The Autonomous Administration of Northern and Eastern Syria is under attack on many levels simultaneously. While, on the one hand, a massive policy of displacement is taking place and the demographics of the region are being actively reshaped in the Turkish-occupied regions, the Turkish state is using its control over the rivers to dry up or flood the region. Added to this are the worsening conditions due to man-made climate change.

Despite all the difficulties, the Rojava Revolution made the construction of an ecological society one of its cornerstones. However, creating ecological awareness under wartime conditions proves difficult. The first ecology conference of North and East Syria took place in Qamishlo in the past weeks.

In this ANF interview, Ibrahim Esed commented on the fight for an ecological life in Northern and Eastern Syria and the implementation of the goals of the ecology conference.

Could you tell us about the pursuit of ecological approaches in Northern and Eastern Syria since the beginning of the revolution?

We can divide the work of the Ecology Council formed by the Democratic Autonomous Administration of Northern and Eastern Syria, or the institutionalization of ecological work, into two phases: before the revolution and after the revolution. The period after the revolution can also be divided into a phase before the formation of the Ecology Council and after that. If you look at the politics of the regional states, there are different developments in the different parts of Kurdistan. Even though it had the same attitude and mentality, the Ba’athist regime implemented its policies in a slightly different way. The economic and social policies developed by the Ba’athist regime were very subtle. The people in the region were deprived of the opportunity to support themselves with their land. This would create economic pressure on people.

This pressure was intended to create migration pressure from the Kurdish regions and ensure that the Kurdish population migrates to major cities and disperses. On the other hand, there was massive mistreatment of nature in Rojava. Since the people of Rojava were constantly preoccupied with economic problems, they were hardly able to perceive the destruction of nature and develop a counter-attitude. One can even say that the people of Rojava were not even aware of the destruction of their own nature. This policy was carried out by the Ba’athist regime in a very subtle and dirty way. The Ba’athist regime had turned the Cizîrê and Afrin regions into its own economic centers. The people who lived in these regions were forced to sell the products they grew for their livelihood very cheaply. The revenue from the mineral resources of these regions also went to the Ba’athist regime, and the people of the region did not benefit from these resources. In addition, there was no respect of nature in society. This situation continues to this day. Perhaps there is a connection to one’s own land, but this is too weak to protect it through ecological awareness. Such an attitude is missing not only in society but also among those who call themselves intellectuals.

The 19 July Revolution [2012] had a strong impact on all areas of life. Social life changed profoundly. People’s way of life, their family relationships, their relationship with nature and the organization of their lives are affected. To view the 19 July revolution exclusively as a political revolution would be very limiting. While important steps have been taken in some dimensions, some other levels remain underdeveloped due to the ongoing war and attacks by Turkey.

With the establishment of the Autonomous Administration, an attempt was made to develop an ecological life. The war delayed the necessary steps to be taken in this regard, inevitably. The Ecology Committee worked within the community framework. With the announcement of the Social Contract, an autonomous ecology committee was created. The committee was primarily oriented towards preserving the ecological work that had been done to date. For this reason, it lacked a paradigmatic dimension.

The Turkish state’s attacks on Northern and Eastern Syria, particularly the occupation of Afrin, Serêkaniyê and Girê Spî, and the destruction of nature there have caused serious damage. Work began last year to identify the extent of this damage and carry out appropriate repair work. It was important to introduce the concept of ecology into society and raise awareness of it. Over the last year, the Ecology Committee has become increasingly recognized both in society and in general institutions.

You recently organized an ecology conference in Northern and Eastern Syria. It was the first of its kind. What principles was this conference based on?

As an ecology committee, we have developed some plans. The Committee, the Ecology Council and the Ecology Academy have begun to work on this basis. The Ecology Committee and the Ecology Academy are active. Our work to establish the Ecology Council continues. The draft statutes for the council are ready. It is within our one-year target.

One of the tasks we set ourselves was to organize the ecology conference. It took place on 26 and 27 April. Many ecology activists and academics from different countries attended it. It was a conference at which current work was evaluated and perspectives were discussed. The conference has achieved its goal.

What was the main theme of your conference?

We joined the initiative for the liberation of Rêber Apo [Abdullah Öcalan] and adopted the following slogan: “We want to liberate Rêber Apo and solve the Kurdish question on the basis of the ecological paradigm.” All analysis and messages had this slogan as a base. Today, not only Northern and Eastern Syria, but the entire world is experiencing a serious ecological crisis. Rêber Apo has developed alternative solutions for all of these crises and offers perspectives for global problems with his democratic and ecological philosophy. But he is in total isolation. Through the conference we have once again tried to demonstrate this reality to the world. In this sense, all seminars were organized on the basis of the model of the democratic nation. Discussions were held about how the ecological paradigm could offer an alternative to the environmental deadlock created by the prevailing system. This alternative has come to life in Northern and Eastern Syria.

The second theme of the conference was identifying and overcoming the shortcomings in the implementation of the ecological paradigm in Northern and Eastern Syria. In addition, seminars and discussions were held in the areas of Women’s Academy, Jineolojî, Economy, Rojava Faculty, City Administration, Health and Rojava Reforestation and defence of nature. In this way, we tried to show society that ecology permeates all areas of life and that every institution is directly linked to it.

What were the main agenda items of the conference?

The two-day conference was held under two main themes. On the first day, democratic modernity was discussed from its emergence to resistance. The seminars by foreign scientists also took place in this context. On the second day, the conference looked at how environmental and social destruction takes place in a Kurdistan context. In this context, northern and eastern Syria as well as northern Kurdistan, southern Kurdistan and eastern Kurdistan were discussed.

A results paper was then written. The final declaration was presented to the conference delegates and the academics from abroad, activists and professors who attended the conference as guests. All institutions, organizations, non-governmental organizations, parties and environmental activists from Northern and Eastern Syria took part in the conference at delegate level. Due to the increasing attacks by the Turkish state on our region, many people from abroad who wanted to take part in the conference were unable to travel. Therefore, they took part in the conference online. With this in mind, the final declaration was prepared with the joint participation and consent of all conference delegates and guests. The final declaration consisted of 21 articles. The basic principle is to condemn the isolation of Rêber Apo imposed by the Turkish state, to create ecological urban models against the unplanned, polluting and carcinogenic urbanization, to eliminate the separation between cities and villages and, above all, the attitude and practice that the villages are in service of cities to put an end to it and to create a system in which villages and cities complement each other.

Rojava has been subject to fierce attacks for years. Both the infrastructure and the environment were massively destroyed. The Turkish state in particular has heavily attacked this region. What initiatives will you take against this?

The Turkish state is systematically carrying out a campaign of destruction against society and the environment in Northern and Eastern Syria. Both the Turkish state and the government in Damascus attack the model of self-government on a daily basis. These attacks are diverse and target every aspect of life. The government in Damascus uses many different attack methods in the region, including the distribution of drugs. The self-government defends itself against these attacks every day with all its institutions. We as the Ecology Committee are also working against this. It is important for us to protect nature in all its dimensions.

On the other hand, tests and analysis are carried out daily on the water of the Euphrates to assess the threat of cyanide in the water following a mine explosion in Turkey. Furthermore, the fight against drought continues. It was decided to hold a global ecology conference every year promoted by the Ecology Council of Northern and Eastern Syria. After the conference we created an ecology platform.

Will you also work to increase environmental awareness among the population?

Currently, our society has achieved awareness of keeping cities clean and protecting them. However, that alone does not constitute ecological awareness. It is therefore still necessary to create such awareness in society. This is the basis of our long-term strategy. We continue our efforts to spread ecological culture and understanding using the means at our disposal. We have an academy for this. In this academy we want to carry out ecological work based on the paradigm of the democratic nation. We continue to work against all environmentally destructive activities and activities, both in our own region, in the Middle East and in the world. There is a draft that we have prepared to create and protect the legal dimension of ecology which has been submitted to the legal institutions. According to this draft, all institutions and organizations within the self-government are based on living in harmony with ecology. The self-government system is already based on the ecological paradigm. On this basis, we will continue our efforts to develop sensitivity and responsibility among the population.

“Ecology and society cannot be understood separated from each other. How can we build a relation with nature if we don’t build a relation with the person next to us ?”

“Abdullah Öcalan researched the root of domination of Nature and on this basis propose a paradigm where ecology has a central role. His struggle for the protection of nature and for an ecological society have been an example not just for the Kurdish people but for people all around the world. Looking at the situation of Abdullah Öcalan, if the most radical defender of nature has been kidnapped, put in prison, in isolation, since 25 years, what can we say about the situation of Nature?”

“Ecology and women’s freedom are intrinsically connected. With the Rojava revolution the struggle for women’s liberation has made many steps forward. Ecology has not reached the same point, this is why we have to work even more to progress on this filed.”

These are some of the thoughts that were shared during the first ecological conference held by the Ecological Council of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North-East Syria. On 26^th and 27^th of April we participated in the conference, which was held under the slogan “Freeing the leader Apo through the ecological paradigm and solving the Kurdish question”. It was focused especially on the application of the paradigm of Democratic Conferderalism in the field of Ecology. The participants shared thoughts and discussed together about how to develop an ecological mentality and practice in the framework of Democratic modernity, in North-East Syria and beyond.

Researchers, academics and activists from all over the world joined the conference (South-Africa, India, Mexico, Europe) sharing their researches, experiences local struggle, pf ecological resistance. These experiences showed once again that solutions for the ecological problems can not be found within the state system. In a lot of cases, after ecological parties or activists entered the institution or the state, instead of pursuing their ecological goals, they play a part in oppressing grassroots and indigenous ecological ecological movements.

Many topics were mentioned and the discussions about the relations between ecology, economy, and health were very participated, with interventions and questions. The topic of agriculture in particular caught the interest of the participants. Agriculture is among the most affected filed by ecological damages but at the same time it can play a central role in the process toward a socio-ecological society. The relation of the people with their land is the basis for the protection of Nature and social resistance. Agricultural cooperatives combine a social economy for the communities and the production of healthy food for them.

Gea Piccardi, researcher spoke about the relation between women’s freedom and ecology. Understanding this relation can allow us to struggle in a more radical way against the dominant system and for a free life. Piccardi showed how the ecological thought of Abdullah Öcalan was influenced not only by the theories of Murray Bookchin about social-ecology and municipalism but from the ideas of the eco-feminist Maria Mies about the relation between oppression of nature and women, about the knowledge of women. In this framework, Piccardi also spoke about Jineoloji, the science of women and of life, developed by the Kurdish freedom movement. Jineoloji, with its approach and methods of research, represents a revolutionary way to struggle for a free life and a democratic society. Against the attacks of positivism, Jineoloji proposes to recover the relation between women and Nature as basis for the re-establishment of relations free from domination.

Dr. Davide Grasso from Italy who joined the conference via zoom applied the method of Abdullah Öcalan on the problem of technology and its influence on the nature. He stated that technique was something that humans always applied for their survival without destroying the balance between them and the nature, but that the since the use of technique was put under the dictate of profit, it started to damage this balance heavily and led to the severe environmental crisis that we face today.

For North-East Syria a reorganization of the ecological works is in progress. The works that have been made from the beginning of the revolution until now have been evaluated with self-criticism. It was stated that in the fields of women’s liberation, which is one of the essential parts of the democratic conferderalist paradigm steps have been made, while for ecology, which is of the same importance, not enough effort has been made.

The conference led to the decision that the ecological work needed to be re-organized. Therefore, it was decided that specific ecological institutions will be build in order to progress in the ecological work. At the same time all the institutions will be responsible for the development and implementation of the ecological paradigm. From the neighbor’s commune to the education, health and economy committee. Nature and the health of the land are basis for the life, this is why this new structure is based on the idea that everyone needs to feel responsible for ecology, not just one specific department. This system, in accord to the view of the new Social Contract, pursues the dialectic line of decentralization and professionalization.

The Conference concluded with a Declaration and the will of all the institutions and guests to strengthen the collaboration and relation between democratic forces and struggles all over the world. For an ecological society we have to start from our society, organizing ourselves on ecological principles against individualism, green capitalism, patriarchy and State-system. Only in this way we could put in practice the philosophy of Abdullah Öcalan and struggle for his physical freedom.

The Ecological Council of North and East Syria organised a conference in Qamishlo on 26-27 April with the participation of 120 delegates.

After the conference, where rich discussions and evaluations were held, the final declaration, consisting of two parts: Principle and Policy, was announced.

In the 13th article of the declaration under the title “Policy”, the importance of the ecological platform was emphasised and a striking proposal was made.

In the relevant article, it was stated that “an effective institutionalisation and organisation of a platform called ‘Kurdistan Ecology Platform and Earth Day’ together with the North and East Syria Ecology Committee should be ensured against the policies that created the drought and climate crisis”.

Coordination with the European Ecology Committee

In addition, a proposal for coordination with the European Ecological Committee under the leadership of the Ecological Assembly of Rojava (North and East Syria), was made. This proposal involves ecological movements, environmentalists, associations, activists and researchers in the four parts of Kurdistan, as well as the Kurdish diaspora.

The Co-Chair of the Ecological Council of North and East Syria, Îbrahîm Mihemed, spoke to to ANHA about the results of the conference and the proposals developed for the establishment of an ecological platform.

Mihemed stated that the discussions and participation of academics at the conference were very rich in terms of ecological science.

Mihemed also stated that extensive discussions were held in line with Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan’s defences and evaluations on ecology.

Emphasis on joint struggle

Mihemed stated that as a result of the conference, a call was made for a common struggle against the policies of the Turkish state that destroy nature and the environment. With this call, the importance of a common struggle against the hegemonic and colonial system was emphasised and a proposal was made to form an ecological platform.

Stating that they have started negotiations within the scope of the developed proposal and that they are in the preparation stage for the construction of the platform, Mihemed said, “Work will begin with the establishment of the platform. We see ecology as life. Firstly, we will determine the distance from nature and the reason for the disconnection and continue our work in this context.”

Emphasising that the platform is open not only to ecological organisations but to all parties, Mihemed called on movements, organisations and academics in Kurdistan and worldwide to take part in the ecology platform.

The Ecology Council of the Democratic Autonomous Administration in the North and East Syria Region (DAANES) is holding its first conference at the University of Rojava in Qamişlo. The two-day meeting is attended by 120 delegates from the Autonomous Administration, civil society organisations and political parties.

Alongside grassroots democracy and women’s freedom, social ecology is one of the pillars of the Rojava revolution, which is based on the paradigm of Abdullah Öcalan. At the conference, Kurdish leader Öcalan’s perspectives on a return to social ecology were presented. A film presentation illustrated the destruction of nature caused by military attacks and targeted interventions by Turkey in Kurdistan.

The conference will address the topics of “Ecology in democratic modernity”, “Conducting ecological struggle alongside the struggle against capitalism and colonialism”, “Developing ecological agricultural culture as part of ending the occupation in Northern and Eastern Syria” and “Solidarity between institutions and organisations in Northern and Eastern Syria”.

Hesen Koçer, Co-Chair of the Democratic Autonomous Administration Executive Council, talked about the importance of the conference and said, “An attack on nature is an attack on society and its values. As we can see, the ecological system is in danger. That is why we must always protect the environment and nature.”

Hesen Koçer stated that the world uses nature to establish its own economic system, which leads to the destruction of nature, and said, “If the world continues to exploit nature in this way, the world will be in danger. Scientists should be careful against this danger. For this reason, we wanted to discuss the dangers to nature and find solutions through this conference.”

Koçer also drew attention to the wars in the world and the damage they cause to the environment and the will of the people and added: “This is a political, moral and cultural war and society is being targeted every day.”

Stating that democratic systems attach great importance to the protection of nature and the environment, Koçer said, “Leader Abdullah Öcalan also attaches great importance to nature, so we must return to him and the nature of humanity.”

Hesen Koçer’s speech was followed by the screening of a film about how the nature of Kurdistan was destroyed by the attacks and bombardments of the occupying Turkish state.

Afterwards, Bêrîwan Xelîl, Co-Chair of the Environment Committee of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of Efrin-Şehba Canton, read Leader Abdullah Öcalan’s perspectives on ecology.

In his speech, Ibrahim Assad, Co-Chair of the Environment Committee of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, emphasised the importance of protecting the environment and nature by strengthening the rules of natural society and said: “Peoples control nature and they have destroyed it.”

Ibrahim Assad hoped that important decisions will be taken at the end of the conference for the protection and development of the environment.