Translated from Arabic by Zeina Nasser
The strategic objective for the environmental sector in Syria aims to achieve a balance between environment and development, in accordance with the principle of sustainable development, according to the following:
- Protecting the environment.
- Developing ecosystems and institutional capacity.
- Maintaining and rationalizing the usage of natural resources.
It is important to mention that the environmental sector’s long-term strategic objective must include “the protection of natural and national resources in the context of sustainable development.”
The medium-term goal is “the introduction of environment in all policies, plans, and programs that are related to human health and the management of natural resources for sustainable development.” The short-term goal, however, is “reducing current pollution levels, which affect public health and the quality of life on the Syrian territories.”
The success of environmental management in any country depends on several factors, including:
- The presence of advanced environmental rules, that are not limited to environmental issues, or that only have to do with pollution or public health, but exceed that to link environmental issues to social development that maintains the natural resources against irrational use, and that maintains ecological balance.
- Deep awareness of environmental issues among state officials and in public institutions, helps spread awareness and environmental culture among citizens.
- Engaging all official bodies and non-governmental organizations in environmental management, and this includes those that are concerned with the environment, and the advisory boards for the environment, which monitor the activity of central and regional environmental institutions.
- The issue of biodiversity is no longer of interest to local and international scientific groups only, but it has become a concern to human societies on a large scale, especially in the struggle for the re-evaluation of the quality of life and models of social, economic, scientific and political development, as well as the inclusion of this development in the global economy and funding issues.
Here, we should establish a national policy to link human and economic development with the conservation and development of biodiversity, in addition to having a rational investment in it, within scientific and social balance, and realistic programs which achieve food security for individuals, groups, and the nation, taking into account the rights of all citizens in ownership and development in the sustainable use of biodiversity. - Emphasizing the adoption of regional planning, which is the latest and the best approach that should be followed, especially that it is advanced more than the approach of land use that has been used previously.
Reaching the best environmental state means enhancing clean industries, adopting Eco-friendly transport means, in addition to achieving a balance between preserving natural resources and development rates that lead to the well-being of citizens, as well as the protection and development of wildlife.
