Economy & Development
The Syrian economy has completely collapsed as a result of international sanctions and the civil war situation. Food prices have risen immensely, and many foods are no longer available for many people. Petrol and gas have become extremely scarce. In many cities, entire neighborhoods were razed to the ground.
Society & culture
The Syrian population is like a mosaic of religious communities and ethnic groups. Most of them have lived together peacefully in the millennia-old history of the country. In the current conflict, however, there is a risk that this fragile structure will break apart.
Everyday life & practical information
The uprising against the Syrian regime began in March 2011. The situation soon escalated. Today millions of people are on the run. In Syria, residential areas and factories, hospitals and schools, roads and bridges and large parts of the cultural heritage are in ruins. A normal life is hardly possible anymore. How long the war will last and how the situation will develop after the war is over cannot be foreseen. Foreigners are currently strongly advised not to travel to Syria.
According to zipcodesexplorer, the most important environmental problem in Syria is air pollution. It is caused by the civil war and especially by traffic, open fires and uncontrolled landfills. Explosives, toxic waste and air pollution contaminate groundwater and soils. The destruction of the environment as a result of the war means for the Syrians that, even decades after the end of the war, they can no longer inhabit or cultivate large areas of the country. Large parts of the environment have already been permanently devastated, toxic substances from ammunition, ruined houses or rubbish penetrate the soil and pollute the groundwater. So does air pollution. Bombed buildings play an important role, because asbestos was used in many houses. The climate in Syria is very dry, which means that the particles from destroyed houses stay in the air longer.
The high volume of traffic in metropolitan areas and heating with environmentally harmful diesel oil results in heavy air pollution in large cities. Before the outbreak of war, environmental problems in Syria were primarily the result of very high population growth and high economic growth. Serious damage was caused by the bombardment of oil refineries during the Syrian war.
Uncontrolled high water consumption, especially in agriculture, but also in the private sector, as well as inadequate wastewater treatment lead to a lowering of the groundwater level and to the pollution of the already scarce resource water. Only 53 percent of the population are connected to a sewage system.
Further ecological problems arise from deforestation and overgrazing through extensive sheep and goat breeding. Syria’s environmental problems are in the areas of deforestation; Overgrazing; Soil erosion; Desertification; Water pollution from wastewater and petroleum processing wastes; insufficient drinking water.
From 2006 to 2011, the entire fertile crescent from the Levant to Mesopotamia was dry. The drought thus affected large parts of the “Fertile Crescent”. In Syria alone, according to UN figures, around 800,000 people lost their livelihoods due to crop failures and their economic consequences. The ecological crisis therefore also had social and economic consequences. Before the crisis, agriculture contributed a quarter of Syria’s gross domestic product, but its production decreased by a third with the drought.
The water supply has collapsed in many places since the outbreak of the civil war, so UNICEF provides millions of people in Syria with daily water supplies and the construction and repair of wells. Water scarcity is a pressing problem in Syria. The problem is also exacerbated by the fact that the warring parties use dehydration as a weapon. Many observers and human rights organizations accuse Turkey of deliberately cutting off the people in northeastern Syria from an adequate water supply.
Turkey, Syria and Iraq have so far not been able to agree on a common concept for water use. As early as the 1970’s, Iraq built large dams on the Tigris and Syria on the Euphrates. For its part, Turkey does not take the interests of its neighbors into account. Since Turkey is on the upper reaches, the country determines how much water Syria and Iraq get. The conflict over water has regularly escalated in the past.
- Nahr al khabur
- Nahr al-Furad (Euphrates)
- Jabul with a size of 239 km²
- Quattineh with a size of 61 km²
- Al-Assad with a size of 674 km²
Uchumi wa Syria umeporomoka kabisa kutokana na vikwazo vya kimataifa na hali ya vita vya wenyewe kwa wenyewe. Bei ya chakula imeongezeka sana, na watu wengi hawawezi kupata vyakula vingi. Petroli na gesi zimekuwa chache sana. Katika majiji mengi, vitongoji vyote viliharibiwa kabisa. Jamii na utamaduni Idadi ya watu wa Syria ni kama mosaic ya jamii za kidini na makundi ya kikabila. Wengi wao wameishi pamoja kwa amani katika historia ya nchi hiyo yenye miaka elfu nyingi. Hata hivyo, katika mzozo wa sasa, kuna hatari ya muundo huo dhaifu kuvunjika. Maandamano ya kila siku dhidi ya utawala wa Syria yalianza mwezi Machi mwaka 2011. Punde si punde hali ikawa mbaya zaidi. Leo mamilioni ya watu wanakimbia. Katika Syria, maeneo ya makazi na viwanda, hospitali na shule, barabara na madaraja na sehemu kubwa za urithi wa kitamaduni ziko katika uharibifu. Maisha ya kawaida hayawezekani tena. Hawezi kutabiriwa vita vitaendelea kwa muda gani na hali itaendeleaje baada ya vita kumalizika. Kwa sasa wageni wanashauriwa vikali wasisafiri kwenda Syria. Kulingana na zipcodesexplorer, tatizo muhimu zaidi la mazingira nchini Syria ni uchafuzi wa hewa. Ni husababishwa na vita vya wenyewe kwa wenyewe na hasa na trafiki, moto wazi na majumba ya taka yasiyoweza kudhibitiwa. Vipuli, taka zenye sumu na uchafuzi wa hewa huchafua maji ya chini ya ardhi na udongo. Uharibifu wa mazingira kutokana na vita unawafanya Wasiria, hata miongo kadhaa baada ya vita kumalizika, wasiweze kuishi au kulima maeneo makubwa ya nchi. Sehemu kubwa za mazingira tayari zimeharibiwa kabisa, vitu vyenye sumu kutoka kwa risasi, nyumba zilizoharibiwa au taka huingia ardhini na kuchafua maji ya chini ya ardhi. Vivyo hivyo uchafuzi wa hewa. Majengo yaliyobomolewa yana fungu muhimu, kwa sababu asbestos ilitumiwa katika nyumba nyingi. Hali ya hewa nchini Syria ni kavu sana, ambayo inamaanisha kwamba chembe kutoka kwa nyumba zilizoharibiwa zinabaki hewani kwa muda mrefu. Kiasi kikubwa cha trafiki katika maeneo ya mji mkuu na joto na mafuta ya dizeli yenye madhara kwa mazingira husababisha uchafuzi mkubwa wa hewa katika miji mikubwa. Kabla ya vita kuanza, matatizo ya mazingira nchini Syria yalikuwa matokeo ya ongezeko kubwa la idadi ya watu na ukuaji mkubwa wa kiuchumi. Uharibifu mkubwa ulisababishwa na mabomu ya viwanda vya kusafisha mafuta wakati wa vita vya Syria. Matumizi ya maji ya juu yasiyodhibitiwa, hasa katika kilimo, lakini pia katika sekta binafsi, pamoja na usafishaji usiofaa wa maji taka husababisha kupungua kwa kiwango cha maji ya chini ya ardhi na uchafuzi wa maji ya rasilimali ambayo tayari ni nadra. Ni asilimia 53 tu ya watu wanaohusika katika mfumo wa maji machafu. Matatizo mengine ya kiikolojia hutokana na ukataji-miti na kulisha kupita kiasi kwa sababu ya ufugaji mkubwa wa kondoo na mbuzi. Matatizo ya mazingira ya Syria ni katika maeneo ya ukataji miti; Overgrazing; Uharibifu wa udongo; Uchafuzi; Uchafuzi wa maji kutoka maji taka na taka za usindikaji wa petroli; maji ya kunywa yasiyokuwa ya kutosha. Tangu mwaka 2006 hadi 2011, eneo lote la eneo la Levant hadi Mesopotamia lilikuwa kavu. Kwa hiyo ukame ulihusisha sehemu kubwa za "Fertile Crescent". Katika Syria pekee, kulingana na takwimu za Umoja wa Mataifa, watu 800,000 walipoteza maisha yao kutokana na kushindwa kwa mazao na matokeo yake ya kiuchumi. Kwa hiyo, mgogoro wa ikolojia ulikuwa na matokeo ya kijamii na ya kiuchumi. Kabla ya mgogoro huo, kilimo kilitoa robo ya pato la ndani la Syria, lakini uzalishaji wake ulipungua kwa theluthi moja kutokana na ukame. Kwa kuwa maji yamepungua katika maeneo mengi tangu mapigano ya wenyewe kwa wenyewe yalipoanza, UNICEF inatoa maji kwa mamilioni ya watu nchini Syria kila siku na kujenga na kurekebisha visima. Upungufu wa maji ni tatizo kubwa nchini Syria. Tatizo hilo linazidishwa pia na ukweli kwamba pande zinazopigana hutumia upungufu wa maji mwilini kuwa silaha. Waangalizi wengi na mashirika ya haki za binadamu wanamshtaki Uturuki kwa kukataza watu wa kaskazini mashariki mwa Syria kupata maji ya kutosha. Uturuki, Syria na Iraq hadi sasa hawajaweza kukubaliana juu ya dhana ya kawaida ya matumizi ya maji. Katika miaka ya 1970, Iraq ilijenga mabwawa makubwa kwenye Mto Tigri na Syria kwenye Mto Eufrates. Kwa upande wake, Uturuki haizingatii maslahi ya majirani zake. Kwa kuwa Uturuki iko juu ya mto, nchi hiyo huamua kiasi cha maji ambacho Syria na Iraq hupata. Mzozo juu ya maji umekuwa ukiongezeka mara kwa mara katika siku za nyuma. Mji wa Al-Nahr al-Furad (Euphrates) ni mji wa Jabal (Ufrat) na eneo lake ni kilomita 239 za mraba, mji wa Al-Qutaina ni mji wa kilomita 61 za mraba na mji wa Al-Asad ni mji wa kilomita 674 za mraba.