Climate risks to Syria’s urban water and sanitation systems

This briefing paper presents key findings from a semi-quantitative climate risk assessment of Syria's urban drinking water and sanitation, intended to support the country's reconstruction efforts. Focusing on the reconstruction of urban drinking water and sanitation systems (WASH), the paper sets out considerations and opportunities for Syria to adapt urban WASH infrastructure to climate change and to transition toward a more diverse renewables and higher-efficiency generation portfolio. The paper is one of a set of climate risk assessments of Syria's key lifeline infrastructure, accompanied by a first briefing paper on electricity.

The paper emphasizes that Syria already faced a significant national water deficit before the conflict, and now contends with compounding pressures from damaged infrastructure, declining water supplies, and rising demand driven by population return and economic recovery. Climate change is intensifying water scarcity through higher temperatures, droughts, and increasing aridity, while also degrading water quality and placing additional strain on drinking water and sanitation systems. A shift toward integrated water resource management is presented as critical, combining demand reduction (particularly in agriculture), infrastructure rehabilitation, water reuse, and strengthened governance, alongside regional cooperation on transboundary water resources. Without climate risk-informed, system-wide planning, the paper warns, Syria risks deepening water insecurity, increasing waterborne disease and contamination risks, and locking in costly maladaptive investments that undermine long-term recovery and stability.