By the Make Rojava Green Again Committee of the Internationalist Commune of Rojava
In the midst of an ecological crisis that shows us more and more every day that our survival on this planet is in danger, between the historic rivers Euphrates and Tigris, a revolution based on social-ecology, democracy and women's liberation is progressing. It is fighting to defend life in the region and to build an ecological society based on local culture, identities, knowledge and history.
While it is better known for the fight against the so-called Islamic State and the women's revolution, the revolution in northeastern Syria is also a frontline in the struggle between the ecocidal capitalist system and an ecological society.
As images of ecological disaster come alive before our eyes, we must develop, build and defend alternatives to the ecocidal system being imposed on the entire planet and all its inhabitants. People and societies around the world are struggling to defend their existence against deforestation and desertification, from the forests of the Amazon to the fertile plains of the Punjab Delta. The revolutionary process in the Middle East, known as the Rojava Revolution, should be seen in this light.
While the ecocidal regime, which we can call the system of capitalist modernity, plans, acts and destroys nature, a struggle for the defence of life is being waged on our side. Looking at the ecological and democratic forces opposing the destructive system, we see both great potential and many weaknesses. Shortcomings in terms of paradigm, coordination and action stem from a lack of understanding of the revolutionary processes of our time and their political implications. To help overcome these challenges, we will examine the ecological revolution in Rojava as one of the key fronts against ecocide.
In many ways, the Rojava revolution challenges some of our previous understandings of revolution and utopia, showing us that revolution is not a moment of radical change, but a never-ending process, and that utopia is not a "seemingly perfect" point to reach, but a perspective from which we draw strength and hope, and towards which we must work every day. To understand this struggle against the ecocidal system in the Middle East, we need to understand its processes and foundations. It can be predicted that what is happening in this region, despite its temporal and geographical peculiarities, will serve as an example for other parts of the world. This is especially true for the peoples and regions that resist the destruction of their existence for the profit of the imperialist forces and try to protect their society and nature from these attacks and occupations. Wherever this resistance takes place, both the ecological organisation of production and society itself and self-defence against ecocidal regimes will become crucial. It is very unlikely that these forces will allow such efforts to succeed without resistance. Therefore, understanding and connecting with the process in Rojava is essential for similar efforts elsewhere.
The Ecological Paradigm
The process of the Rojava revolution and its ecological struggle began in the 1980s, when Abdullah Ocalan and PKK militants began working in Kurdish and Syrian towns and villages.
Their aim was to awaken the Kurdish people to the colonial reality that had divided Kurdistan into four newly-founded nation-states, exposing the region, its people and nature to all forms of exploitation. From a socio-ecological point of view, this formed the basis for the changes we see today: the land on which people live should not be exploited by nation-states, but respected and cultivated to meet people's needs and ensure the well-being of nature and all living beings. This simple truth is in stark contrast to imperialist projects such as the South-East Anatolia Project (GAP), which was planned in the 1970s and aimed to integrate the Middle East into the capitalist system. Both the Turkish state and the Syrian regime have exploited Kurdish areas for wheat and oil, creating ecological imbalances that will affect the region for years to come. Raising awareness about these policies and organising resistance against them laid the foundation for the revolutionary events that followed.
The revolutionary process entered a new phase with the liberation of Kurdish cities from the Syrian regime in 2012. This liberation, which continued until 2018 with the territorial defeat of the so-called Islamic State, created opportunities to build alternative structures to those imposed by the Syrian regime and later by Islamist groups.
The emergence of the revolution did not mean suddenly achieving all the desired changes. Revolution is a process, not an end to be reached. What the outbreak of the revolution made possible was the creation of the necessary conditions for radical socio-environmental change. Armed self-defence and a degree of political independence made such a move possible. This opened the door for the new ecological paradigm to spread throughout society, allowing the development of alternative infrastructures, economies and reforestation efforts.
The ongoing movement in Kurdistan, led by the PKK, has been working to defend and organise society for more than 40 years. Overcoming indescribable repression, torture, infiltration and vicious attacks, and with the commitment, sacrifice and lives of thousands, the movement has continued and grown, questioning itself to the point of embracing a new paradigm proposed by Rêber APO in 2004. He proposed it while in physical isolation on the island of Imrali. The paradigm of Democratic Confederalism, based on democracy, ecology and women's freedom, is presented as a solution to the deep social and ecological problems facing society.
The change of paradigm and the analysis of the roots of domination included, in a more complete and conscious way, the domination of nature, its relationship with the domination of women and the construction of the state. The ecological revolution doesn't just come from the struggle against colonialism, but from the understanding that democracy, freedom and ecology are not possible within the framework of the state system. It comes from the understanding that 1st and 2nd nature (nature and society) need to find a synthesis. This does not mean creating a new, unprecedented reality, but restoring the balance that existed between them before the emergence of the hierarchical system.
This philosophical approach does not imply primitivism or hostility to scientific progress. Rather, it provides a framework for industrial and scientific development that emphasises the balance between society and nature. It values human collective intelligence and the ability to create and invent, within the framework of using technical developments and technology as tools to help meet the needs of society, not to create new "needs" or desires. Scientific and industrial progress should be measured against this balance, as opposed to industrialism, which prioritises surplus value and increased production at all costs. The alternative is an eco-industry that operates in harmony with society and nature, not for profit.
The myth that technical progress is solely the result of the capitalist system and competition overlooks the fact that human technological development has always existed within humanity, and from the beginning has been aimed at the betterment of society as a whole, not at personal interest or profit. This relationship with technology is now being revived in our struggle in the Middle East.
Social ecology, as a way of life in which society balances its needs with nature's capacity to recover and flourish, is not new to Rojava, Kurdistan or the Middle East. This region, also known as the Fertile Crescent, has provided abundance for its inhabitants for thousands of years. Even today, many village communities continue to practice self-sufficient agriculture and herding, without relying on external, industrial or processed supplies.
This is part of the region's tradition, as well as the ecological paradigm based on it, humanity, society and nature are seen as interrelated; none can exist without the others, and human beings are seen as part of nature. The influence of the capitalist system constantly tries to distance and alienate people. But despite all the attempts to forget these values, this perspective is not a new philosophy or political theory, but is inherent to the Mesopotamian region and can therefore be re-learned and form the basis of a democratic project in the region. It underlies the agricultural revolution that took place thousands of years ago in the foothills of the Taurus and Zagros mountains, including modern-day Rojava. It is also the basis of pre-Islamic beliefs in the region, such as Zoroastrianism, Ezidism and Alevism. Passed down through generations, this understanding has found its way into the thinking of Rêber Apo.
Ecocide
In Rojava it is clear that ecology is intertwined with every aspect of society and its organisational components. Self-organisation, self-defence, the economy and the education system all play a crucial role in forming an ecological society. In the face of colonial threats, these elements must work together in a meaningful way. The interconnectedness of these aspects is evident throughout the Rojava revolution: droughts and regime policies led to mass migration to urban centres, restricted access to basic needs and humanitarian crises, which ultimately triggered the uprisings of 2011. During the ensuing war, numerous human and environmental crimes were committed, including the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime and Turkey, and the scorched earth tactics of ISIS, such as poisoning water sources and destroying oil infrastructure and chemical factories. Turkey's water policies have led to widespread drought in Rojava and the uprooting of thousands of trees in occupied Afrin. All this illustrates the approach of NATO and its member states towards the region, its ecosystems and nature in general.
The current attacks by the Turkish state must be understood in this wider context of war and systematic destruction of nature. These practices can be seen as forms of ecocide. The destruction of land and natural resources is clearly aimed at attacking both the inhabitants and the revolution. It seeks to deprive people of their means of subsistence, thereby increasing their dependency. By destroying the environment and making the region uninhabitable, the aim is to dismantle society and its resistance to colonialism.
In addition to the direct ecological consequences of water dams, the destruction of oil infrastructure and widespread deforestation, there are also indirect effects that hinder the progress of the revolution. The systematic destruction of basic infrastructure during the winter of 2023/24 forced the administration and economy of northeastern Syria to focus on continuous repair and reconstruction efforts, at a high cost in human and financial resources. In the summer of 2024, the Turkish military again set fire to thousands of hectares of wheat, causing the most significant damage to the harvest since 2019.
As much as deforestation and deliberate drought have damaged nature, they have also damaged society's ecological awareness. Forcibly deprived of their land, a whole generation has grown up forbidden to plant and harvest on the land of their ancestors. The Syrian regime, which declared most of the Kurds in Rojava stateless, made many feel like strangers in their own land. A cultural heritage based on an ecological way of life was banned and forgotten in just half a century. This forced alienation also meant that the generations who grew up under the Ba'ath regime felt no responsibility for their own land and its nature.
As a result of these ideological attacks and the situation of the embargo, there are still various aspects that are not yet organised according to the ecological paradigm. The use of fossil fuels is a prime example. Because the Turkish state has cut off the water supply, the production of hydroelectric power has become almost impossible and has led to the necessity of relying on fossil fuels. This leads to health problems and environmental pollution. In addition, the waste management system is still in its infancy and ecological awareness, especially in the cities, needs to be strengthened.
Resistance and build-up
In such a situation, building an ecological paradigm is only possible by considering all aspects of social self-organisation and cannot be achieved separately. At the same time, the progress in building an ecological society in the liberated areas cannot be separated from the need to liberate the occupied areas of Afrîn, Serekaniye and Gire Spî. Without an anti-fascist struggle, it will be difficult to face the water war that Turkey is waging against the whole region, which is mainly starting from its own borders. In a colonised country, where every part of nature is targeted, the self-defence of the people is an inherent ecological task.
At the same time, organising a society based on the ecological paradigm means striving for change by all possible means. The creation of ecological methods of production and infrastructure, as well as the defence of a traditional way of life based on nature, cannot be postponed until liberation is complete; it must be an ongoing effort. Increasing efforts are being made in this direction, both at the level of autonomous administrations and at the smallest units, such as village and neighbourhood communities. From reforestation programs in the cantons to the collective use of solar panels for village water wells, society in northeastern Syria, undeterred by war and embargo, is determinedly forging a resilient system to confront the environmental crisis in the Middle East and beyond.
As the consequences of ecological damage to our planet are increasingly felt in every region of the world, the challenges faced by Northeast Syria, caused by the ecocidal policies of states, mirror those that every society will face in a matter of years. But for the same reason, the solutions developed by the revolution in Rojava can become lessons for how to heal our nature and organise our society in the midst of the ecological crisis. In this sense, defending the Rojava revolution today goes beyond an act of simple solidarity. It means protecting the possibility of a better future for all of us.
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