The Ramsar Convention lists Lake al-Jabbul as one of only 300 lakes in the world that are “wetlands of international importance.” Covering 60 square miles near Aleppo, Syria, this large, shallow body of salt water is an important staging and breeding site for many water birds in the Middle East. More than 10,000 graceful, pink flamingos winter there every year.

The Al-Jabboul lake, located southwest of Aleppo, Syria is an example of a unique agro-ecosystem created by the rich drainage water and salt-tolerant weeds.

In recent years, changes in the Lake al-Jabbul’s hydrology have resulted in a lowering of salinity and an increase in aquatic vegetation, threatening the surrounding ecosystem and biodiversity. There are alarming signs of the “tragedy of the commons syndrome,” since so many common property resources in and around the lake are not being properly managed.

The health of al-Jabbul lake is critical to the well-being of the region. The surrounding villages’ economy depends on irrigated and rainfed agriculture, sheep rearing, salt collection, and off-farm labor. These local communities face problems of salinization, pollution of the Jabbul salt, mixtures of irrigation drainage with sewage water, shoreline overgrazing, and declines in soil fertility because of nutrient mining and wind erosion.

In collaboration with the Governorate of Aleppo, the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) is facilitating a scientific investigation to identify realistic and workable solutions to the problems of sustainable management of the al-Jabbul agro-ecosystem. As a first step, all major stakeholders in the al-Jabbul area have been invited to join a steering committee. In addition, task forces on pollution control, biodiversity conservation, water and wetland management, and socio-economic development have been established to support the governance and survival of this valuable agro-ecosystem.

The Lake al-Jabbul project offers a good example of how ICARDA's integrated natural resources management framework is helping to implement practical solutions on the ground. By spearheading a broad-based approach to reconcile conflicting interests and uses, ICARDA aims to provide a lasting solution to the complex environmental and socio-economic problems threatening Lake al-Jabbul.