans are 'locked in logic of war'

South Sudan says it sent forces into Heglig after Sudan attacked its territory

Sudan and South Sudan are "locked in a logic of war", the UN Security Council (UNSC) has been told.

The two countries are fighting over their disputed border, with Sudan trying to remove South Sudan forces from its Heglig oil-field.

African Union mediator Thabo Mbeki and UN envoy Haile Menkarios gave the warning to a closed-door UNSC meeting.

US ambassador Susan Rice said diplomats discussed using sanctions to pressure both sides to de-escalate the conflict.

She added the envoys had told the Council that hardliners were in control of governments in both Khartoum and Juba.

The UNSC also repeated demands for South Sudan to withdraw from Heglig and the Abyei region, and for a "complete, immediate, unconditional" end to all fighting.

South Sudan sent its forces into Heglig last Tuesday, saying it was responding to air and ground attacks by Sudan.

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On Friday Sudan launched a counterattack, with officials saying they expected "good news" within hours. But there is currently a stand-off between the two sides, with South Sudan still controlling Heglig.

No oil agreement

Heglig, which used to provide more than half of Sudan's oil, is internationally accepted to be part of Sudanese territory - although the border area is yet to be demarcated.

After the briefing South Sudan's UN envoy Agnes Oswaha said they still believed the crisis could be resolved through negotiation. "We are not going to go for the offence because we are for peace. However, we will stand on the defence and defend our territory."

Sudan's UN Ambassador, Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman, told Associated Press that any sanctions should be directed at South Sudan because of its seizure of Heglig.

"We are not an aggressor. We are the victim," he said, adding that Sudan would return to talks when South Sudan "returns to its senses and accepts a withdrawal".

Ms Rice told reporters after the meeting that both sides had failed to settle several outstanding disputes in the run-up to South Sudan gaining independence in July last year.

"They have no agreement on oil, they have no agreement on their border, they have no agreement on citizenship, they have no agreement on Abyei and indeed these were issues that were meant to be resolved before independence," she said.

"Also in southern Kordofan and Blue Nile, the popular consultations in the political process which was to incorporate all the people of those regions into the larger Sudan were abandoned."

The African Union has demanded South Sudan's unconditional withdrawal from Heglig, calling its occupation "illegal and unacceptable", but also condemned Sudan for carrying out aerial bombardments of South Sudan.

Sudan has denied being behind the air raids.

Who owns Heglig oil field?

• Until 8th April, Heglig was firmly under Khartoum's control and the oil field provided more than half of Sudan's oil
• A 2009 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling had removed it from the disputed Abyei region - its maps showed the region in the Sudanese state of South Kordofan but its jurisdiction did not extend to deciding whether Heglig lies in Sudan or the South
• Furthermore, the official demarcation of the international border is yet to be agreed following South Sudan's secession last July
• Several international bodies have condemned South Sudan for taking control of Heglig - the African Union's Peace and Security Council called it an "illegal occupation"

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