biodiversity - Syria Direct

Seeds of Syria: How a birthplace of agriculture lost troves of its native crops, and why we should all worry

By Lyse Mauvais, Solin Muhammed Amin|2024-06-07T14:42:23+02:00October 28, 2022|

Home to the wild ancestors of our most important crops, Syria once hosted one of the world’s biggest seed banks and grew several native varieties of wheat. But this collapsed during the war, and Syrians are now struggling to find good-quality seeds. How did the country lose its seed treasure, and with it, a wealth of genetic resources for humanity?

The dying bees of Syria

By Lyse Mauvais, Solin Muhammed Amin|2023-01-19T21:01:13+01:00September 28, 2022|

Beekeeping is an ancient tradition in Syria, where native bees used to produce world-famous honey. But decades of intensive farming, economic hardship and environmental degradation have shattered the delicate relationships that once united bees and humans.