Category: Ecology
Ecology is one of the three main pillars of the Rojava Revolution and the stateless self-governance model of the Autonomous Administrations of North and East Syria (AANES), as well as the Kurdish freedom movement more broadly, which initiated the revolution.
Although ecology is one of the main pillars of the revolution in North and East Syria, it is also sadly one of the least developed. This is due to the challenges of being at the epicentre of a global conflict and under heavy economic embargo in a desertifying region suffering immense water scarcity that has been forced into a pesticide and chemical fertiliser heavy form of monocrop agriculture for forty years. To add to these troubles, the rivers which flow through the region are controlled by hostile state of Turkey, which frequently detains water flow.
In Bakur (north Kurdistan / southeastern Turkey), ecological destruction is also used as a weapon of war. Hydroelectric megaprojects have been used to control village populations, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and literally submerging entire towns.
Below you can find articles with more information about attempts to create ecological projects in both regions, the ecological pillar of the Rojava Revolution, and the struggle against ecocide in southeastern Turkey.
Hope and Contradictions: My Year in Rojava
This libertarian socialist experiment, established in the middle of one of the world’s most brutal and politically complex war zones, has tried to build a new social order rooted in feminism, ecology, direct democracy, and cooperative self-management of industry. It has survived confrontations against two separate forms of fascism and the evolving schemes and counter-schemes of the imperialist great powers that dominate the region. AANES provides a home for refugees and an island of stability in a country torn to pieces by the civil war that followed President Bashar al-Assad’s suppression of the 2011 Arab Spring revolution in Syria. But the revolution is not without its problems and limitations, which Pye will explore in a series of essays exploring the war front, the deliberative councils, the feminist spaces, the military, the factions, and the economy of this nascent society beyond the state where millions of people have lived under a form of revolutionary self-government for over ten years.
On April 4, people plant trees all over Rojava; let’s follow their example!
Every year on April 4th, people, municipalities, and self-government councils plant trees all over Rojava. People come together; from young to old, everyone takes part in these events. It is an act of ecological as well as anti-colonial struggle and gained a place in the consciousness of the people of whole Kurdistan and beyond. Also this year, despite all the attacks on the people and nature of Rojava by the Turkish state, thousands of trees are going to be planted in the region on this date.
“Every tree blossoms from it’s own roots”
On the Mother language day, Make Rojava Green Again worked together with the children on the tree project.
Three new factories open in Deir ez-Zor
The Social Economy Committee opened three factories in the western region of Deir ez-Zor.
AANES greenhouse projects aim at self-sufficiency in NE Syria
Over the past years, the AANES has worked to open three greenhouse projects in Northeast Syria to ease the pressure of high prices on the population. The projects also aim to secure various types of locally produced vegetables and limit monopoly by traders.
Farmers of Syria’s Hasakah resort to solar energy
Across the farmlands in areas in northeast Syria, where agriculture takes the top spot, installing solar panels have become the best option for farmers to irrigate their crops amid fuel and power shortages.
Kongra Star delegation visits JINWAR women’s village
JINWAR is the only village in the Middle East where only women live. It was opened on 25 November 2018 on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
Berlin Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg – Interview with Derik Municipality
In 2019, a city partnership between Berlin Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg and Derik was established. Since then, several projects have been realized in cooperation, including ecological initiatives, service provisions and information exchanges.
Environmental campaign in Kobanê
Women and children in Kobanê plant trees as part of the “Be Environmentally Friendly” campaign launched by the Environmental Organization of Euphrates Region in North and East Syria.
Shehmaran Health Center for Natural Medicine opened in Shehba
In Sheba, a region where thousands of people who fled Afrin because of the Turkish occupation of Afrin in 2018 have been living for the last 6 years, a health center for natural medicine was opened by the Kongra Star Health Committee on January 15, the anniversary of their foundation. This center is intended to
Flashback 2023: Environmental devastation continues to unfold
Environmental degradation continues to plague Turkey in 2023, as forests are sacrificed for mining ventures, water resources are exploited, and major destruction is wrought in Kurdish regions.
