Even amidst the devastation, communities are working to protect and enhance their environment.
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Beyond the death and destruction, Syria’s war has had massive environmental consequences, including high levels of pollution, the decimation of forests and a dangerous accumulation of waste in besieged areas. Amid the regime’s failure – or refusal – to provide essential services for populations outside its control, local environmental initiatives in rebel- and Kurdish-controlled areas are bringing some hope to war-torn neighborhoods and helping people with the rising costs of such things as fuel and fertilizers. Here we profile some of these “green initiatives.”