To compensate for the excess demand, ground water sources are being exploited unsustainably. Until recently, wastewater treatment was virtually nonexistent, with sewage dumped untreated into surface water in many Syrian cities. In addition, Syria faces surface water sharing issues with all its neighbors that are either unresolved or only partly resolved. The most prominent of these is its dispute with Turkey over the flow of the Euphrates and, to a lesser extent, the Orontes and Tigris rivers. Some degree of controversy also applies in its sharing of the Yarmouk waters with Jordan and the Litani waters with Lebanon.
All paper is imported into Syria, and there is no recycling except to produce egg cartons.
Maritime Pollution Domestic and industrial activities are modest on the Syrian coast, although its three oil terminals are occasional polluters. Land Desertification is a serious problem, especially in the Syrian steppe, largely as a result of overgrazing and unregulated pumping of groundwater. Initially, at least, these opportunities are most likely to be in donor-funded projects. Other clean technologies are being sought, such as options for the tanneries in Damascus and Aleppo, whose current waste stream endanger plans for biological treatment of wastewater. Syria is also looking at the possibility of using natural gas fuel for vehicles.