Tree of life faces 'axe'

Bahraini national treasure the Tree of Life could miss out on the chance to become one of the world's official 'New7Wonders of Nature'.

The Tree of Life, (Shajarat Al Hayah), is a 400-year-old mesquite tree which stands alone in the desert about 2km from the Jebel Dukhan, the highest point in Bahrain.

The source of water for the tree is a mystery because it stands in a place which has no obvious water supply, yet the tree has thrived for centuries and is known as one of the symbols of the kingdom.

Now it has been nominated for a place among the official 'New7Wonders of Nature' but without official support it will soon be disqualified from the voting despite being well placed already.

The New7Wonders campaign was launched early in the new millennium to find seven new wonders of the world, sites and buildings of great importance, in which the organisers hoped to increase awareness and conservation interest.

More than 100million votes were cast from all around the globe and the winners were announced in a ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal, on July 7, 2007.

The sites chosen as the seven new wonders were Chichen Itza, Mexico, the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil, the Colosseum in Italy, the Taj Mahal, India, the Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu, Peru and Petra in Jordan.

The winners and participants recorded record levels of increased tourism and economic benefits which could also be on the cards for Bahrain, if the powers that be act in time.

The organisers of the original campaign want to find the New7Wonders of Nature and sites all over the world have been nominated, among them Bahrain's Tree of Life.

They said: 'We know that the New7Wonders of Nature campaign will significantly raise awareness of the incredible variety and beauty of nature around us. As our slogan says, 'If we want to save anything, we first need to truly appreciate it!' This is something that is very important - more awareness and more tourism income means that these natural treasures can be better preserved for future generations.'

Candidates in the Official New7Wonders of Nature campaign are clearly defined natural sites that have neither been created by nor significantly altered by humans for aesthetic reasons.

More than 260 natural wonders around the world have been nominated and are now through to the second stage in which voting begins to choose the top 77 from which a panel of experts will pick the 21 official finalists which will be voted on over the next two years with the final New7Wonders to be announced in 2011.

Voting is now open for the top 77 and runs until July 7 this year. So far the Tree of Life is proving a popular choice but in order to be in with a chance the national treasure must have an Official Supporting Committee and the race is on for Bahrain to come up with one.

The job is apparently not hard and the committee members do not have to be officials but they must have national government recognition and this may be harder to come by than it seems.

GulfWeekly has been trying, unsuccessfully, to talk to an official on this issue since January 15, when an initial email was sent to the director of public relations at the Ministry of Information and Culture. There has been no reply.

Three days later we tried the director of press and publications. From there our questions were either ignored or redirected to no fewer than four other information and tourism officials, the last of whom we have been waiting to hear from since March 12 when a reminder email was sent following an initial inquiry on February 8.

Then, today a communication arrived from the organisers on New7Wonders stating that if a committee cannot be established then the Tree of Life will be suspended from the list giving it no chance of progressing into the top 77.

A call to the Ministry today was twice put through to the wrong people, on the third attempt the call simply rang out without being answered.

The New7Wonders organisers say they have even written to Minister for Culture and Information Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa. Now it remains to be seen whether she will take action in time.