Lecturers: Turkey hinders water self-sufficiency in NES

Lecturers at the second session of the International Water Forum in North and East Syria indicated that the North and East Syria regions are witnessing a deterioration in the economic reality after the decline in the water levels of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, and prompts the lack of self-sufficiency.

27 September, 2021 13:16

Al-Hasakah

The second session of the International Water Forum in North and East Syria, which was organized by the Local Administration and Environment Authority in the Al-Jazira region, with the participation of Rojava University and Al-Furat Studies Center.

And lectures were given by "the expert in geostrategic conflicts, Gerard Chalian, founder of the Sully Dirty Organization, Alan Poind, and Dr. Hassan Azzam, the Deputy Food Security Coordinator in North and East Syria, Loren Battal, and Dr. Ahmad Barakat."

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The four main topics of the session revolved around "the water war and international conflicts, the political repercussions of the water crisis on society, and the direct effects of the water deficit on agriculture in the region."

In it, the lecturers said, "Without any doubt, there are treaties that stipulate that no party uses water and sources of sustainable development for any political goals, and it has no right to manipulate the security and stability of peoples by exploiting their needs for those interests, and this is a reality and international laws."

They added, "However, governments like Turkey ignore this, and seek to achieve their policy, to target the people of NES to impose themselves politically as an indispensable party in the Middle East, and to put pressure on other political parties involved in the Syrian crisis."

The lecturers pointed out that the NES regions depend in the first place on agriculture and on the valleys and pastures, and Turkey aims not to enable the people to achieve self-sufficiency.

They pointed out that the NES regions began to witness a noticeable decline in agricultural production as a result of the irrigated farming seasons being affected by the scarcity of water, whether in the Euphrates or Tigris waters for lands dependent on irrigation, as well as for lands dependent on rain-fed agriculture, mainly affected by the lack of rainfall during the past years.

The lecturers said, "The impact of agricultural production in northern and eastern Syria as a result of these reasons will lead in the future to food security damage in the region, and this was noticeable in the decrease in the percentage of production of the main food material, which is bread."

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They added, "Livestock has also been affected in addition to agriculture, as a result of the loss of fodder that enters into animal nutrition, and the dependence of the people of the region for animal wealth feed on the remains of agricultural crops, and the entry of agricultural crop residues into the manufacture of types of feed."

The lecturers touched on the difficulties facing the region, in order to avoid the crises afflicting the region, foremost of which is the "lack of rainfall, the low level of the Euphrates River as a result of Turkey cutting off the river's water from the Syrian lands, and the Alouk pump being out of service after Turkey and its mercenaries occupied the area, and the lack of access to the allocated fuel." To operate irrigation stations, the deterioration of the value of the Syrian pound, and the monopoly of agricultural materials by traders.

The second session of the International Water Forum sessions in North and East Syria concluded, after the lecturers finished their studies prepared for the forum.

The forum continues its work through its third session.

(A)

ANHA