Eco- friendly park to help sustain water level

Syria’s first eco-friendly park, located in the capital Damascus, is nearing its final stages of completion with the actual seeding of indigenous plants from the local Barada river valley. The park, which features new water-saving methods of irrigation, will help environmental education in a country that is increasingly facing shortages of fresh drinking water. The project is a result of cooperation between the Syrian Environment Association (SEA) NGO, the Damascus governorate, and the Swiss Embassy. It is expected to be opened officially in October 2005. “The park will be a small sample to teach the generations how to protect their environment and preserve water resources,” said Warqa Barmada, president of SEA. “To achieve better water management in this park, new farming and irrigation techniques will be used including, the drip irrigation and the sprinkler.” “Inhabitants of this neighborhood and visitors will be exposed to these new methods, and we hope they may seek to use similar methods in their garden. The traditional method of irrigation wastes a lot of precious waters.” Most of the old Damascene houses’ internal courtyards contain fountains and gardens. According to the Arab Centre for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry lands (ACSAD), each individual in Syria needs 1,000 cu metres of water. What is available now is 750 cu meters. Syria takes the whole issue of water shortages seriously and has been dealing with its water resources as a strategic and critical issue. According to ACSAD, the best option to solve the crisis is by fighting pollution and achieving better management for water resources. Damascus, which depends on the Fijieh Spring and well waters, has suffered from a shortage of supply in the past few years due to inefficient use of water and low rainfall. With a population of 4 million during the day and 3 million at night, Damascus has about 200 million cu metres available per year. By 2010, the city will need about 250 million cu metres annually. Barmada said about 200 kinds of trees will be planted on the area of the park which is about two and a half hectares located next to the Damascus Citadel in the heart of the old part of the city. Work began on the first stage of the park in 2003. “This eco-friendly park is the first project of its kind in Syria,” she said. “The park will look like a small island of greenery between the Barada River and its small tributary Alaqraboey. And the body of the park itself will be divided into small islands, each one has a plant function, and each one will be planted with a different kind of plant.” The history of some of the plants and trees dates back about 200 years. SEA presented the list of plants to the Damascus governorate, which oversees all municipal works in the city. AN EDUCATIONAL TASK Barmada said the park will have a special section that will be used to educate the younger generation. Children from the five schools in the old part of city will get a chance to plant a small part of the park. Children from other schools from other parts of Damascus will also have a similar opportunity in the future. “The Syrian economy relies heavily on farming. We have all sorts of agricultural produce and need to teach our children how to preserve and develop that. We need to let them know that parks and greenery are important and that working to increase green areas is essential for them to continue living,” said Barmada. The process of allowing children to come to the park and help in planting on a regular basis is to raise environmental awareness of children, demonstrate the special relation between individuals and the land, and teach children more about irrigation, pollution and the importance of water in city which is in short supply. “Parks are good for entertainment, but they have other purposes. We would like to teach children that environment is made up of human beings, animals and plants and they have to learn to preserve this environment,” she added. Barmada said the visits by the students were a very important part of the project to help raise awareness about protecting the environment and the responsibilities of citizens. “We have cooperated with the Ministry of Education in the past. Now we are hoping to include the main principles and objectives of protecting the environment in school curricula,” said Barmada. “We also hope to extend this experience to other governorates in Syria in the future.” The three main sponsors of the project each had different roles. The Damascus governorate provided the plants and workers to plant the park, while the Swiss Embassy financed the whole project. SEA, as an NGO, is implementing and coordinating this venture. The land of the park was a previously a rubbish dump owned by the Ministry of Interior. It gave the land to SEA on the condition it would be turned into an eco-friendly public Park.