Changes in migration and feeding patterns among semi-nomadic pastoralists in Northern Syria

This article looks at the changes which are taking place in the Syrian semi-nomadic bedouin flocks' feeding and migration patterns, and the historical reasons for these changes. Most of the discussion will focus on three steppe-based villages in northern Syria, where the International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA) undertook a three-year survey between 1978 and 1981, and where a follow-up study was done this year. However, this paper will also draw on studies centering on other villages in northern Syria, in order to fully explain the parallels between areas which were settled earlier and those currently being developed.