Impact of the Syrian conflict on irrigated agriculture in the Orontes Basin |
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| Authors: | Hadi H. Jaafar Rami Zurayk Caroline King Farah Ahmad Rami Al-Outa |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Agriculture, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, American University of Beirut ,Lebanon hj01@aub.edu.lb;3. Department of Landscape and Ecosystem Management, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, American University of Beirut ,Lebanon;4. School of Geography and the Environment, Oxford University Centre for the Environment ,UK;5. Department of Agriculture and Department of Landscape and Ecosystem Management, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, American University of Beirut ,Lebanon |
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| Abstract: | The impact of conflict on irrigated agriculture and consequently summer crop production within conflict-affected agricultural lands was observed in the Orontes Basin. Water and energy use were reconfigured through a transition from rainfed to irrigated agricultural production over the past 20 years, but have been disrupted as the Syrian war has unfolded since 2011. Remotely sensed vegetation indices were used to determine irrigated summer crop yields during the year 2013. Findings suggest that irrigated agricultural production dropped between 15% and 30% in the Syrian portion of the basin in 2000–2013, with hotspots identifiable in Idleb, Homs, Hama, Daraa and Aleppo. The developed approach demonstrated effectiveness in quantifying and geolocating hotspots where conflicts have the strongest impact on agricultural water use, agricultural production, and eventually support relief and regional agricultural reconstruction in this and other conflict regions. |
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| Keywords: | Syria Orontes Basin conflict food security irrigated agriculture vegetation index |
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