Water stress, climatic factors and poor governance all had a part to play in undermining Syrian society.
Syria became water-stressed due to both external and internal factors. Reduced rainfall levels and an unfavorable position in the Euphrates-Tigris river basin contributed to Syria’s socio-economic vulnerability to drought. These are factors that are difficult to control nationally. An unsustainable management of water and land resources, socio-economic inequality, and badly timed government policies created a volatile situation with widespread socio-economic vulnerability to drought. These are factors that can be controlled on a national level, and had the problems with water stress in Syria been addressed earlier we might have seen a less severe impact of the drought. It is misleading to view the case of the Syrian drought as an example of climate-induced conflict. There were many socio-economic and political factors at play at the same time, and it is unrealistic to try to identify a single root cause of the uprising. What we should take away from the Syrian case is, however, the importance of sustainable resource management policies to build resilient societies that will prevent situations so disastrous that they can be seen from space.
