[3] Also, the continuous 'stability and peace' movement for four decades that was instilled by the Assad government transformed into institutionalizing fear and violence amongst its own people had an effect in the 2011 Arab spring.
[1] 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.
Unfortunately, at the General Assembly, it was declared that the plan had failed in terms of the setbacks that were found within the degrading land and eroding development gains.
[3] 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.
Hafez al-Assad had instilled policies to improve Syria's agricultural production including the redistribution of land, and irrigation projects.
[2] 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.
[2] 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.
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.
[4] The Assad government 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.
[7] The health risks were undeniable as people were beginning to drink contaminated water and falling ill with diseases such as kidney stones and E.
[2] Poor infrastructure, youth unemployment, and crime rates began rising due to the serge of migrants causing instability in Syria.
[2] The four decades of the Assad government's authoritarian leadership and lack of policy change was the product of the uprising, leading up to the current Civil war.
[10] 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.
[10] The Assad government's long-term mismanagement of the waste produced dioxin and other gases causing air pollution in Damascus and Aleppo.
It has affected Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, West Bank and Gaza Strip, Italy, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Monaco, Morocco, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovenia, Spain, Tunisia, and Turkey.
[13] Since September 2014, the United States, government of Syria, Russia, and other allies, have begun blowing up the oil refineries with airstrikes to cut off the source of funding of ISIS.
[13] The current Civil war has had negative repercussions on Syria's infrastructure and industrial areas such as Homs, Hama, Damascus, and Aleppo.
[15] Adraa, al-Sheikh Najjar, Hasya and Deir ez-Zor are industrial zones for which plans were established, but were interrupted by the outbreak of the civil war.
[15] The fight between ISIS and the Syrian Army over Aleppo has affected its infrastructure but also neighboring industrial zones such as al-Sheikh Najjar.
[20] The humid coastal region contains more than 90% of Syria's vegetation and is an important hotspot of biodiversity, carbon storage, timber and recreation in the country.
[1] The sulphur and nitrogen compounds are linked to acid rain which can have dire impacts on vegetation as well as cause soil acidification.
[22] If the topsoil and organic nutrients are removed, the land will become desert like and it will be difficult to support plant or animal life, in a process known as desertification.
[23] Soil degradation poses a threat to land productivity as it loses the organic matter that allows plant material to thrive.
[22] The rapid change in vegetation, caused by the influx of refugees, have created the conditions for increased erosion in the Syrian region.
This reduction in vegetation made the soil vulnerable to erosion and allowed for it to be picked up on a massive scale, causing the dust storm.
[25] Solid waste management was already a problem prior to the Syrian Civil War, however the violent conditions have significantly worsened the situation.
[1] As the war continues and poverty increases, more people are looking through the waste to find food, construction materials, or items that can be sold.
[1] People have started to create their own waste programs alongside those in place by the UNDP, ICRC, and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent.
[27] 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.
[28] 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.