Environmental issues in Syria
Major environmental issues in Syria include deforestation, overgrazing, soil erosion, desertification, water pollution from the dumping of raw sewage and wastes from petroleum refining, and inadequate supplies of potable water.
Water shortages, exacerbated by population growth, industrial expansion, and water pollution, are a significant long-term constraint on economic development. The water shortages in Syria turned into five successive years of drought, prolonging the environmental issues that Syria already had.
The Assad government came into power in Syria in 1970. Hafez al-Assad ruled as President from 1971 to 2000, and following his death the presidency passed to his son, Bashar al-Assad. The lack of change in environmental policies contributed to the five successive years of drought. Also, the continuous 'stability and peace' movement for four decades that was instilled by the Assad government transformed into institutionalizing fear and violence amongst its own people had an effect in the 2011 Arab spring. The 2011 Arab Spring, which began as a civil uprising, quickly transformed into the Syrian Civil War.
The outbreak of the Civil War in Syria has been detrimental to the economy and environment. The toxicity of weapons used during the war such as mortar bombs, artillery shells, barrel bombs, aircraft bombs and missiles have been the leading cause for the damage to Syria's oil production, industrial areas, infrastructure, and waste management. Therefore, the Ministry of Environmental Affairs in Syria has participated in the United Nations Conference to create the Sustainable Development Plan. This plan was created as an effort to combat desertification, biodiversity, and climate change. Unfortunately, at the General Assembly, it was declared that the plan had failed in terms of the setbacks that were found within the degrading land and eroding development gains. These environmental issues were ultimately related to the Syrian war.
Environmental issues prior to Syria's civil war
Water mismanagement
Five years of drought (2006–2011)
In the years of 2006–2011, Syria experienced five successive years of drought that created one of the biggest humanitarian crisis Syria has ever known. Although, the climate change has significantly impacted the drought in Syria, affecting the agriculture resources, the Assad government has demonstrated a long-term mismanagement and neglect of natural resources.It is natural for droughts to occur in countries with semi-arid climate. Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine were similarly affected by the drought in 2007–2008, but Syria was the only country in the region that experienced a humanitarian crisis. The region that was severely affected by the drought is the greater Fertile Crescent. Being the main source for agriculture and animal herding, the drought caused agricultural failures and livestock mortality. The lack of change in policy setting – agricultural policies – has been one of the perpetrators of this issue. Hafez al-Assad had instilled policies to improve Syria's agricultural production including the redistribution of land, and irrigation projects. The land redistribution exploited the limited land affecting the level of groundwater as a consequence causing water shortage in Syria.
In 2003, 25 percent of Syria's GDP came from agriculture. In fact, Syria's agriculture depended on their 6-month winter season where they accumulated their rainfall to grow the crops. In 2007 and 2008, Syria failed to produce wheat due to having had the driest winter on record causing the agricultural share to fall to 17 percent. Farmers and herders were producing zero or near-zero livestock, forcing them to begin importing products for the first time in 15 years. This caused prices of wheat and rice to drastically increase. In 2010, the drought completely demolished the environment causing malnutrition and nutrition related diseases among children of 6 to 12 months old were suffering from anemia in Raqqa. People began migrating towards the urban areas causing an 80 percent lack of enrolment in schools.
The drought caused such distress to the environment and the people of Syria that it is speculated to have been the reason behind the Arab Spring that occurred in 2011. The Assad government had an over-concentration of benefits of economic reform, patronage and it was assured that the opportunities landed in the hands of the President's family and elite groups causing a mismanagement of natural resources. This affected the agricultural sector causing the government to put an end to subsidies in 2008 and 2009. Tensions began rising when the people of Syria could no longer afford basic necessities such as food and gasoline.
The lack of water resources management during the drought caused the water quality to become poor and contaminated. The water shortage in rural parts of the country caused farmers to reuse untreated waste water to water their livestock resulting in the pollution of the groundwater and the surfaces. The health risks were undeniable as people were beginning to drink contaminated water and falling ill with diseases such as kidney stones and E. coli.
The severe drought caused an abnormal population growth amongst the urban area of Syria. Poor infrastructure, youth unemployment, and crime rates began rising due to the serge of migrants causing instability in Syria. In fact, it is estimated that 1.5 million people from the rural areas, and 1.2 million Iraqi refugees migrated. The four decades of the Assad government's authoritarian leadership and lack of policy change was the product of the uprising, leading up to the current Civil war.
Waste mismanagement
The waste management in Syria prior to the war was already hazardous and weak. There are two types of Hazardous Waste Production in Syria such as Industrial Hazardous Waste and Medical Hazardous Waste. In 1997, 21,730 tonnes of industrial hazardous waste were collected from five of Syria's largest cities, and 470,000 tonnes of phosphogypsum were also produced. In 2000, 3,000 tonnes of medical hazardous waste were produced and it is estimated that annually by 2010, there will be an increase to 4,500 tonnes. To be more precise, 5 percent radioactive waste, 15 percent chemical waste, and 80 percent infectious waste composed the medical hazardous waste in Syria, and the lack of policy or government change perpetuated these issues. is relatively collected by municipalities or private companies but it was reported that approximately 80 per cent of domestic solid waste was disposed at open dump sites on the outskirts of town. The Assad government's long-term mismanagement of the waste produced dioxin and other gases causing air pollution in Damascus and Aleppo. In fact, whether the waste is hazardous or non-hazardous, it is not separated from domestic waste which began contaminating the water, the soil and of polluting the air. Medical hazardous waste is mismanaged as well. The medical centers in Syria do not have designated waste disposal causing the equipment at hospitals to get mixed and disposed with domestic waste. There are health risks implemented from the waste management of medical hazardous waste on health risks for health care workers, waste handlers, patients, and the rest of the Syrian population.Mining pollution
The phosphate industry has had a negative impact on the environment. In fact, phosphate rocks have a high level of radio activity. The phosphate is exposed on the population and environment through mining and transportation of phosphate fertilizers. These fertilizers contain uranium. Also, the waste mismanagement of phosphogypsum is being dumped in undesignated areas, affecting the mining industry. When it evaporates in the air, it affects the environment, the workers, and the rest of the population.The phosphate mines are situated near Palmyra and are transported and disposed of in an irresponsible manner. The waste from the mines is dumped near the Mediterranean Sea, and the pollution produced by the mining industry has contributed to the Mediterranean Sea's deteriorating state. The perpetuation of the Syria's pollution has not only affected Syria's environment, and its people, but has made its way into neighbouring regions. It has affected Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, West Bank and Gaza Strip, Italy, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Monaco, Morocco, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovenia, Spain, Tunisia, and Turkey. The pollution that is inflicted on the Mediterranean Sea are land-based such as sewage and urban run-off, urban solid wastes, persistent organic pollutants, heavy metals, organohalogen compounds, radioactive substances, nutrients, suspended solids, and hazardous wastes.