Sustainable development for the Levant Evaluation Note/ Elif Güler

Climate change in the Eastern Mediterranean Region is an important reflection of the environmental changes worldwide. Compared to the past the climate in the Mediterranean Basin is changing faster than global trends as the average annual temperature of the region is 1.5 °C higher than in the pre-industrial period. Climate change has a toll not only on the natural life but also on the social and economic life of the people in the region.

Syria, with its lack of climate policy, insufficient capabilities and inadequate infrastructure is a country that has been particularly affected by climate change. The 12 year long civil war has only amplified the grave situation.

Increasing water scarcity, rising temperatures and growing rates of desertification – are felt across borders in the Orontes River Basin, an area that was once abundant in resources. Sustainable regional development needs to be adapted to increasing climate variability and it has to be flexible enough to respond to these variations.

You may read evaluation note from here.