Drought has been hitting the North-Eastern parts of Syria in the harshest of ways, causing thousands of people to flee their once green fields into larger cities in Syria (mainly Damascus) looking for an alternative source of living. Speaking to the Financial Times, Nabi Rashid Mohammad, Syria's deputy minister of agriculture says that Syria wants "more parties to be involved in this problem because we, the Syrian government and the people are doing all we can but the problem is bigger than our abilities to deal with it."
Although Syria is seeking international aid, this has so far not been sufficient. The UN has not yet been able to come up with the required amount of funds to face this problem:
"The UN is seeking some $53m (€36m, £33m) in emergency funds but has not received any money yet from donors...
Drought is a slowly ongoing disaster and because of the political situation donors do not give money easily for humanitarian action in Syria," says Mostafa Shbib to the FT. According to a report on Aljazeera the UN has only managed to secure 19% of the total funds necessary.
The effects of the drought can be felt on many levels. Nabil Sukar a Syrian Economist has said that the effects of the drought on the economy can already be felt estimating that the drought will "shave about 1 per cent off gross domestic product growth this year." Syria's GDP growth this year is expected to be around 1%.
The BBC has also reported on the effects of the drought on the families that live in that region stating that nearly 300,000 families have already left the area. Although there has been 'limited assistance by the Un and Red Cross along with food aid distribution and the introduction of a system of tax breaks and new loans for farmers by the Syrian government; non of it is enough.'
Showing posts with label Climate change. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Climate change. Show all posts
Saturday, 10 October 2009
Friday, 19 June 2009
Global warming sweeps Syrian countryside
DAMASCUS: Some 160 villages in northern Syria were deserted of their residents in 2007 and 2008 because of climate change, according to a study released on Tuesday.
The report drawn up by the International Institute for Sustainable Development warns of potential armed conflict for control of water resources in the Middle East.
"The 2007/8 drought caused significant hardship in rural areas of Syria. In the northeast of the country, a reported 160 villages have been entirely abandoned and the inhabitants have had to move to urban areas," it said.
In Syria and also in Jordan, Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, "climate change threatens to reduce the availability of scarce water resources, increase food insecurity, hinder economic growth and lead to large-scale population movements," the report said.
"This could hold serious implications for peace in the region," the Canada-based institute said.
The study, financed by Denmark, predicts a hotter, drier and less predictable climate in the Middle East, "already considered the world's most water-scarce and where, in many places, demand for water already outstrips supply."
Oli Brown, who co-wrote the report with Alec Crawford, said: "Climate change itself poses real security concerns to the region. It could lead to increased militarization of strategic natural resources, complicating peace agreements."
"Israel is already using climate change as an excuse to increase their control over the water resources in the region," he said.
The IISD said, however, that there is much that national governments and authorities, civil society and the international community can do to respond to climate change and the threats it may pose to regional peace and security.
"They can promote a culture of conservation in the region, help communities and countries adapt to the impacts of climate change, work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and foster greater cooperation on their shared resources," the study said.
Brown and Crawford's report says climate change could affect farm productivity in Syria, where agriculture represents 23% of gross domestic product and employs 30 percent of the active population.
"Some 13% of agricultural land was downgraded between 1980 and 2006 because of ... urban expansion and agricultural, industrial and tourism activities," Fayez Asrafy, a desertification expert, told AFP.
"Rainfall shrank by 10 millimetres (a year) between 1956 and 2006 while temperatures rose by (an average) 0.5 degrees Celsius, though below the worldwide average of 0.6 degrees," Syrian meteorologist Khales Mawed said.
The IISD predicts even modest global warming would lead to a 30% drop in water in the Euphrates, which runs through Turkey, Syria and Iraq, while the Dead Sea would shrink in volume by 80 percent by the end of the century.
more on treehugger.com
The report drawn up by the International Institute for Sustainable Development warns of potential armed conflict for control of water resources in the Middle East.
"The 2007/8 drought caused significant hardship in rural areas of Syria. In the northeast of the country, a reported 160 villages have been entirely abandoned and the inhabitants have had to move to urban areas," it said.
In Syria and also in Jordan, Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, "climate change threatens to reduce the availability of scarce water resources, increase food insecurity, hinder economic growth and lead to large-scale population movements," the report said.
"This could hold serious implications for peace in the region," the Canada-based institute said.
The study, financed by Denmark, predicts a hotter, drier and less predictable climate in the Middle East, "already considered the world's most water-scarce and where, in many places, demand for water already outstrips supply."
Oli Brown, who co-wrote the report with Alec Crawford, said: "Climate change itself poses real security concerns to the region. It could lead to increased militarization of strategic natural resources, complicating peace agreements."
"Israel is already using climate change as an excuse to increase their control over the water resources in the region," he said.
The IISD said, however, that there is much that national governments and authorities, civil society and the international community can do to respond to climate change and the threats it may pose to regional peace and security.
"They can promote a culture of conservation in the region, help communities and countries adapt to the impacts of climate change, work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and foster greater cooperation on their shared resources," the study said.
Brown and Crawford's report says climate change could affect farm productivity in Syria, where agriculture represents 23% of gross domestic product and employs 30 percent of the active population.
"Some 13% of agricultural land was downgraded between 1980 and 2006 because of ... urban expansion and agricultural, industrial and tourism activities," Fayez Asrafy, a desertification expert, told AFP.
"Rainfall shrank by 10 millimetres (a year) between 1956 and 2006 while temperatures rose by (an average) 0.5 degrees Celsius, though below the worldwide average of 0.6 degrees," Syrian meteorologist Khales Mawed said.
The IISD predicts even modest global warming would lead to a 30% drop in water in the Euphrates, which runs through Turkey, Syria and Iraq, while the Dead Sea would shrink in volume by 80 percent by the end of the century.
more on treehugger.com
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