VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDM #0508/01 1971446
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 151446Z JUL 08
FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5187
INFO RUCNNAF/NORTH AF NEA AND SOUTH ASIAN COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS DAMASCUS 000508 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ELA, NEA/PPD, IIP/SEG, IIP/NEA-SCA, R 
 
SENSITIVE, SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO SY XF OEXC OIIP SCUL KIRC SENV PGOV PREL
SUBJECT: IIP SPEAKER ON ENVIRONMENT MAKES CONNECTIONS IN SYRIA 
 
¶1.  SBU SUMMARY: IIP Speaker and climate scientist Dr. Brenda 
Ekwurzel of the Union of Concerned Scientists visited Syria April 
21-25, 2008.  Audiences in Damascus and Aleppo, from middle school 
students to leading scientists, responded positively and 
enthusiastically to her message of individual and societal 
environmental responsibility.  Press coverage of her visit was 
uniformly positive.  With concern for the environment a cause celeb 
in Syria, Dr. Ekwurzel's visit enabled Post to connect with a 
significant segment of Syrian civil society - environmentalists; 
these groups can be difficult to engage due to government pressure. 
Sustaining these connections and forging new ones is a Post 
priority.  END SUMMARY. 
 
-------------------------- 
Connecting with the Public 
-------------------------- 
 
¶2.  [U] Visiting IIP Speaker Dr. Brenda Ekwurzel began her Damascus 
program with a public lecture on April 21 at the American Cultural 
Center entitled, "How Our Activities Today Influence the Environment 
of Tomorrow."  A capacity crowd of 100-120 people flocked to the 
Cultural Center to hear her talk about global warming its effects on 
the environment, the climate, water resources, demography, and 
agriculture.  She highlighted the role of education, the role of 
NGOs, and the role of the individual in the effort to protect the 
planet and its valuable natural resources. 
 
----------------------------- 
Connecting with Civil Society 
----------------------------- 
 
¶3.  [SBU] To celebrate Earth Day on April 22, the PAO hosted an 
Earth Day reception in honor of Dr. Ekwurzel.  With nearly 70 
attendees PD Damascus highlighted American concern for the 
environment, as well as environmental conservation to a receptive 
audience.  The event provided the Embassy with an important platform 
to mingle with contacts from both the private and public sectors, 
and to make new connections with key civil society institutions, 
universities, and students. 
 
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Connecting with Students and Future Leaders 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  [U] Dr. Ekwurzel spoke with two school groups during her time in 
Syria: 115 middle school students and teachers at the Damascus 
Community School (the "American School" in Damascus) on April 22 and 
120 high school students at the ICARDA International School of 
Aleppo on April 23. 
 
¶5.  [U] Following on this youth theme, Dr. Ekwurzel enjoyed a lunch 
in Damascus on April 22 and a dinner in Aleppo on April 23 with 
young USG exchange grantees, both alumni from the YES and PLUS 
programs and upcoming participants in Fulbright programs. 
 
-------------------------- 
Connecting with Scientists 
-------------------------- 
 
¶6. [SBU] In Damascus, Dr. Ekwurzel participated in two informal 
roundtable discussions.  The first on April 21 took place at the 
Orient Center for Studies, the only quasi-independent think tank in 
Syria.  The debate among the 12 participants focused on the 
environment and ways in which new technologies and human behaviors 
could positively impact the environment.  The second took place on 
April 22 in partnership with the Netherlands Institute for Academic 
Studies in Damascus (NIASD) and included water resource experts 
working in academia and civil society.  (Note: due to the nature of 
U.S.-Syrian relations, professors were more willing to attend an 
event at NIASD than the American Cultural Center.  End Note.) 
 
¶7.  [SBU] Dr. Ekwurzel spent all of April 24 at the research 
facility run by the International Center for Agricultural Research 
in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) near Aleppo.  She toured the research 
center and spoke both formally and informally with ICARDA scientists 
-- Syrians and foreigners.  Dr. Ekwurzel's formal seminar on "Water 
and Food Resources: Coping with Climate Change in Arid Lands" drew 
an audience of 30 scientists from ICARDA and nearby Aleppo 
University.   Dr. Ekwurzel's day at ICARDA contributed to and 
sustained the positive, cooperative relationship between the U.S. 
Embassy and ICARDA, which is the only international organization 
headquartered in Syria.  ICARDA is a vehicle by which PD Damascus 
can engage with university professors who otherwise shy away from 
contact with the American Embassy. 
 
------------------------- 
Connecting with the Press 
------------------------- 
 
¶8.  [U] On April 20, Dr. Brenda Ekwurzel spoke to a press roundtable 
with representatives from private weekly and monthly magazines 
focused on economic and environmental issues.  Ekwurzel's engagement 
with the press resulted in excellent coverage of environmental 
issues in Syria, as well as U.S. efforts to support the environment 
here.  Privately owned Suria al-Ghad FM radio station aired an 
interview with her on April 29.  The widely-read economic journal 
"Boursat w'Aswak" ran a full-page story on Dr. Ekwurzel's visit in 
its April 27 edition.  A short article entitled "Caring about 
Drinking Water Starts from the Sanctuary of Wells" was published in 
the private, semi-independent daily Al-Watan on April 22.  It quoted 
Dr. Ekwurzel on the need for governmental and non-governmental 
organizations to cooperate with each other and with the private 
sector to reduce pollution.  "Al-Baladiyaat wal Bii'a" ran a story 
on Dr. Erkwurzel's visit in its July 1 issue, entitled "We Are all 
Concerned". 
 
¶9.  [SBU] COMMENT: Despite real obstacles to working with civil 
society, youth, and academia in Syria, Post used Dr. Ekwurzel's 
visit and common concern for the environment to forge connections 
with all three groups. Environmentalism will continue to be a theme 
for PD programming and Post hopes to invite Dr. Ekwurzel back to 
Syria to celebrate Earth Day 2009. 
 
 
 
CORBIN