Syria

The conflict in Syria has included widespread attacks on oil facilities by numerous parties. Damage to urban areas has created vast quantities of debris and destroyed essential infrastructure, and fighting has regularly taken place in industrial areas. There has been a huge growth in artisanal oil refining in response to the destruction of oil facilities, while the massive displacement of its population has created environmental stress in neighbouring countries. Read the Syria briefing.

Publications

Report: Deforestation in conflict areas in 2020

Deforestation is a common problem for countries affected by conflict. In 2020, COVID-19 placed further constraints on forest management in these areas. This report reviews the latest satellite data on forest loss in seven countries, analysing the forces driving deforestation.

Country brief: Syria

A brief introductory overview of the environmental dimensions of the conflict in Syria, with facts, figures and further reading.

Blogs

A blurred close up image shows white pills being consumed by orange flames.

Pills and pollution: Captagon production in Syria

The Assad regime’s embrace of Captagon production as a source of sanctions-busting revenue saw Syria become the world’s leading exporter of the drug. In this post, Leon Moreland examines whether we ought to be concerned about the industry’s largely undocumented environmental legacy.

The environmental costs of the escalating Middle East crisis

A year of escalating conflict across the Middle East has had a range of direct and reverberating consequences for the region’s environment. In this post we identify the current and emerging trends that are threatening human health and often fragile and degraded ecosystems.

Twitter: #Syria

Assad’s embrace of #Captagon production saw #Syria become the world’s leading exporter of the drug. In our new post we examine whether we ought to be concerned about the industry’s largely undocumented environmental legacy: 1/4

The new Syrian administration has allowed journalists to visit some sites and the photos are grim. Captagon production generates a range of chemical wastes, around 40 kg of highly acidic toxic chemical waste per 1 kg of amphetamine. 3/4

And even with Captagon production reduced, just disposing of seized pills and precursors presents environmental risks, we found footage of disposal down drains and open air burning. You can read more on this story here: https://ceobs.org/pills-and-pollution-captagon-production-in-syria 4/4

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