Syrian conflict caused by over-grazing (online)

Over-grazing and desertification in the Syrian steppe are the root causes of war

Civil war in Syria is the result of the desertification of the ecologically fragile Syrian steppe - a process that began in 1958 when the former Bedouin commons were opened up to unrestricted grazing. That led to a wider ecological, hydrological and agricultural collapse, and then to a 'rural intifada' of farmers and nomads no longer able to support themselves.