On Monday, August 4, the Syrian Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform announced that more than 14,000 hectares of land were damaged by wildfires that broke out in rural Latakia last month.
According to statistics published by the Ministry on Facebook, forests and woodlands accounted for the largest share of damage, totaling 11,675 hectares—representing 82.55% of the total burned area.
Agricultural land came in second, with 2,152 hectares affected (15.21%), followed by urban land, which suffered damage to 193.78 hectares (1.37%).
The Ministry added that 53 hectares of water bodies were also affected (0.37%), in addition to 67.94 hectares of mixed-use areas (0.48%), and 1.93 hectares of barren, abandoned, or converted lands (0.01%).
Plan to Reforest 1,000 Hectares
Majd Suleiman, Director of the Forestry Department at the Ministry of Agriculture, said the proposed artificial reforestation plan for the upcoming 2025–2026 season aims to cover 1,000 hectares. The proposed plan for forest seedling production targets 1.4 million seedlings.
In a July 17 interview with the state-run Ikhbariyah TV channel, Suleiman explained that the burned or threatened tree species in Latakia’s countryside were mostly coniferous, oak, and some broad-leaved varieties.
The Ministry’s Forestry Department is focusing on planting multi-purpose, environmentally suitable species such as bay laurel, carob, and sumac—especially in forested areas close to local communities. The goal is to promote a participatory approach toward sustainable forest management.
Suleiman noted that the Ministry has developed both short- and long-term plans for dealing with affected forest areas. Long-term strategies focus on protecting forest zones and allowing for natural regeneration, while short-term plans include sowing forest seeds and planting saplings under artificial reforestation initiatives.
Regarding the restoration of damaged vegetation, Suleiman stated that in many cases the natural cover returns relatively quickly without human intervention. However, this depends on the severity and frequency of fires in a given area.
He emphasized the need for full protection of areas that experienced moderate fires, as vegetation can gradually regenerate through seed germination, suckering, or sprouting from underground plant parts like bulbs or rhizomes.
In areas affected by high-intensity fires, protection must be combined with seed sowing of native species. The seeds should ideally be collected from regions adjacent to the fire site prior to the incident.
Containing the Fires
On July 15, Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management Raed al-Saleh announced that wildfires in Latakia province had been fully contained after 12 consecutive days of firefighting efforts.
He stated that this marks the end of the emergency response phase and the beginning of an equally important phase—protecting the remaining forests and restoring what was destroyed by the fires.
Al-Saleh warned that the real disaster lies not only in what was lost, but in the long-term consequences, such as soil erosion, loss of vegetation cover, and increased vulnerability amid the worst drought and climate change conditions in decades.
Agriculture Ministry Assesses Wildfire Damage in Latakia, Syria Enab Baladi.
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