Syria’s water resources face multiple challenges resulting from poor management and physical scarcity. The high rate of population growth, rapid urbanization, climate change and economic development is exacerbating these challenges, leading to a continuous deterioration of the water resources that is threatening their long-term sustainability.

Rain is the main water resource in Syria, affecting the availability of all other water resources. The average annual rainwater resource is estimated at 46 billion cubic metres (BCM).

Available water quality data clearly reveal that groundwater and surface water pollution is a common phenomenon across the country.

agriculture is the dominant water consumer, with 87% of all water use, and hence the major contributor to the current deficit in the water balance, which has led to groundwater mining and to many springs drying up.

Syria has, like most MENA countries, invested heavily in technology and infrastructure to store and divert water resources and to deliver water services to farmers, industries and households

Low water productivity in agriculture is a major challenge facing water management in Syria. Net returns for crops are generally quite low. Cotton and sugar, which are planted over 221,000 ha, have negative net returns (measured in social prices).

The Euphrates is the largest river in Syria. Originating in Turkey and flowing through Syria and Iraq, it joins the Tigris in Iraq and becomes the Shatt-al-Arab waterway, which flows into the Arab Gulf. The Euphrates is composed of two main tributaries, the Karasu and Murat, both originating in Eastern Anatolia and having numerous smaller tributaries. Turkey has unilaterally pledged to ensure the flow of 500 CM/s per second to Syria.

Syria, like most countries in the MENA region, cannot meet its current water demand, and the situation is likely to get worse. With a changing economic structure and a high population growth rate, this demand will only increase. Shifting rainfall patterns due to climate change and the relatively high dependence on internationally shared water resources are further challenging water resources management in Syria.

The overall institutional framework for water management is hierarchically organized. Several ministries share the responsibility for water resources management; all of them are represented in the Higher Water Council.