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No.23 Winter 08 The Newsletter of IBSAR - AUB Nature Conservation Center for Sustainable Futures

Biodiversity conservation in rural landscapes: Reviving carob (agri)culture in Lebanon

The carob tree (خروب,

Ceratonia siliqua) is a

native to Lebanon and the

eastern Mediterranean.

The evergreen tree

reaches 6-8 meters at

maturity, bearing pea-like,

black pods that are rich in

protein and sugar. Carob

seeds, whose mass was

thought to be uniform,

have given their name

to the carat, and were

used as units of weight

to measure gold and

diamonds. Domesticated

and grown in the region

since antiquity, the tree’s abundant and nutritious fruit explains its biblical name,

St. John’s Bread. Just as significantly, carob tree cropping is a sustainable form of

agriculture and a living example of economically and environmentally sustainable

and efficient use of land and of natural and human resources. Carob trees tolerate

aridity, are well suited to the hilly terrain and poor calcareous soils, require no

irrigation beyond the first year and minimum care. The tree’s adaptability ensures

that carob trees are cultivated in landscapes that are good for little else.

Carob landscapes therefore are valuable not only because they are sustainable in

themselves but because they conserve soil and water resources in marginal lands.

Carob landscapes in addition are economically sustainable: their multifunctional

format ensures the annual harvest of carob pods, enables intercropping with grain

and provides ample grazing for sheep and goats. The carob pod is processed locally;

the flesh is used to produce molasses, the remaining pith used as fodder and the

seeds exported to Europe for use in the gum extraction industries. Recent studies

indicate that carob landscapes are equally wildlife habitats, a refuge for birds and

shelter for wild flora.

A sketch, by Dr. Jala Makhzoumi, of the AUB Observatory carob.

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IBSAR helps preserve Lebanon’s biodiversity

IBSAR has launched its “Seeds of Hope, Trees for Tomorrow” campaign, as part

and parcel of the Center’s “Power of Planting” initiative, intended to mobilize

community members to participate in planting native trees and shrubs within their

own neighborhood . This campaign is aimed at preserving Lebanon’s biodiversity

and protecting its natural heritage. This is something that can only be accomplished

Carob agriculture in Lebanon is in decline. Limited processing, limited marketability

and competition from intensive cash crops such as citrus and banana have come to

undermine and replace this traditional form of agriculture. Ironically, the decline in

Lebanon occurs at a time when carob tree cultivation is being advanced in combating

desertification in other Mediterranean regions, the USA and Australia, when the

carob pod is gaining in popularity as fat-free, chocolate substitute and when gum

extraction from carob seeds continues to be as profitable as always.

Carob (agri)Culture Project was developed by an interdisciplinary team at IBSAR

Center to undertake a multifaceted assessment of carob agriculture in Lebanon.

The project justification is the economic benefits to rural communities, livelihoods,

indirect ecological and environmental benefits and the versatility of carob pods in

various industries, as a dietary supplement, and as a repository of native culture

and traditional knowledge that has existed for centuries in Lebanon and the eastern

Mediterranean.

Seed funds from AUB Taskforce for Reconstruction and Community Services have

launched the project with initial research to characterize varieties of carob as a

basis for comparison with global markets as well as assessment of quality of carob

gum in cultivated and wild carob varieties. Jala Makhzoumi

View from the “Seeds of Hope, Trees for Tomorrow” campaign.

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IBSAR-AUB and DDTC-Helsinki University seek funding for drug development based on natural products

Today’s need for the development of drugs based on

natural products is immanent, and IBSAR is active in

this sector. It has joined efforts, with the Center of

Drug Discovery and Development Technologies (DDTC),

Helsinki University (Finland), to establish a collaboration

to facilitate drug research and discovery based on bio-

prospection of natural products for treatment of cancer

and chronic inflammatory disorders. Hosted by DDTC,

IBSAR faculty members, Drs. Darwiche, El-Sabban,

Saliba, and R. Talhouk met, on September 13-18, 2007,

with faculty members from DDTC and agreed to solicit

funds from Finnish, EU and UNDP sources to set up a

collaboration between them, and at later stages, between several EU partners and

IBSAR within the framework of FP7 program.

A draft document, prepared at the end of the visit, will serve as a backbone for

future solicitation of funds. Funds will also be sought for mobility and training of

students and to enhance faculty expertise, on either campus, in drug design and

drug discovery bio-systems. The group worked very hard over the entire stay, and

enjoyed Finnish hospitality as best exemplified by Dr. Urtti, Director of DDTC, and Dr.

Vuorela, Vice Dean on research in the Faculty of Pharmacy.

through enabling community members

to participate in nature conservation

activities. This project’s objective? To

secure the genetic resources of native

flora for the future, thus creating a field

bank analogous to that of ‘Noah’s Ark’ for

native trees and shrubs in Lebanon.

Rabih Talhouk

Drs. Nadine Darwiche (sitting),

Najat Saliba and Rabih Talhouk

on their last day touring

the town and relaxing after

a delicious sea-food meal

provided by the host. (Photo

courtesy of Dr. Marwan El-

Sabban).

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IBSAR participates in Jordan conference

Regional and international

conferences continue to be

an essential item on IBSAR’s

annual agenda. IBSAR was

invited to, and participated

in, the “First Regional

Conference of Traditional

Arabic and Islamic Medicine”,

held in Amman from August 7

Dr. Hala Muhtasib during the conference.

View from the “Seeds of Hope, Trees for Tomorrow”

campaign.

Arbi Sarkissian

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to 10, 2007. Researchers from around the world presented their work and gathered

to discuss recent advancements in their fields. Supported by IBSAR, professors

Nadine Darwiche, Najat Saliba and Hala Muhtasib, as well as 10 graduate students,

and assistants constituted the largest group at the conference.

Hala Muhtasib, Chairperson of the Biology Department at AUB and member of IBSAR,

was greatly involved in the conference’s events. Muhtasib presented a novel piece

of work titled “Thymoquinone: The Blessed Seed Extract” in which she explained

this drug’s health benefits, particularly its anticancer effects. She also discussed

thymoquinone’s mode of action at the molecular and cellular levels.

Two other posters from Muhtasib’s lab were presented. One was titled “Anti-colon

Cancer Effects of Salograviolide A isolated from Centaurea ainetensis”, and the

other was titled “Combined Treatment of Purified Lebanese Plant Extracts Tf and Ep

Hala Muhtasib

Shots from the conference.

Causes Synergistic Growth Inhibition and Apoptosis in Colon Cancer” representing

the works of her graduate students Nahed El-Najjar and Mohamed Salla, both of

whom received the first-prize award in their domain of in vitro research among the

presented posters.

Ibsa

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ons IBSAR Executive Committee elections

This fall, IBSAR faculty elected its executive board for 2007-2008. Membership in the

Executive Committee is open to any AUB faculty member who is a Regular Member

of IBSAR. The executive committee for this year consists of Drs. Elie Barbour, Jad

Chaaban, Marwan El Sabban, Jala Makhzoumi, Najat Saliba, Salma Talhouk, and

Rami Zurayk. Soon after the elections, the committee started its regular meetings,

and in its first meeting, elected Dr. Salma Tahouk as Chair and Director of the Center.

The Executive Committee is the body responsible for coordinating the Center’s work

and its committees. Every IBSAR Executive Committee member served a (renewable)

three-year term.

Salma Talhouk

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Rami Zurayk

AUB hosts the launching of the fourth Global Environment Outlook in West Asia

A major environmental event

launch was hosted by AUB’s

West Hall on October 26,

2007: the AUB Environmental

Sciences Department, United

Nations Environment Program

(UNEP), and the United Nations

Information Center (UNIC)

jointly presented the fourth

Global Environment Outlook in

West Asia (GEO-4). The GEO-4

launch in Beirut coincided

with UNEP’s release of the

GEO-4 Report in 27 other cities

around the world. From a global

perspective, the GEO-4 report

is the result of five years of analyses into causes, impacts and policy responses

brought on by environmental change, while at the same time suggesting methods

for staving off the rapid decline in the Earth’s natural environment.

At 572 pages, the GEO-4 report presents the findings of nearly 400 experts from

a wide array of fields – both scientific and sociological – with thousands more

having vetted the various chapters that went into the final report. AUB was a major

contributor to the report. The report includes 10 chapters. It mainstreams 2 critical

issues: Global warming and biodiversity.

GEO-4 includes a special section on West Asia, where 79% of the land is degraded

and 98% of this degradation is caused by people. Severe land use changes

are associated with significant decline in biodiversity. There have been serious

rehabilitation efforts, especially in rangeland management, reforestation, and the

establishment of protected areas. Yet there are still a number of problems, some

specific to this part of the world, such as war and security. The Lebanon oil spill

caused by Israeli bombardments is testimony to that.

The report ended with a global call for action to halt and reverse existing trends,

by relying on better science to influence appropriate policies, and deeper public

engagement. IBSAR’s objectives and core beliefs fall right into this category.

Dr. Rami Zurayk presenting at the GEO-4 launch in West Hall.

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IBSAR staff

Here’s a chance to meet IBSAR staff, the people without whom IBSAR would not be

IBSAR! Different people, different educational backgrounds, but one goal: working

for nature conservation and sustainable futures.

Khaled Sleem: Born in a mountainous Lebanese village

called Nabeh El Safa, meaning “clear spring”, Khaled is

an agricultural engineer who graduated from AUB. Bad

luck, he says, had led him to work as a salesman in a

pesticide company for four years (1996 to 2000). It was

in 2001 that he joined AUB as a field coordinator (for the

bioprospection project) in charge of plant identification

and collection. He was at this same job when IBSAR was

founded and continues to be IBSAR’s field coordinator today. “I have always dreamt

of working in the research field, especially on environmentally-friendly projects and

away from pesticides. That’s why I consider myself lucky working with IBSAR. For

me, IBSAR is not just a workplace. It is a lifestyle,” says Khaled.

Monika Fabian: “This is Monika from IBSAR” – that’s

how everybody at AUB knows her. Coming from Hungary

with a horticultural engineer degree, she is married to

a Lebanese and has a newborn son. When she came to

Lebanon, she sought a place and an institution where

she can work “in a green environment for a green

environment”. She says: “As we all know, the best

place for that here in Beirut is AUB. In 2006, I had the

chance to work with IBSAR and to assist in teaching landscape students with Dr.

Salma Talhouk, so what more can I wish for? I am just lucky to work here”.

Josipa Sopf-Nuic: Josipa is a forestry engineer coming

from Croatia. Upon graduation from the School of

Forestry, University of Sarajevo BiH, she gained her

forestry field work experience. Later on, she continued

her research work at the Botanical Garden in Zagreb.

Change in career path led Josipa to expand her

experience in a variety of international humanitarian

organizations and NGOs in different countries. Upon

arrival to Lebanon, and learning about IBSAR’s mission to promote conservation

and sustainable utilization of biodiversity, she decided to return to her original

profession and joined IBSAR team to help in fulfilling their mission. In addition to

extensive NGO experience, she brings research experience of mapping Croatian

Vascular Flora, the project she worked on as Associate back in Croatia.

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Arbi Sarkissian: An IBSAR intern from the USA, Arbi is

in charge of IBSAR outreach activities. With the help of

IBSAR members and volunteers, he has been organizing

events and activities made possible through donations

collected for the “Seeds of Hope, Trees for Tomorrow”

campaign. These activities are aimed at mobilizing

students and community members to participate in the

tree planting process while promoting awareness about

biodiversity conservation through planting natives. He is currently coordinating

workshops for ACS students and AUB volunteers who have shown interest in the

tree planting campaign. The students who continue to show support will be invited

to participate in a community-based tree planting event at the beginning of 2009.

Samer Toutoungy: After completing his master’s

studies in biotechnology in Greece, Samer found

himself working with IBSAR, a “progressive and

proactive team” that reflects a great deal of his future

prospects. “The more I progress with IBSAR,” he says,

“the more I find myself in harmony with the vision

IBSAR sets for itself”. This vision aims, through its

actions, at re-instigating a constructive spirit in the

community by reminding the individual of the active responsibility he holds towards

his environment. Samer views himself as an individual whose passion is knowledge;

who pursues science as a lifestyle and a perception to satisfy his inquisitive mind

as well as a tool to serve social progress; and who “finds pleasure in searching

to understand life’s complexities and even more pleasure afterwards in retracing

his steps to perceive things in their holistic sense, appreciating how everything is

connected in this beautiful and mysterious creation”.

Ahmed Kardaly: A Lebanese University graduate with a

Diploma in Biochemistry, Ahmed found himself involved

with IBSAR’s mission for biodiversity conservation. This

prompted him to begin volunteering in January 2008.

He undertook many tasks in IBSAR, some related to

research and others related to project follow-up with

several Lebanese municipalities. His aim in joining

IBSAR, he says, encompasses involving himself in

biodiversity conservation activities, and “working harmoniously with people from

various backgrounds and cultures”.Monika Fabian

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Sum

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ips An intense learning experience at IBSAR

A teacher at Algeria’s University

of Béjaia and a PhD candidate

preparing her doctorate on a

medicinal plant called Clematis

flammula, IBSAR summer intern

Dina Kilani initially found out

about IBSAR by coincidence,

upon discussing her thesis with

her sister, who works with IUCN.

Directed by head of IBSAR Dr.

Salma Talhouk to contact Dr. Najat

Saliba, a chemist and member of IBSAR, Kilani began training in Dr. Saliba’s lab for

a one-month period last summer.

Says Kilani: “Dr. Saliba and her team of young researchers made it easy for me to

learn. Despite being overwhelmed by their own research, they were helpful and

cooperative.”

Though the results of Kilani’s work are not yet complete, the experience she gained

is so intense that she hopes to return to finish what she started. She says: “It’s good

to find out that in a country like Lebanon, struggling politically and economically,

there are people like Dr. Saliba and Dr. Talhouk working to make a difference in the

environment”.Dina Kilani

Right to left: Dr. Najat Saliba, Dina Kilani, and researchers at

Dr. Saliba’s lab.

Ibsa

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IBSAR’s new home

IBSAR has moved, and our new office is in Faculty 1 W. It is nice, small, and as

always, bubbling with activities and volunteers. We will be holding a proper open

house event as soon as the weather permits. Our phone extension numbers are

4509 and 4505.

Send your news, articles, and editorial comments to

ibsar@aub.edu.lb

Visit the IBSAR website at www.ibsar.org.

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