THE AGRICULTURE SECTOR AND ITS IMPACT ON SYRIA'S WATER BASINS BETWEEN 1980 -2010.

Abstract

In the Syrian Arab Republic, water has become progressively scarcer and the demand has
exceeded the supply and the availability of extant resources. Syria is considered a country of
limited water resources. The Syrian climate is characterized by two seasons: a hot dry
summer and a cold wet winter. 80% of the rain falls in winter, namely from October through
April, while the summer, from June to September is nearly completely dry.
Syria is principally an agricultural state, and therefore the agricultural sector is the largest
water consumer. The principal causes of the shortage of water in Syria are primitive irrigation
methods that are still common, despite government incentives of low-interest loans to replace
them with modern systems. The lack of investment in technology and a delay in legislation
regarding irrigation intensified the water shortage.
This paper will show how irrational use of water resources in the agricultural sector
influences this sector negatively. The growth of agricultural areas without considering the
availability of water, both extant and replenishing, lead to a substantial shortage in all the
hydrological basins in the country. Moreover, over-pumping from legal and illegal wells have
led to the lowering of groundwater levels, changes in the quality of the water, and the drying
out of springs that the government relies upon for water collection for agricultural projects.