How Climate Change and Failed Agricultural Policies Have Contributed to Conflict in Syria


Publisher: Sustainable Food Trust

Author(s): Megan Perry

Date: 2016

Topics: Climate Change, Conflict Causes, Governance, Renewable Resources

Countries: Syrian Arab Republic

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The conflict in Syria and the rise of Isis have displaced half a nation of people and generated the largest humanitarian crisis in the world today. Some 8.7 million people are now suffering food insecurity, and the country’s agricultural infrastructure has largely been destroyed. Yet while ideological, political and religious differences are clearly major causes in the conflict, what often gets overlooked is the impact of climate change and agricultural policies in generating a social and ecological disaster that may have contributed to the country’s political breakdown and bitter war.