MEDirections is delighted to share a new Research Project Report from the Wartime and Post Conflict in Syria project (WPCS). 

The Syrian conflict has altered the ecosystem in northern Syria in many ways. However, the most significant shift has been Aleppo’s disconnection from the surrounding countryside, its suburbs having practically become economically autonomous from the city. The de facto safe zones established in northern Aleppo following successive Turkish military interventions have, in theory, given this area with a greater potential for economic recovery. This paper attempts to evaluate the recovery of the local economy in the Euphrates Shield area and in the Afrin region from 2016 and 2018. It first identifies the main actors present in these areas and the available vital resources – energy, water and fuel – for implementing a reconstruction strategy. It then moves on to the main economic activities – agriculture, industry and trade – and the challenges Syrian businessmen and farmers are currently facing.