This sectorial Action Plan aims at proposing measures to protect the national soil from deterioration, limit land degradation and soil erosion, and to combat desertification. It is meant as an implementation of Article 4 of the International Convention to Combat Desertification of 1994.
The Plan can be divided in three main sections. The first section deals with the status of climate, natural and water resources in Syria. The second one measures and reports on past projects, and the third section explains the proposed measures to combat desertification and drought mitigation, indicating the institutional concerned bodies and ministries for the different fields.
The main objectives of this Strategy are the following: improve the productivity of the land in areas affected by desertification through the maintenance of land and water resources while implementing a sustainable management plan; improve the economic conditions of the population of the affected areas through the development of alternative production programs in line with the objectives of the fight against desertification; strengthen the program activities' gender-sensitive designs while emphasizing the participation of local communities, popular organizations and land users in proposing, implementing and evaluating the projects.
Basic principles to give effect to these objectives are: awareness of the role of climate variability in the degradation of natural resources and the work that avoids their impact; proper water management; soil conservation and maintenance of deterioration factors; and preservation of natural vegetation to create the conditions that protect the ecosystems.
The document also assesses the present desertification level in the country and its social and economic effects, in particular in the agricultural and pastoral fields.