Over a decade since Syria has been at War, this terrible non-ending War has caused severe health and environmental issues. It leads to many deaths, displacements, and refugees from neighboring countries such as Lebanon, Turkey, and Jordan. Millions of people lost their homes and identity because of this dreadful state of War. This conflict seems to be never-ending and sources countless humanitarian crises in the country.
The disasters that occurred due to this War are not only human but also environmental. Using chemical weapons, bombs, and missiles almost destroyed civil and agricultural production. Thus, triggering severe ecological effects and long-term negative impacts on the state. Furthermore, the extreme usage of explosive weapons makes it impossible for people to meet only their basic needs in life.
Environmental effects worsen due to the War.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Syria’s air quality is unsafe. As the country already faced environmental damage before the conflict started. So, the War makes it worse by using such explosive chemical weapons and military vehicles. The government is also challenged by other environmental damages rather than air pollution, such as water pollution and mining pollution. According to Wikipedia, major environmental issues in Syria include deforestation, overgrazing, soil erosion, desertification, water pollution from dumping raw sewage and waste from petroleum refining, and inadequate potable water supplies.
Air Contamination
Syria has been facing this issue before the War. At first, it became a little better as many Syrians left the country, and the energy consumption due to industrial movements slowed down a bit. But, in 2015, this rate suddenly increased to 79%, which is higher than ever. The cause of this ascend is undoubtedly the state of War. The main factors are aerial and land bombardments, bushfires, dust storms, chemical attacks, and a decreased farming rate.
According to the WHO, Syria ranked as the 18th worst air-polluted country in 2015 out of 92 countries. This high level of air contamination caused an increase in outdoor diseases, deaths, and disabilities, and it also affected agriculture by reducing crop harvests.
Deforestation
According to the news, Syria lost almost 20.4% of all tree cover from 2012 to 2019. One of the main reasons is that forest fires occur due to bombardments of various parties on one another as they find shelter in the forest against drones and aircraft.
Another reason is the need for the Syrian people because of the conflict. They lost everything, like their homes for shelter, agriculture, and even necessities of life. For this, they must also depend on cutting the trees and doing illegal logging.
Insufficient source of Potable Water
It is also a pre-conflict matter that Syria is facing because of the massive amount of industrial and chemical waste mismanagement. But it worsened as the fight destroyed the complete infrastructure of the state. That’s why the disastrous dumping of waste that includes chemicals, radioactive substances, and infectious diseases in the water makes the situation even worse.
Soil erosion
Soil erosion and loss of vegetation are also the most important factors of environmental effects triggered by the War. The prolonged usage of explosives disturbed the fertility of the soil. According to Wikipedia, the soil resources in Syria’s coastal region are fertile but vulnerable to erosion. In addition, the continuous bombing stimulated the ground and caused dust storms, making the agricultural land fragile.
All these issues increase the health risks and abject poverty in Syria. Therefore, an assessment must be taken to understand the region’s high risk of environmental effects and to measure the possible solution to the ecological threats.
