Every year on November 3rd, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) celebrates International Biosphere Reserves Day, officially established in 2021 as a global occasion to renew the relationship between humanity and nature and to promote the concept of sustainable development based on a balance between environmental protection and human well-being.
The Syrian Future Movement, while joining the world in observing this day, affirms that the environment has never been, and will never be, an intellectual luxury or a secondary issue, but rather a cornerstone of national and human security in the new Syria. Biosphere reserves represent a living laboratory for sustainable development, where knowledge meets responsibility, and nature and humanity embrace in a single life cycle that respects the land and cherishes life. Syria has suffered over the past decades, particularly during the years of war, from widespread destruction of ecosystems, deforestation, a decline in biodiversity, and the loss of water resources and arable soil. This makes this International Day an opportunity to rethink the relationship between Syrians and their environment within a comprehensive national project that sees the environment as a cornerstone for building trust and restoring both geography and memory.
The Syrian Future Movement calls for this day to be the starting point for a national strategy for environmental justice, placing nature protection at the heart of the reconstruction process and transforming Syrian reserves—in Palmyra, Al-Ghab, Latakia, the Eastern Desert, and elsewhere—into centers of sustainable life and local production projects in which both rural and urban communities participate.
The Syrian Future Movement believes that environmental belonging is a form of national belonging, and that restoring the balance between people and their environment is part of the broader Syrian reconciliation process that transcends sectarian and regional divisions. Therefore, revitalizing nature reserves is not merely an environmental act, but a national and humanitarian one that restores Syria’s green landscape and its civilizational role in protecting life.
While appreciating UNESCO’s efforts and its “Man and the Biosphere” program, the Syrian Future Movement calls for a new Syrian-international partnership in the fields of scientific research, environmental education, sustainable tourism, and reforestation, making Syria a regional model for green development and an active member of the global network of biosphere reserves.
The future of Syria that we aspire to is one that safeguards the land, water, and air, just as it safeguards humanity and dignity.
A nation that protects its environment protects itself, and a society that restores balance to its land regains its ability to rise from the ashes of war toward a brighter future.
