Reem Al-Zubaidi went against social norms and left her village—Om Hussein, Jordan—to work at the Sabha Community Nursery to grow different Mediterranean native plants such as saltbrush (Altriplex halimus) seedlings. The U.S. Forest Service, in partnership with The Hashemite Fund for Development of Jordan Badia, implemented the USAID-funded Sustainable Environmental and Economic Development (SEED) project, which provided Reem with intensive technical and soft skills training that made her a star at Sabha Community Nursery. As native seedlings like Mediterranean saltbrush develop, they go through a “hardening phase” that helps them endure the harsh conditions of the desert and attain a survival rate as high as 85 percent. Rangeland seedlings absorb and store carbon dioxide due to their quick growth and comparatively rapid reproduction rate. Reem’s contribution, along with those of other SEED beneficiaries, sets the stage for a landscape reforestation process that will provide essential ecosystem services and help mitigate climate change as seedlings lock carbon in their fiber.
Climatelinks Photo Gallery
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- Photo Country: Jordan
- Photo Contest Year: 2020 Photo Contest
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Location and date the photo was taken: Royal Botanic Garden (RBG) nursery, Al-Balqaa Governorate, Jordan; 19 January 2020
Who is depicted in the photo: Carob seedlings at the RBG nursery.
What activity is depicted in the photo: Native Carob tree seedlings grown in the nursery to be outplanted in Jordanian forests as part of reforestation and alleviation of climate change efforts.
How the activity addresses climate change: Carob is a native Jordanian tree and an important part of Jordan’s forests. Carob is usually grown for its edible pods, and as an ornamental tree in gardens. The ripe, dried pod is often ground to carob powder, which is used to replace cocoa powder.The restoration of such forests helps mitigate climate change by storing carbon, halting land degradation and fixing atmospheric nitrogen. Additionally, it has an aesthetic side, can assist in poverty alleviation due to its economic return, and in fighting hunger and malnutrition due to its high-value nutritional content. WADI grows Carob seedlings with its partners and eventually plants them in different sites in an effort to restore forests; once planted, they will improve soil quality, prevent erosion, and help in eventual groundwater recharge.
Name of the relevant program receiving USAID support (via Global Climate Change or other funds): N/A
Names of partner organizations involved in the program: Watershed and Development Initiative (WADI), Royal Botanic Garden (RBG)
Location and date the photo was taken: Amman-Jordan 23 July 2020 Who is depicted in the photo: Carob native seeds What activity is depicted in the photo: Native Carob seeds collected to be sown at one of the nurseries. How the activity addresses climate change: Carob is a native Jordanian tree and an important part of Jordan’s forests. Carob is usually grown for its edible pods, and as an ornamental tree in gardens. The ripe, dried pod is often ground to carob powder, which is used to replace cocoa powder.The restoration of such forests helps mitigate climate change by storing carbon, halting land degradation and fixing atmospheric nitrogen. Additionally, it has an aesthetic side, can assist in poverty alleviation due to its economic return, and in fighting hunger and malnutrition due to its high-value nutritional content. Name of the relevant program receiving USAID support (via Global Climate Change or other funds): N/A Names of partner organizations involved in the program: Watershed and Development Initiative (WADI), Royal Botanic Garden (RBG), and United States Forest Service (USFS)
Location and date the photo was taken: Amman, 28 July 2020
Who is depicted in the photo: Thirteen-years old school Student “Dania Zawaidah”
What activity is depicted in the photo: Dania planting a Carob tree in Amman
How the activity addresses climate change: The Carob tree seedling was produced at the Royal Botanic Garden’s (RBG) nursery to restore Jordanian degraded land; such restoration with native trees using micro-harvesting techniques would help mitigate climate change by storing carbon, halting land degradation and fixing atmospheric Nitrogen. Additionally, it has an aesthetic side, can assist in poverty alleviation due to its economic return, and in fighting hunger and malnutrition due to its high-value nutritional content.
Name of the relevant program receiving USAID support (via Global Climate Change or other funds): N/A
Names of partner organizations involved in the program: Watershed and Development Initiative (WADI), RBG, and United States Forest Service (USFS)
Location and date the photo was taken: Royal Botanic Garden (RBG), Al-Balqaa Governorate, Jordan; 16 December 2019
Who is depicted in the photo: Karma Bouazza - Nursery Technical Expert (measuring the seedling’s height), and Sara Al-Faqir - WADI Intern (documenting measurements)
What activity is depicted in the photo: Monitoring and evaluation of the seedlings planted at the reference site being a research location to measure the effect of plant restoration on ground water recharge.
How the activity addresses climate change: The remote sensing system installed at the reference site in close cooperation with environmental experts from the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) and support from United States Forest Service (USFS) experts, will provide much-needed information on soil humidity that will help in elucidating possible restoration positive impact on Jordan’s critical water situation. Furthermore, obtained results can be used for scaling-up forest restoration conducted in the Tal Al-Rumman area to other parts of Jordan; this can help mitigate climate change impacts.
Name of the relevant program receiving USAID support (via Global Climate Change or other funds): N/A
Names of partner organizations involved in the program: Watershed and Development Initiative (WADI), RBG, ICARDA, and USFS