Function of the Department of Forests in Palestine before 1948 (Nakba), British Mandate: A Survey of Palestine: Volume I - Page 424. Chapter XI: Irrigation and Drainage

CHAPTER XI.

of seaside vegetation resulted in the formation of loose-and dunes, which have gradually covered fertile land and obstructed drainage to such an extent that a line of swamps now exists parallel with the coast. The choking of streambeds and consequent formation of swamps, which are to be noted in some of the smaller interior plains as well as along the coast, have caused widespread damage to agricultural land and are amongst the most serious results of soil movements. The material brought down from the bills and deposited on the fields is often useless gravel, the finer particles being carried away in suspension and deposited in the sea or in the swamps.

3. It is a commonplace amongst students of soil erosion, and incredible to many other people, that erosion is "inevitable in a Mediterranean country without a cover of vegetation over all sloping land and some form of protection over all areas of cultivation. It follows that the main cause of erosion is the loss of vegetation, permitting the desiccation of the soil and its progressive removal by winter rains and summer winds. The vegetation of Palestine is rich in species and adaptable to changing conditions, but it can be, and has been, destroyed by the combined processes of cutting, burning, uprooting and overgrazing.

4. To describe Palestine as a Mediterranean country bordering on the desert is to indicate that, while its soil may be made highly productive by careful treatment, it may be easily ruined by ignorance and neglect. In fact, the second condition is the rule, and a mature agricultural sol! is the exception. The forest policy of the Government of Palestine aims a.t the reversal of this picture. There is obviously no economic factor in a predominantly agricultural country which is of greater importance than the productivity of the soil. Without drastic countrywide action, the depth and fertility of the soil will remain quite inadequate, and all the consequences, economic and political, of a depressed agricultural industry must inevitably follow.

Functions of the Department of Forests.

5. Until 1936 forestry was one of the functions of the Department of Agriculture and Forests. In that year, however, a separate Department of Forests was set up in recognition of the need for a considerable afforestation and soil conservation programme. The original staff consisted of the old forestry section of the Department of Agriculture and Forests, which was strengthened as funds and qualified officers became available.

6. In Palestine the main purpose of forestry is the collection, retention and improvement of the soil on the wide stretches of

Page 424