Syria's Per-Capita Water Supply In 2002 - 1,200 M3; In 2008, 750 M3

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This past October, the Levant Desalination Association and NOSSTIA, an organization of expat Syrian scientists, arranged a conference in the capital city of Damascus to discuss Syria’s water crisis. Hydrology experts and research scientists at the conference reported that between 2002 and 2008, the national water supply fell from 1,200 to less than 750 cubic meters per person per year, a decrease of over 35%.

At the conference, scientists and hydrological engineers expressed concern over not only the low water supply itself but also, the rapid rate of decline. Many were not surprised by the news, however, pointing to Syria’s notoriously inefficient water policies and supply systems. Consequently, many also pointed out that with some reform in these two areas, Syria could easily meet its water needs.

A key aspect to such efficiency reforms will be changing agricultural practices. Crop irrigation currently constitutes 80% of Syria’s water consumption and due to the continued application of outdated techniques (such as flood irrigation), more than 70% of this water is wasted through evaporation and runoff. Many feel that the government’s failure to adopt more efficient, conservation-enhancing policies is one of the primary anthropogenic causes of the nation’s water crisis. In response to such claims, on October 4th of this year, George Malaki Sawmi, a Syrian water authority, was appointed the new irrigation minister. He inherited a daunting mandate: to create, pass, and implement a modernization scheme to decrease the amount of water wasted in the agricultural sector.

According to Fouad Abousamra, a United Nations scientist who spoke at the Damascus conference, decades of poor government water management have amplified the effects of a devastating four-year drought. According to Abousamra, over-extraction of groundwater in the northeast paired with climate change and decreased rainfall created a dire situation in a once-fertile region. The dried up Khabur River, once a major water source in the northeastern province of Hasika, is a reminder of the region’s bygone bounty.

EDIT

http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2010/12/07/parched-for-peace-the-fertile-crescent-might-be-barren/