The Syrian coast and development prospects
On Tuesday, March 26, 2019, the Nation Building Movement held a dialogue session entitled “The Syrian Coast and Development Prospects,” which is the first session of the NBM’s plan to hold local dialogue sessions to discuss the reality of Syrian regions and the role of societal and political forces in supporting the work of local councils, to develop integrated development visions and provide support for their implementation, based on regional planning, with the participation of a number of activists, specialists, and members of local councils in the Syrian coastal region.
The session was opened by NBM’s head, lawyer Anas Joudeh, who explained that development is no longer a matter solely related to government policies and the plans programmed towards it. The results of the war require, first and foremost, a high level of partnership, as the development process itself constitutes a framework upon which any solution to get out of the crisis is based, regardless of the political arrangements and procedures that have been taking place for several years.
Development is an experience to redraw the image of Syria. It is a comprehensive experience within social, economic and political levels. From this perspective, it is a challenge that begins with local communities and ends within the general national framework.
NBM played a major role in the field of local administration, based on the roles, concerns and capabilities of local communities to be serious bearers of development factors, in addition to work with the government side to clarify what government programs are being provided to Syria today during the war period and during this stage, which is considered a recovery stage “after the intensity of military battles subsided” so that we as a Syrian society can form a societal viewpoint on the subject of development, and how Syria can be built in the coming period.
The reality of the coastal region, its problems and available capabilities were discussed, as the participants focused on the most important problems that the Syrian coast suffers from, including:
Central agricultural planning: There are inactive developmental capabilities that have led to the scarcity of agricultural reality, the failure to benefit from marine wealth, and the absence of the concept of the blue economy. The crisis has also led to a severe drain on the workforce and brain drain, and the exacerbation of social conditions with the presence of many families without a breadwinner, the reality of internal displacement and the emergence of a class of war profiteers, the weakness of the educational process, the concentration of seasonal activity on the coastal strip and its decline or absence on the coastal plateaus and mountains, and an imbalance in regional development, in addition to the spread of chaos in investment activity.
Then, three presentations were given: the first was about the idea of the dimensions of regional planning, the second presented the government plans for Syria after the crisis, and the last presentation was to define comprehensive development and its dimensions.
The participants were divided into three groups to discuss the three questions:
- What are the development priorities?
- What are the possible means to achieve these priorities?
- Who are the active, partner and obstructive forces?
This is based on three pillars:
- Political and administrative pillars.
- Economic and environmental pillars.
- Social and cultural pillars.
After that, the priorities for intervention and the possibility of working to reach a better reality were presented and discussed, as well as who are the partner and active forces that constitute development carriers, with agreement on these models.
