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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 regime (Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syrian Region) has been in power from 1970-Present. Hafez al-Assad ruled as President from 1971-2000, and following his death passed the power to his son, Bashar al-Assad. The lack of change in policies and agenda setting is said to have had a contribution in the five successive years of drought. Also, the continuous ‘stability and peace’ movement for four decades that was instilled by the Assad Regime transformed into institutionalizing fear and violence amongst its own people had a contribution in the 2011 Arab spring. The 2011 Arab Spring which began as a civil uprising quickly transformed into a full blown Civil War. Unfortunately, the constant coercion of the Assad Regime – from the Hama Massacre of 1982 to the consistent incommunicado detention centers where civilians that dare speak ill or in opposition to the government are being tortured and dehumanized – has been the main perpetuator to the current Civil War in Syria, unknowingly causing the current detrimental state of the environment.

The outbreak of the Civil War in Syria has been detrimental to the economical, social and environmental life. The toxicity of weapons used during the war such as mortar bombs, artillery shells, barrel bombs, aircraft bombs and missiles as been the leading cause for the damages to Syria’s oil production, industrial areas, infrastructure, waste management. Therefore, the Ministry of Environmental Affairs in Syria (State Minister: Nazira Farah Sarkis) 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 set backs that were found within the degrading land and eroding development gains. These environmental issues were ultimately related to the Syrian war.

Background
The Assad Regime has been around since 1970, and has managed to stay in power until the present day by instilling an authoritarian rule on Syria and its people. In fact, the ideology of fear and violence against Syria’s people was perpetuated by former President, Hafez al Assad (1971-2000). Upon Hafez al-Assad’s death, his son – Bashar al-Assad – was named head of the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party, and is the current President of Syria (2000-Present).

Syria has various ethnic and religious cleavages that divided but also instilled a sense of loyalty amongst certain parts of the country. The main minorities in Syria include the Alawites (12 per cent), the Greek Orthodox Christians and other Christian sects (9 per cent), the Kurds (9 per cent), and the Druze (3 per cent). The Sunni religious group is considered to be the majority amongst the Syrian population. The ethnic and religious diversity in Syria has caused an unequal distribution of power. The Sunnis Muslims dominated politically, and ensured that the Alawites were denied any political input. The Alawites – a minority – naturally wanted to have an input in their country, causing them to claim the armed forces and the Ba’ath Party. This created a secular and unstable Syria.

The lack of stability in the country originated from the formation of the Ba’ath Regime in 1963. The Ba’ath party was lead by ex-peasant military officers who took power with a radical point of view creating quite a few oppositions such as the old oligarchs, the Muslim Brotherhood, and Nasserists. The Ba’ath Party wanted to become “the most important and ultimately successful of the radical movements that arose in post independence Syria”, which meant that they were less likely to prevail if they mobilized from below, and more likely to succeed if they launched a “revolution from above”. Unfortunately, when the Ba’ath Party gained control of the economy, they also created instability between the regime and the opposition.

In 1970, Hafez al-Assad came to power, it was insured that he would leave behind the radical Ba’athist ideology that the leaders before him had held onto, leading him to opt for a more monarchical presidency. His Presidency was the beginning of a façade presidential republic. There were no real oppositions because he made sure to concentrate the power in his hands. Even if opposition were to happen, Hafez had run a patronage based community which allowed him to control any form of chaos that were to happen in Syria. The Regime used Coercion to keep Syria stable and under control. There were various coercive tactics that were used such as the Massacre of the Muslim brotherhood in Hama in 1982, and the ‘incommunicado’ detention centers and military prisons where they mistreated and dehumanized the prisoners. Hafez was sure to make an example out of those who opposed him to keep the control within the hands of his regime.

The various ethnic and religious cleavages were used to maintain control over the party, military and police forces, and government institutions. Since Hafez and the armed forces were both Alawite, he was able to ensure loyalty. The loyalty that was given by the military and police forces allowed him to keep any opposition from rising against his regime.

After ensuring his authority, Hafez was able to begin his transition towards a market economy through institutionalizing a “social contract”. The state would provide the people of Syria subsidized food and public employment with the exception of completely surrendering their political rights. To reinforce the economic liberalization, he would also go on to creating a cross-sectarian coalition between the Sunni bourgeoisie and the Alawite military elites – helping him gain power and instil a stable Syria.

In 2000, Hafez al-Assad passes away, and the power is passed on to his eldest son – Bashar al-Assad. He was not involved in political affairs and was not expected to fill his father’s shoes, but he rose to the task and assured that his father’s legacy would live on.

Five Successive 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 every known. Although, the climate change has significantly impacted the drought in Syria, affecting the agriculture resources, the Assad Regime 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 (such as wheat, and rice), 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 Regime 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 Regime’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 regime change perpetuated these issues.

Domestic solid waste 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 regime’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, 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 (POPs), heavy metals, organohalogen compounds, radioactive substances, nutrients, suspended solids, and hazardous wastes.

Damage to oil production
ISIS has taken control of the oil refineries in Syria and has began selling on the black market for less than oil would normally be sold. It has become an economic incentive to purchase oil from ISIS even if it means to fund a terrorist organization. Since September 2014, the United States, government of Syria, Russia, and other allies, have began blowing up the oil refineries with airstrikes to cut off the source of funding of ISIS. Unfortunately, ISIS has gotten desperate for oil. They began digging holes to find oil, and when found, lighting up the oil on fire to refine it. When the oil is released in the air, it releases hazardous substances such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and lead. These substances have long term negative effects such as respiratory disorders, livers problems, kidney disorders, and cancer. The short term effects can also affect soils, people and the wild life.

Damage to Industrial areas and Infrastructure
The current Civil war has had negative repercussions on Syria’s infrastructure and industrial areas such as Homs, Hama, Damascus, and Aleppo. Adraa, al-Sheikh Najjar, Hasya and Deir Ez-zor are industrial zones which plans were establish but had to be interrupted when the civil war erupted. The fight between ISIS and the Syrian Army over Aleppo has affected its infrastructure but also neighbouring industrial zones such as al-Sheikh Najjar. Since the outbreak, 52 percent of Aleppo’s infrastructure has been destroyed or damaged. ISIS was occupying Damascus affecting neighouring industrial city, Adraa which hosts heavy industry facilities such as cement factories, chemical plants, oil and gas storage and military production sites.

Toxicity of Weapons
The toxicity of weapons such as mortar bombs, artillery shells, barrel bombs, aircraft bombs and missiles have taken a toll on the environment and the population’s health. These weapons have ammunitions with common metal parts that contain lead (Pb), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), antimony (Sb) and tungsten (W). Missiles and rockets contain solid or liquid propellants and nitroglycerin (NG), nitroguanidine (NQ), nitrocellulose (NC), 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT).

Ministry of Environmental Affairs
The Ministry of Environmental Affairs is lead by State Minister Nazira Farah Sarkis. It was established in 1991, and is responsible for national policy making and for coordinating environmental activities and the adoption of environmental legislation and regulations. The Ministry of Environmental Affairs has made numerous efforts to reverse the environmental issues that were inflected prior to the war such as Law No. 50 created in 2002. It was the Environmental Protection Law which was to protect the environment sector such as forestry, agriculture, water, fisheries. Unfortunately, the Assad Regime may have funded these plans too late for the Ministry of Environment to make major improvements. By the time they began their plans, the uprising had irrupted and not long after, the civil war.

Sustainable Development Plan
Before the UN Sustainable Development Plan was initiated, there were several conferences conducted working towards improving the environment in Syria. In 1992, within the Environment and Development Conference, there were conferences that were conducted. The Earth Summit for Environment and Development focused on combatting desertification, biodiversity, and climate change. Within the Environment and Development Conferences covered several other topics such as poverty, development, environment protection, human rights, good governance, women empowerment, children and youth issues.

In 2002, the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) conference was conducted. The summit planned the sustainable action plan, which would be renewed in the United Nation’s conference on sustainable development in 2012. The WSSD was focused on implementing the policies to work towards a more sustainable Syria. The Ministry of Environmental Affairs implemented the State Five-Year Plan while focusing on poverty, quality of life, education, health, women empowerment, and environment protection. Prior to the 2011 uprising, the Ministry was determined to improve the environment while also improving social and economic issues as well.

In 2012, sustainability priorities were not the same for all actors. The producers, consumers, government institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and Private sector all have different priorities for Syria, and may not be focusing on the Five-Year Plan (2006-2010) that was initially set out to accomplish with all three aspects such as economical, environmental and social. In fact, they were focused on mainly improving the economy demonstrating the lack of achievement towards the Five-Year Plan and a sustainable Syria.

Failure of Sustainable Development Plan
In the 2012 National Report on Syria about the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, it was reported that there are several weaknesses that would cause the Sustainable Development Plan. There is a lack of understanding in the working sector in terms of sustainable development. The Assad government and the elites are concerned with only one aspect of sustainability causing the neglect of the other issues in Syria. Focusing on improving the economy but ignoring the social and environmental aspects is detrimental to the Sustainable Development Plan. Considering the pressing economic issues in Syria, it would cause the government to make impulsive decisions and causing the failure of the plan.

On October 20th 2015, the United Nations held a General Assembly to conclude the debate on sustainable development. It was concluded that the sustainable plan had the potential of improving the quality of life in Syria, but after the 2011 uprising which erupted into a Civil war, it became impossible for the plan to succeed.

The stub article that will be proposed as my topic – which I will later on write about on my Wikipedia page – is called Environmental Issues in Syria. Since this article is considered a stub – which means an article that has a short beginning but still needs more improvement – I will discuss the topics that have caused environmental issues and are being caused by Syria’s environmental issues. In my opinion, Syria – more than ever now – has environmental issues which urgently need to be spoken about. These few topics will give a more thorough understanding of the causes behind Syria’s environmental issues. Furthermore, I will also explain the importance of this topic and why it should be expanded on. Finally, I will present how my article will contribute to theories of comparative public policy and course topics. The article begins with a little lead section which slightly introduces the environmental issues such as deforestation, overgrazing, soil erosion, desertification, water pollution from the dumping of raw sewage and wastes from petroleum refining, and inadequate supplies of potable water. It continues by mentioning the natural environmental hazards that cause environmental issues such as sandstorms and dust storms. Nonetheless, it seems as though this information barely scratches the surface of Syria’s environmental issues. Therefore, I propose to expand on this topic by discussing the deep rooted issues that are behind the environmental issues stated above. According to the Equilibrium Theory, having new actors get involved in the policy progress would help change the policy setting of the country for more stability (Baumgartner & Jones, 1993). Therefore, by discussing the Syrian drought, it will help further the point in the next section being “[…] that the 2007-2010 drought contributed to the conflict in Syria” (Kelley, Mohtadi, Cane, Seager, Kushnir, 2015, p.1). Furthermore, there will be a section dedicated to speak about the Assad Regime. This section is quite important because the Assad Regime was in power during the five successive years of drought and made a massive contribution in extenuating the environmental issues in Syria. Unfortunately, Syria has had “[…] culmination of 50 years of sustained mismanagement of water and land resources, and the dead end of the Syrian government’s water and agricultural policies” (De Chatel, 2014, p. 522). Therefore, it becomes evident that the Assad government is responsible for the worsening of Syria’s environmental issues because no change in agenda setting is no change in policy settings which means less stability in the country. Media has a very strong influence on what people will be interested in. The environment of Syria would not exactly be a topic that the media would discuss if it was not linked to the current war, the millions of civilians that are currently dying, and the economic problems that Syria is currently enduring. It is understood that the way issues are defined has an impact on whether they wind up on policy agenda (Soroka, 2007, 203). Therefore, the next section will discuss the Ministry of Environment Affairs in Syria, and the Sustainable Development plan to “[…] combat desertification, biodiversity and climate change” (National Report, 2012). Moreover, this article will explain that the sustainable development that was established in 2012 is now being seen as having ultimately failed (United Nations, 2015). Finally, this will lead us to the last section of the article being the War in Syria and the current environmental issues. In this section, the outbreak of the war in Syria will be explained. Also, the damage to Syria’s oil production, industrial areas, infrastructure, the waste management and toxicity caused by weapons such as mortar bombs, artillery shells, barrel bombs, aircraft bombs and missiles will demonstrate and explain the deteriorating effect on Syria’s environment (Zwijnenburg & te Pas, 2015, pp. 22-48). The media frames and constructs what the public and government will view as important. Therefore, environmental issues before the war were not exactly as important as they are now and they would only really become a priority for the government when it is realized that the economy might be affected by this.