Supplying adequate water
is a serious challenge
in Syria's naturally
arid environment,
with reduced rainfall
in recent years along with
practices such as
extracting groundwater
beyond its ability
to replenish resulting
in even more pressure.
Between 2002 and 2008,
water availability
per person dropped
nearly 40%,
from 1,200 cubic meters
to 750 cubic meters,
compared to a global
average of over 6,000.
Currently, the rural east
is facing its driest winter
in decades after already
four consecutive years
of drought.
Around 1.3 million people
have been affected,
with many villages
abandoned in what
the UN has identified
as the worst migration
in the Middle East
in recent years.
Nearly half a million people
were forced to move
to cities in a desperate
attempt to maintain
livelihoods and continue
caring for their families.
Unfortunately,
similar conditions are
plaguing communities
throughout the Arab world,
and experts warn that
severe water scarcity
could lead to inflation,
unemployment,
and turmoil in the region.
Mr. Khalid I. Elfadli
of the Climate
and Agrometeorology
Department in Libya's
National Meteorological
Centre explains
the situation as seen
in his homeland.
Khalid I. Elfadli, National Meteorological Centre, Climate
& Agro-meteorology Department, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (M):
Our country
about 95 percent
or more is a desert,
the Sahara, desert Sahara.
So, we have a little
of rainfall land. But,
the last 10 years
or the last five years,
we already suffered from
droughts and increase
of temperature, and
it's remarkably clear that
climate change appear
clearly in my country.
VOICE:
To address some of
these challenges,
the Syrian government
and regional NGOs
recently partnered
to develop
a “water scarcity park”
in a Damascus suburb.
There, various
drought-tolerant plants
are being cultivated
with various water
conservation methods.
These include
a solar-powered
drip irrigation system,
which brings water
directly to the plants
through a system of tubes,
reducing evaporation.
Syria's Vice President
Dr Najah Al-Attar
presided over the opening
of the park, during which
she commended
its establishment while
conveying the wish that
it could become
a role model to help show
the importance of water
conservation and solutions.
Our accolades,
Your Excellency,
Mr. Elfadli,
Syrian government,
and NGOs, for your work
together to address
and implement solutions
to scarce water supplies.
May we all strive
to replenish the Earth's
precious resources
and safeguard the future
of all her inhabitants.
During a November 2008
interview with Ireland's
East Coast Radio FM,
Supreme Master Ching Hai
spoke with urgency
about the dire situation
facing brethren
directly affected
by climate change,
and what must be done
to reverse it.
Supreme Master Ching Hai : If we don't
have global warming,
then no one would be
a climate refugee.
L1298-1325
I ask everyone to please
imagine if that were
yourself in the refugee's
situation, experiencing
all these troubles -
insecurities, hunger,
lacking all comfort,
humiliation,
undignified situation,
uncertain of the morrows
of your future
and the future of
your helpless children.
Just imagine it.
Then try to solve
this tragedy by helping
in whatever way we can.
And above all,
and most urgently of all,
Be Veg,
Go Green
2 Save the Planet,
to prevent such trauma
and to build a bright
future for the world,
for our co-citizens.
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/12/drought-hit-syria-creates-model-water-scarcity-park.phphttp://www.greenprophet.com/2010/12/syria-water-scarcity-park/
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