Years of Drought: A Report on the Effects of Drought on the Syrian Peninsula By Massoud Ali Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2. General overview on water resources and the agricultural industry in Syria 3. The Syrian peninsula 4. The drought and its causes 5. The impact and effects of the drought 6. The Syrian government’s response to the crisis 7. National solutions 8. Humanitarian and international assistance 9. Recommendations 10. Bibliography © 2010 Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung - Middle East Office 1 Years of Drought: A Report on the Effects of Drought on the Syrian Peninsula By Massoud Ali 1. Introduction The Euphrates River is considered the most important river in Syria. Its course runs Years of drought have affected the eastern through the northern region from Turkey and northeastern regions of Syria, towards the eastern region and the Syrian comprised of the governorates of al-Raqqa, peninsula, passing through the governorates Deir al-Zor and al-Hasaka, which are also of al-Raqqa and Deir al-Zor into Iraq. The known as the Syrian “peninsula” or “jazira”. Syrian state depends primarily on this river The peninsula region has the largest tracts for generating electricity and investing in the of arable lands in Syria, and is considered area known as the Euphrates River the (agricultural) backbone of the country. agricultural basin. The largest dam in the area, the Euphrates Dam, was also built on Agriculture is considered one of the most this river, forming the Lake Assad reservoir important sectors in Syria. Other than trade in its wake. and agro-industry, the Syrian economy is highly dependent on agricultural production. In addition to the Euphrates River, which is However, the current drought has led to a considered the longest river in Syria, are the significant reduction in agricultural Orontes River (Nahr al-Assi), the Barada production in this area and consequently a River, the Yarmouk River, the Khabur River, decline in the national economy. the Balikh River, the Northern Great River (Nahr el-Kabir al-Shamali), the Awaj River, One of the major consequences of the the Southern Great River (Nahr el-Kabir al- drought is that it has driven the majority of Janoubi), the Afrin River, the Sajur River, the population from this area towards the the al-Sin River, the Banias River, the Arous interior governorates in Syria. These mass River, the Quweiq River and the Tigris migrations have concentrated within the River, which flows through 50 kilometers of larger Syrian cities, and mainly Damascus Syrian territory, amongst other rivers. followed by Aleppo, Homs and Latakia, where people have gone in search of a There are also numerous lakes in Syria, the livelihood and shelter. In addition to creating most important and largest of which is Lake demographic changes in several areas in Assad on the Euphrates River in the al- Syria, this internal migration has also Raqqa governorate. Other lakes in Syria produced many humanitarian, social and include the Qutaina Lake on the Orontes health problems. River, the Muzairab Lake, the Baath Lake and the April 17 Lake on the Afrin River, the October 6 Lake on the Northern Great River, 2. General overview on water the Khatouniya Lake, the Masada Lake, the resources and the agricultural Blouran Lake, the Seven Lakes in Latakia, the Taiba Dam in Dara’a, the Zarzar Lake industry in Syria and the Rustan Lake, amongst others. The Syrian Arab Republic is situated in Historically, its abundance of rivers, bodies southwest Asia, on the eastern coast of the of water and vast, fertile lands have made Mediterranean Sea. The country covers an Syria the region’s best agricultural producer, 2 area of 185.18 km and has a wealth of with agriculture contributing to 25% of the rivers, at least when compared to the rest of GDP and agro-industry contributing to the other Arab countries. This abundance of 10.5% of GDP. Agriculture is of great water resources can be ascribed to the size importance in Syria and is considered one of and diversity of the natural topography of the principal driving forces of the Syrian the area. economy. It has become a means for securing the food needs of the nation as © 2010 Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung - Middle East Office 2 well as an efficient way of maintaining The peninsula was part of the Turkish state foreign reserves. The agro-industry in Syria until 1920, when the borders were first is also a prime counterpart to achieving delineated between Syria and Turkey. When domestic food security and contributes to the Syrian state was established in 1922, 3% of GDP, or approximately 6% of GDP both the districts of al-Hasaka and Ras al- when one considers the value-added Ain were annexed to Syria and turned into adjuncts of this industry. one qada’a (district, caza) with its center at al-Hasaka. At first, it was part of the The most important crops yielded from the mutasarrifiyya (sub-governorate) of Deir al- Syrian agricultural sector include grains, Zor. In 1923, another qada’a was formed in cereals and legumes, fibers, consumable oil the village of Bayandour, which became the products, vegetables, fruits, sugar, qada’a of Kamishili in 1925. And, in 1928, medicinal herbs and aromatic plants, as well the borders were redefined between Syria as cotton and tobacco. In terms of livestock and Turkey, and the northeastern part, production, the most important Syrian export called Munqar al-Batta (the Duck’s Bill), was is sheep. From 2004 to 2006, sheep exports annexed to Syria. In this area, a third qada’a contributed to almost 18.5% of Syrian was established called Ain Dewar; and, the agricultural exports, followed by cotton at peninsula became a mutasarrifiyya (sub- 14.4%, wheat at 10.5%, olive oil at 5.2%, governorate) in 1930. In 1944, it became a tomatoes at 3.5%, cumin at 2.8% and lentils governorate on its own, independent of Deir at 2.1%. al-Zor. The governorate covers an area of 3. The Syrian peninsula 2,333,359 km2 and is the second largest governorate in Syria, with a population of Historical and geographical background 1,445,000 (out of a total population of 22,331,000 in Syria, according to a 2008 The Syrian peninsula is comprised of three census). What is important to note here is Syrian governorates, al-Raqqa, Deir al-Zor that the population of the peninsula, and particularly al-Hasaka, which was documented in this report, is as according to actually called the Peninsula governorate official records, which do not take into before its name was changed to al-Hasaka. account persons “without a nationality”. Therefore, what is referred to as the Those “without a nationality” are estimated “peninsula” in this report refers to the al- to account for more than a quarter of a Hasaka governorate only. million people1, all of whom are Kurds stripped of their Syrian nationalities based The al-Hasaka governorate is situated in the on an irregular census conducted in 1962. northern most part of Syria, bordered by Turkey in the north and partially in the The peninsula is considered one of the most northeast. On its eastern side, the important Syrian governorates, as it is the governorate is bordered by Iraq, with the principal producer of black and white gold Deir al-Zor governorate bordering it in the (oil and cotton, respectively), wheat, barely south. The Deir al-Zor and al-Raqqa and lentils in addition to dozens of other governorates border it in the west. The agricultural crops. governorate looks exactly like a semi- triangle, with its base in the north and two almost equal sides stretching down from the 1 There are no official statistics for the numbers of base to meet at one point in the south. persons stripped of their Syrian nationality; and, the numbers mentioned in this report are estimates of the numbers of persons stripped of Syrian nationality in the al-Hasaka governorate alone, and were provided by local Kurdish sources. © 2010 Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung - Middle East Office 3 Vast tracts of agricultural land and a Two major rivers pass through this region, richly diverse range of livestock the Tigris River (1,800 million m3) and the Khabur River (1,527 million m3). However, The mass of arable lands in the peninsula the Khabur River has almost completely totals 1,393,180 hectares, of which dried up due to natural factors and the 1,286,857 are actually invested in and thousands of wells Turkey has drilled, which 44,700 hectares are irrigated lands. Non- have affected water levels in the springs of arable lands in this area amount to 87,843 Ras al-Ain – the main water sources feeding hectares. The peninsula also enjoys the Khabur. There are other rivers in the excellent terrain for grazing and raising area, such as the Jaghjagh River, but they livestock such as sheep, goats, cows and are of lesser importance. According to chicken. statistics gathered in 1999-2000, there are 19,006 artesian wells in the region. Overall, The governorates of al-Hasaka, al-Raqqa the water resources in this region amount to and Deir al-Zor contribute largely to the 4.28 million m3, of which only 1.49 million m3 country’s livestock production with 36.7% of are actually exploited. the country’s livestock production generated in this region. The production rate of livestock and agricultural products from this 4. The drought and its causes region includes wool at 34.3%, milk at 20.5%, cotton at 69%, wheat at 70%, and The retention and depletion of precipitation sugar beet at 33% of the country’s GDP.