There are examples of symbols such as trees and forests and their planting or removal being used for less than benevolent purposes, or contributing to red zones rather than ameliorating them (Guha 1989, Fairhead and Leach 1996, Scott 1998, Cronon 2003, Prudham 2004). Perhaps a most salient example exists in the Israel/Palestine territorial conflict where, according to Braverman (2009) there are two dominant and highly symbolic tree landscapes; pine forests and olive groves. The pine tree is associated with Zionist afforestation of the Promised Land, while the olive tree symbolizes the long agricultural connection to the land held by Palestinians (Braverman 2009). In his book Braverman describes the story of trees through the narratives of military and government officials, architects, lawyers, Palestinian and Israeli farmers, and Jewish settlers, including cases of trees actually being targeted by military forces, removed, and destroyed, in some cases repeatedly. He says succinctly:
The intent of this paper was to describe trees as symbols and tree planting rituals, and to describe the importance of the presence of tree symbols and tree rituals to the process of recovering from a specific disaster or crisis, as represented by three separate cases. Further, I endeavored to delineate the role of the relationship between individuals or communities and trees and forests, especially in symbolic and ritualistic terms, as an important part of individual or community recovery, and of the resilience of the social-ecological system within which human individuals and communities are embedded. The presence of tree symbols, the social-ecological memories that define them and that inform the rituals that perpetuate them, and the resulting social-ecological relationships between people and trees or forests, as expressed through symbols and rituals, reveals a possible source of resilience in this kind of SES undergoing rapid change.
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