Waste management in Syrie

 

Bron:

Country Strategy Paper Syriavan het European Neighbourhood And Partnership Instrument: http://ec.europa.eu/world/enp/pdf/country/enpi_csp_nip_syria_en.pdf

Het gebrek aan goede afvalverwerking is een van de meest dreigende milieu problemen in Syrie, naast issues als waterschaarste, bodemdegradatie en luchtvervuiling. Hieronder volgt een passage uit het EU Country Strategy Paper (wat de strategie bepaalt voor samenwerking tussen de EU en Syrie). Hierin wordt de huidige milieu situatie in Syrie beschreven en welke rol afvalverwerking hierin speelt.

Environment

Syria faces serious natural and man-made environmental problems that need to be addressed

immediately. The most pressing ones are related to water scarcity and contamination, soil

degradation, air pollution, inappropriate solid waste treatment and disposal, biodiversity loss and coastal and maritime pollution.

Economic expansion, urbanisation, the high rate of populationgrowth and changing consumption patterns have led to more industrial activity, higher energy demand and more waste. This in turn has led to overuse and pollution of the scarce natural resources, especially water. The disposal of untreated urban and industrial waste water, oil slicks from refineries and oil terminals and the management of solid waste represent major challenges.Environmental degradation is now affecting the health and economic productivity of the population. The incidence of environment-related disease is high and the costs of environmental degradation are estimated at 5% of GDP.

All these increasing pressures on the natural resources and their degradation have pushed the

government to take some legal and institutional measures, among which the adoption in 2002 of a National Environment Law as well as of a National Environment Strategy and Action Plan prepared in collaboration with the World Bank and UNDP. However, little progress has been made in the adoption and implementation of secondary legislation and sector strategies. This, together with awareness raising of environmental priorities, is the main task of the Ministry of Local Administration and Environment, which was created in 2003 from a merger between the Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs and the Ministry of Local Administration.

Syria has ratified a number of international and regional conventions. It acceded the Kyoto

Protocol in 2006. Syria needs to design and adopt executive regulations to meet its internationalcommitments.

De EU spreekt dus van een niet adequate behandeling en verwijdering van afvalstoffen in Syrie. Het gaat om de verwijdering van onverwerkte stedelijk en industrieel afvalwater, olievlekken uit raffinaderijen en olie terminals and de management van solid waste.

Waste management wordt ook genoemd in het Country Environment Profile uit datzelfde rapport (zie box hieronder). Hierin wordt ook aandacht besteed aan het Syrische milieubeleid, wet- en regelgeving en de verantwoordelijke (overheids)organen. Enkele hoofdpunten:

• Alle fases van waste management vormen een uitdaging; van preventie, verzameling en verwerking tot uiteindelijke verwijdering. In de huidige situatie vind beperkte verzameling en plaats. Stedelijke gebieden breiden zich echter snel uit, en vooral de buitenwijken zijn moeilijk te bedienen.

• Er zijn plannen voor afvalverwerking ontwikkeld. Sectorstrategieen ontbreken echter.

• Het Ministry of Local Administration is verantwoordelijk voor municipal waste management. Het is ook het coordinerende orgaan voor nationale autoriteiten en regionale en internale organisaties. Het ministerie is ook verantwoordelijk voor identificatie van problemen, nationaal beleid and kwaliteit standaarden en het bieden van ondersteuning in de vorm van wetgeving en insitutionele hulp.

 

Country Environment Profile

1. State of the environment

The key environment issues in Syria relate to water quality, waste management, nature protection, soil degradation as well as coastal and marine pollution.

In major cities, air pollution is becoming serious due to the increasing levels of traffic. Emissionsoften exceed the allowable limits in Syrian air quality standards as well as those by the World Health Organization – in particular in highly populated urban areas (Damascus, Aleppo) and in industrial centres (Banias, Homs).

As regards water quality, water resources in Syria are limited. Nevertheless, there has been a

gradual increase in water use over the years as a result of subsidies to households as well as

increasing living standards, cheap water for industries and water use within the agricultural sector. Insufficient sewage systems in urban and rural areas, illegal industrial discharge of wastewater and inappropriate use of pesticides and fertilizers are the main causes of water pollution.

Waste management constitutes a challenge, including prevention, collection, treatment, recovery and final disposal. Some initial collection and disposal activities are taking place. However, urban areas are quickly expanding and the suburbs are particularly hard to service.

Concerning nature protection, many categories of biological and genetic resources are being

depleted and endangered. Biodiversity is threatened by anthropogenic and natural factors and loss has been particularly severe in the steppe and in the forest land. Some protected areas have been established.

Concerning coastal and marine pollution, the Syrian coastal area represents only 2% of the

country’s surface but hosts 11% of its population. Coastal urbanization, due to housing needs and industrial development has led to serious environmental problems. Pollution sources include disposal of untreated urban and industrial wastewater, oil slicks from the oil refinery and the oil terminal, and solid wastes.

As regards land use, there are pressures from urbanisation particularly along the coastal strip.

Desertification is a serious problem affecting over half of the country. Reasons include both

climatic factors as well as suboptimal management of land and water resources.

With regard to industrial pollution in the coastal zone, industrial plants including a petroleum refinery and a power generation plant entail severe pollution in the areas of Tartus-Banias and Lattakia.

A key trans-boundary environment issue affecting Syria is the shared use and protection of the Mediterranean Sea.

As regards global environment issues and climate change in particular, Syria acceded to the Kyoto Protocol in 2006 and therefore needs to implement the relevant provisions and, where appropriate, implement concrete policies and measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including in the energy and heavy industry sectors.

2. Environment policy

The Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs, in coordination with World Bank and UNDP,developed the National Environmental Strategy and Action Plan in 2002. The strategy identifies environment priorities for the country and sets up a general framework for environmental planning until 2010.

3. Environment legislation and its implementation

The Environmental Protection Law was adopted in 2002, making provisions for several

environment issues, including on environmental impact assessment. The secondary legislation

(executive regulations) to implement this law is incomplete.

Old legislation subsists on air quality and water quality. The government plans to adopt new laws in these areas.

Plans have been developed in the fields of waste and air quality. However, sector strategies are in general missing.

4. Administrative Capacity

Syria established the Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs in 1991. The Ministry was mergedin 2003 with the Ministry of Local Administration, becoming the Ministry of Local

Administration and Environment. It ensures co-ordination between the national authorities and the regional and international organizations. The Ministry is also responsible for identifying current problems, setting national policies and quality standards, and providing necessary legislative and institutional support.

The Ministry operates through two agencies: the General Council for Environmental Affairs and the Scientific and Environmental Research Centre.

To ensure strategic planning as well as implementation and enforcement of the environment

legislation, it is essential to strengthen administrative capacity, including co-ordination between the relevant authorities.

5. Participation in regional and international processes

Syria has ratified the relevant international and regional conventions, to which it is signatory, with the exception of the new Emergency Protocol to the Barcelona Convention. Syria has also not accepted the amendments to the Dumping Protocol and the Land-Based Sources Protocol to the Barcelona Convention. The lack of executive regulations affects the ability of Syria to meet the requirements of these international commitments.

At regional level, Syria participates in the Council of Arab Ministers for the Environment and the Mediterranean Action Plan.

In November 2005, the Euro-Mediterranean partners, including Syria, collectively committed to ‘endorse a feasible timetable to de-pollute the Mediterranean Sea by 2020’. Successful achievement of the goal to reduce pollution levels will require a combination of both regional and national actions with the support of all actors in the Mediterranean. The key goals of the Horizon 2020 Initiative are to tackle major sources of pollution including industrial emissions, municipal waste and urban waste water.

Syria is also participating in the Mediterranean component of the EU Water Initiative, a

regional component of the EU Water Initiative as announced at the 2002 World Summit on

Sustainable Development. The initiative aims to promote better water governance and coordination between stakeholders.

At bilateral level, co-operation agreements on environmental issues exist between Syria and

neighbouring countries such as Egypt and Jordan.

6. Key areas where action is required

Syria faces significant challenges in the field of environment protection. Key areas include:water quality, waste management, nature protection, soil degradation as well as coastal and marine pollution.

With regard to climate change, Syria needs to implement the relevant provisions of the Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Syria has possibilities to use flexible mechanisms under this Protocol.

The institutional and administrative capacity requires strengthening, in particular as regards co-ordination, implementation and enforcement. Promotion of public awareness is important for the implementation of environment policy.