Climate change is already occurring, and its effects are as visible and urgent in the landscapes of geopolitics as of geography. The Syrian conflict, which forced the ICARDA scientists to flee to Beirut and call on the Seed Vault for assistance, is itself partly attributable to changes in the environment.10 Between 2006 and 2011, more than half of the Syrian countryside suffered its worst drought on record. More intense and longer lasting than could be explained by natural variations in weather, this drought has been linked to accelerating climate change, and over a few years nearly 85 per
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