In a context of war, taking care of the environment is not a matter of course. Instead, since2012, the new institutions of theautonomous administration of North East Syria have beenbased on the principles of democratic confederalism, gender equality andecology.

Years of conflict have resulted not only in the destruction of cities and the displacement of entire populations, but also inanacute environmental crisis."During sandstorms, in the desert areas one sees real clouds of waste, especially plastic bags, floating in the air," explains Roberta, Un Ponte Per's Environmental Programmes Desk. "The waste is mainly piled up and burned in open dumps, most of which are not up to standard, with very serious consequences on the health of the communities, already unfortunately affected by the conflict that has now lasted more than adecade.

Since 2022, in collaboration with the Kurdish Red Crescent (KRC) and with the support of theBarcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB) and the ProsolidarFoundation , we have been supporting the first municipal 'door-to-door' waste collection and recycling system forsolid urban waste , launchedby the municipality of Hasakeh, together with the Directorate of theEnvironment .The project involves the citizenship both through regular meetings withkominrepresentatives (on a neighbourhood basis) and through various awareness-raising campaigns organised in the involved neighbourhoods, schools and universities. Between April 2023 and March 2024, more than 5,462 people were directly involved in awareness-raising activities on the subject of environmental health and the effects of pollution on health, the 3Rs principle - reduce, reuse, recycle - and the new waste separation and recycling system set up by the municipality.

The system currently involves three komin (Nos. 4, 7 and 8) and theAl-Hal market, one of the largest fruit and vegetable markets in the city of Hasakeh, with a total of 996 private homes and 303 shops, restaurants or offices involved in the recycling system. During the period between April 2023 and March 2024, 16,158 kg of organic waste, 3,056 kg of plastic, 3,476 kg of cardboard and 118.35 kg of metals were collected and diverted from landfill .

So much support is certainly still needed to be able to expand the system to all districts of the city and ensure its fulleconomic and technicalself-sustainability, but it is a very important first step towards building a future based on fewer public health risks, greater environmental sustainability, and hopefully alsoregional peace.