Atlas of Ecosystem Changes in Libya

Abstract

Libya's ecosystems are facing increasing pressures as a result of environmental and climatic changes caused by the interaction of natural and human factors. Despite the importance of the spatial dimension for analyzing these phenomena, there is a lack of a comprehensive environmental atlas that monitors and documents spatial and temporal changes in ecosystems. This lack of geographical documentation is an obstacle to an accurate understanding of changes in natural resources. Recent research evidence and international and local reports indicate that Libya is experiencing apparent environmental changes that affect ecosystems in one way or another. According to the United Nations Development Programme report, the temperature has increased significantly, while at the same time rainfall rates have decreased and sea level has risen, which threatens the sustainability of water supplies and exacerbates desertification and loss of biodiversity At the same time, the RENEWAL project, implemented by UNOPS and IFAD, confirmed the worsening water scarcity and pressures on agricultural resources and livestock in northwestern Libya, represented in the Jafara and Western Mountain regions, Nalut, and Zuwara. Finally, the spatial reality of ecosystems in Libya indicates that the coastal and mountain systems do not exceed6% of the area and produce more than 60% of the national biomass and are characterized by a grazing capacity of up to 0.7 head/hectare, compared to the desert systems which constitute more than 85% of the area but with a grazing capacity of less than 0.1 head/hectare. This disparity reflects the quasi-linear relationship between the density of vegetation cover and productivity on the one hand, and the carrying capacity of pastures on the other hand. A50% decrease in vegetation cover in transitional zones leads to a decline in grazing capacity exceeding 70%, while mountain systems represent the highest environmental efficiency in the country, where plant productivity exceeds 5 tons/hectare/year in some locations, which is five times the productivity in ecosystems where productivity is doubled compared to the desert system, despite its limited spread of 1%, in light of the fact that the environmental structure in Libya is not related to area as much as it is related to the availability of water and the climatic gradient, which leads to the concentration of biological activity in narrow zones that are highly sensitive to any environmental change or human use.