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Water management is a fundamental issue in post-conflict planning in Syria. Based on historical water balance assessment, this study identifies the drivers of the profound changes that took place in the Lebanese and Syrian parts of the Orontes River basin since the 1930s. Both drastic effects of the conflict on the hydro-system and the strong uncontrolled anthropization of the river basin prior to the crisis have to be considered in the design of recovery interventions.

Emergency obstetric and newborn care (EmONC) can be life-saving in managing well-known complications during childbirth. However, suboptimal availability, accessibility, quality and utilisation of EmONC services hampered meeting Millennium Development Goal target 5A. Evaluation and modelling tools of health system performance and future potential can help countries to optimise their strategies towards reaching Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3: ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. The standard set of indicators for monitoring EmONC has been found useful for assessing quality and utilisation but does not account for travel time required to physically access health services. The increased use of geographical information systems, availability of free geographical modelling tools such as AccessMod and the quality of geographical data provide opportunities to complement the existing EmONC indicators by adding geographically explicit measurements. This paper proposes three additional EmONC indicators to the standard set for monitoring EmONC; two consider physical accessibility and a third addresses referral time from basic to comprehensive EmONC services. We provide examples to illustrate how the AccessMod tool can be used to measure these indicators, analyse service utilisation and propose options for the scaling-up of EmONC services. The additional indicators and analysis methods can supplement traditional EmONC assessments by informing approaches to improve timely access to achieve Universal Health Coverage and reach SDG 3.

Le bassin de l’Oronte comprend quelques-unes des zones les plus touchees par le conflit en Syrie. Les acces a la region cotiere, les frontieres avec le Liban et la Turquie, les grandes ressources en eau et l’agriculture sont des enjeux geostrategiques cles dans le conflit en cours. Puissants moyens de controle du territoire, les infrastructures en eau domestique et agricole ont ete deliberement prises pour cibles par les forces du regime, principalement, et de l’opposition. Ainsi, l’acces a l’eau potable est actuellement critique dans de grandes parties du bassin, plus de 50 % de la population dispose de moins de 20 l / j. De son cote, la production agricole a diminue de plus de 70 %, en grande partie en raison de l’interruption de l’approvisionnement en eau des zones irriguees. Le bassin de l’Oronte est une region cle dans le conflit en cours, elle le restera dans la periode de transition post-conflit. Au-dela de la necessite d’accroitre l’aide d’urgence, la planification de la rehabilitation des infrastructures d’eau et la gestion des ressources en eau seront des elements cles a considerer dans une perspective de reconciliation.

Le bassin de l’Oronte, bastion rural du parti Baas dans les annees 1960 et 1970, fut en 2011 et 2012 un haut lieu de la contestation. L’erosion de l’assise rurale du regime baasiste peut s’expliquer par la profonde crise agricole qui touchait plus particulierement les perimetres irrigues amenages au debut de l’aire baasiste. La politique de liberalisation dans les annees 2000 est generalement consideree comme un des facteurs declenchant de la crise syrienne. Dans le cas des perimetres irrigues du bassin de l’Oronte la realite parait plus complexe car la planification centralisee de la production a ete largement maintenue jusqu’au debut de la contestation. Les premices de la crise qui apparaissent dans la plaine du Ghab remontent au debut des annees 1980 pour ensuite s’etendre a l’ensemble des perimetres. Les racines de la crise et son moteur se trouvent dans le dualisme entre planification et strategie d’alliance clienteliste dans un premier temps puis entre planification et liberalisation, possiblement au profit d’une extension du capitalisme de connivence au secteur agricole.

L’evolution vers un financement plus consequent des acteurs locaux, et d’une meilleure appropriation par ces derniers de l’action humanitaire entreprise dans leur pays, represente un changement majeur pour celle-ci. Pourtant, il n’est pas sur qu’elle y gagne en efficacite. A partir du cas syrien, cet article explore l’action humanitaire locale et sa relation avec la communaute internationale. Il montre que les organisations locales syriennes sont un acteur primordial de l’humanitaire a l’interieur des frontieres syriennes. Celles-ci revelent un potentiel remarquable pour une action humanitaire plus adaptee, plus efficace et plus durable, ce qui va dans le sens des arguments en faveur d’une relocalisation de cette action. Toutefois, la concretisation de ce potentiel depend lourdement de la facon dont les ONG internationales envisagent leurs relations avec ces organisations locales.

The thesis deals specifically with water use policies and the socioeconomic conditions of its exploitation in Syria. This includes the identification of the contributing elements to the creation of mechanisms for dialogue and negotiation around water resource use and sharing with a perspective to strengthening the role of water in social cohesion, resilience and reconciliation in post-conflict Syria. In the complex context of the Syrian conflict, the assumption is that water plays a unifying role in Syrian society as a basic common resource. Access to water can therefore be a means to starting negotiations and strengthening social cohesion between users and a step in the process of reconciliation. Furthermore, this thesis analyses et locates the effects of the Syrian century-long various development policies, as well as the effects of the ongoing conflict on water resources, agricultural and industrial production, population displacement and evolution. of social structure. It also analyzes the evolution of relations between political power, its popular base and economic influence groups. Finally, this work looks at the modes and logics of water use at the local level in the sense that it may be either a means of strengthening the popular base, a tool of war or a tool for cooperation. It clarifies the territorial strategy of the international actors involved in the Syrian conflict and/or in the control of water resources. The analysis allowed us to identify the socio-economic, technical and natural elements which will be essential in the process of infrastructure rehabilitation and water management with a perspective to reconciliation. Those elements were introduced into the strategies of the hydraulic infrastructure rehabilitation and water management projects implemented as part of this thesis in Ar Ruj and Afrin. The objectives of these projects go beyond meeting drinking and irrigation water needs to address issues related to strengthening resilience, social cohesion and reconciliation. Supporting access to water is not only a response to a critical need but is also a means of engaging local communities in negotiations with a wider range of stakeholders (such as “local water users” and displaced people”, local power structures, economic actors…) in order to put in place viable water management systems and to address other social issues that are not directly related to water sharing. This is organized by the water user associations as an ancillary activity to its core water supply management. They were created as part of these projects.