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(Important note: This file is constantly updated.)

This file is prepared by office of the Sustainable Development in Damascus University. The climate strategy document for Damascus University contains the basic procedures which Damascus university applied for mitigating the climate crisis.
The climate strategy document for Damascus University includes five sections, starting from introduction to the main procedures which Damascus University applied to more explanations about those procedures.
For more information and for any inquiry about sustainable development goals and sustainability in Damascus University including researches of SDGs and other proceClimate Strategy File for Damascus University

This file is prepared by office of the Sustainable Development in Damascus University. The climate strategy document for Damascus University contains the basic procedures which Damascus university applied for mitigating the climate crisis.
The climate strategy document for Damascus University includes five sections, starting from introduction to the main procedures which Damascus University applied to more explanations about those procedures.
For more information and for any inquiry about sustainable development goals and sustainability in Damascus University including researches of SDGs and other procedures of sustainability, please contact us:
 

Introduction

Achieving an effective sustainable developmental policy is considered a primary goal in a large number of institutions around the world. The application of this policy in universities is reflected throughout the country, especially in developing and low-income countries. One of the most significant things of reaching the sustainable development goals is the mitigation of the climate crisis over the world. This mitigation has its reflections on multiple sustainable development goals which, of course, reflected on the environmental output. Damascus University which is the largest university in the Syrian Arab Republic believes that the commitment to mitigate climate crisis is one of its responsibilities. Therefore, Damascus University has taken a number of measures to mitigate the climate crisis and contribute to creating a clean environment around the world. Damascus University has been increasing the green space in all branches of the university. It is worth noting that the most prominent indicators of sustainable development applied by the University of Damascus in accordance with the United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development 2030 is the green area, which reached 63% of the total area of the university, which constitutes 40% of the total green area of Damascus Governorate, in addition to the amount of carbon gas emissions per minute 5793 kilograms of CO2 equivalent. We include more information about the green areas in Damascus University in the second section of this file, in addition to talking about the botanic garden which the university of Damascus built in the faculty of Agriculture for the limiting of the chemical drugs for the agriculture and increasing care for some rare species of medicinal plants.

Among the procedures applied by the University of Damascus also in order to commit to mitigating the climate crisis is the reduction of the consumption of electric energy that relies on fuel for its generation, and its replacement with alternatives that rely on renewable and clean energies, especially solar energy. In this context, the university of Damascus signed an agreement in 2018 with the Energy Research Center in the Syrian Arab Republic to install a number of solar energy cell panels with high electrical power in a number of different college buildings in the university, in addition to a number of university hospitals. Since 2016, the University of Damascus has installed a number of solar collectors to obtain hot water based on solar energy. we find that the application of sustainable development policies related to the using of the clean and renewable energy led to the generation of energy from renewable sources by 11% of the total electrical energy consumed at the university of Damascus.

The university has been able to reach lots of indicators of the sustainable development goals and it remains apply others. Also, the university affected the climate crisis by using this type of clean energy. We include more information about the green areas in Damascus University in the third section of this file. As part of its commitment to mitigate the climate crisis, the university sought to move towards a digital transformation policy. Since 2017, the university has taken a number of measures in order to reach a sustainable digital transformation policy.

The university has shifted from accrediting paper journals in the journals section issued by the university to the electronic journals system only. In 2018, the accreditation of the paper journals system issued by the university was revoked and replaced with the open-source journals system (OJS), which contributed to reducing the university’s consumption of paper needed to print paper journals, which reflects positively on the environment and thus helps mitigate the climate crisis. In a related framework, the university has started a policy of recycling the produced paper as waste paper in the university, as the University of Damascus relied on recycling all the paper produced as waste in the university.

At the University of Damascus, all types of paper produced are recycled, whether it is printing paper or paper resulting from the remnants of worn-out books, and so on. In another context related to environmental and water pollution, some higher institutes at the University of Damascus have started working on a number of projects aimed at purifying water and air. The University of Damascus has started conducting a number of doctoral and master's researches related to the purification of the waters of the Barada River passing through the governorates of Damascus and its countryside, which reflects positively on the environment surrounding the capital, Damascus, and its countryside. The Barada River is considered the lung of the capital, Damascus, and its water has been heavily polluted by sewage water in some places, which has negatively affected the environment in the capital, Damascus, and rural Damascus. In this context, the university was keen to mitigate this crisis in pollution by conducting a number of researches aimed at purifying the water in the river, which reflects positively on the environment in the capital, Damascus, and thus has repercussions, albeit few, on the climate as a whole.

We include more information about the green areas in Damascus University in the fourth section of this file. Damascus University is still seeking, within current and future plans, to reduce the climate crisis through a number of measures aimed at reaching the United Nations Agenda 2030 in the Sustainable Development Goals on the one hand, and to reduce the climate crisis on the other hand. A number of measures that Damascus University seeks to implement in the near future are presented as additional measures to commit to reducing the climate crisis and mitigating global warming.

 For the complete file, please download here.