ENG - UN CC:Learn

In the area of environment, UNDP Syria has been working closely with the government
towards establishing linkages between environmental initiatives and poverty alleviation
efforts, and incorporating environmental priorities into the national development
planning process. The proposal on ‘Land Degradation’ that UNDP is now developing
with support from the GEF, and which will be integrated into a UNDP-supported
economic development programme in the North-Eastern part of Syria is a case in point.
CHEMICALS BIODIVERSITY LAND ENERGY WATER FSSD*
PORTFOLIO
Ali Al-Za’tari, Resident Representative
UNDP is working to build the institutional and technical capacities of the General Commission of Environmental affairs of Syria. An outcome
of this effort is the development of a National Strategy and Environmental Action Plan that addresses the country’s pressing environmental
issues and promotes the integration of environmental considerations into development activities.
UNDP and the Syrian government are supporting efforts to strengthen Syria’s national capacities in integrated water resources management.
Activities include pilot case studies for efficient local water management, integrated basin water management, strategic planning
and institutional coordination, and human resources development.
Energy efficiency initiatives, funded by OPEC, GEF and UNDP, aim to reduce GHG emissions in Syria. Efforts are geared towards creating
institutional capacity within the Ministry of Electricity to improve energy efficiency both within its own operations as well as among its
consumers. In addition, the Government of Japan is supporting the provision of training at the local village level in the operation, maintenance
and management of Photo-voltaic (PV) systems in an effort to spread decentralized rural electrification.
Efforts are underway to support the Government of Syria in successfully implementing the UN Convention to Combat Desertification
through developing, adopting, and implementing a National Action Plan (NAP), with the support of the Government of Finland.
UNDP and GEF are supporting the Syrian government to ensure that Syria’s globally and nationally significant biodiversity is sustainably
used, to promote the conservation and preservation of important wild relatives and landraces agricultural species, and to demonstrate
the need for protected area management.
Nineteen projects that directly impacted ODS consumption in the domestic and commercial refrigeration sector have been implemented
over a period of seven years by UNDP to assist Syria with its Montreal Protocol compliance. Two projects remain on-going in the
commercial refrigeration sector and they support provision of equipment, trials, technical assistance and training in order to ensure sustainable
adoption of alternatives.
CONTACTS
Ms. Shaza Al-Joundi – shaza.joundi@undp.org
Ms. Abir Zeno – abir.zeno@undp.org
Tel.: 6129811
Fax: 6114541
http://www.undp.org.sy/
PARTNERS
Some of our Partners working with
UNDP and the Government in Syria
OPEC
Embassy of Japan
JICA
Government of Finland
1
MDGR 2003 and http://www.undg.org/documents/4412-Syria_MDG_Report.pdf; 2 UNDP Syria Country Office Questionnaire;
†GEF Online database: http://www.gefonline.org/projectDetails.cfmprojID=400; *Frameworks and Strategies for Sustainable Development 149