Forestry in Syria

Forest resources in Syria are in need of study and conservation.[1] The wooded area of the country is variously reported as approximately 190,000 hectares (1.0 per cent)[1] or 450,000 hectares (2.4 per cent).[2]

The principal woodland trees are Pinus brutia, the Turkish pine; Abies cilicica, the Cilician fir; Cedrus libani, the cedar of Lebanon; Cupressus sempervirens, the Mediterranean cypress; Pinus halepensis, the Aleppo pine; Quercus coccifera, the kermes oak; Quercus calliprinos, the Palestine oak; Quercus cerris sp. pseudocerris, the Turkey oak; Quercus infectoria; and Castanea sativa, the common chestnut.[1][2]

Risks due to natural disasters, unexploded ordnance & anthropogenic climate change

Forests and forest resources in Syria are at grave risk due to forest fires and globally occurring manmade climate change. A large-scale forest fire in Latakia in 2025 has destroyed numerous forested groves which span the hilly terrain of coastal Syria & neighbouring Jordan, Lebanon and also Turkey.[3] Such large-scale wildfires as witnessed in Latakia and neighbouring Hatay. Firefighting crews, volunteers and The Syrian Civil Defence Forces, the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management. The government has also reported difficulty in battling these wildfires due to noted occurence of unexploded ordnance in some of the areas affected.[4][5][6]

Such events will aggravate the Syrian economy as it is still grappling with a drought and severe depletion of fresh water hydrological resources due to non-maintenance and next to no upkeep of hydrological infrastructure. Most land irrigation in Syria and river water management are largely unsustainable hence droughts are getting more frequent with longer duration.[7][8][9]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c J. Rolley (1948). Forest conditions in Syria and Lebanon. Unasylva 2 (2): 77-80. Accessed March 2015.
  2. ^ a b Ghalia Martini (2007). Vegetation: The Mediterranean Forests of Coastal Mountains. Faculty of Agriculture, Aleppo University. Accessed March 2015.
  3. ^ "Turkiye's Izmir, Hatay and Syria's Latakia regions affected by wildfires". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  4. ^ "Wildfires break out in Turkey, Syria and Greece - with towns near Athens evacuated". Sky News. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  5. ^ Ward, Euan (4 July 2025). "Wildfires Sweep Syria's Coast as Drought Strains Fragile State". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  6. ^ "Turkey sends firefighting aircraft to Syria as wildfires rage on both sides of the border". AP News. 5 July 2025. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  7. ^ Baba, Alper; Karem, Ruwad AL.; Yazdani, Hamidreza (1 August 2021). "Groundwater resources and quality in Syria". Groundwater for Sustainable Development. 14: 100617. doi:10.1016/j.gsd.2021.100617. ISSN 2352-801X.
  8. ^ Khouri, J. (May 1982). "Hydrogeology of the Syrian steppe and adjoining arid areas". Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology. 15 (2): 135–154. doi:10.1144/GSL.QJEG.1982.015.02.05.
  9. ^ Dagres, Holly (24 February 2022). "Syria has a water crisis. And it's not going away". Atlantic Council. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
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