Abdulrahman Omar

Syrian environmentalist leading the Green Belt Movement in Syria's war-torn regions through reforestation efforts

Abdulrahman Omar is a Syrian environmental activist and founder of the Syrian Green Belt Initiative, a grassroots organization planting millions of trees in regions devastated by war and drought. Born in Damascus in 1990, he survived the Syrian Civil War by joining the Free Syrian Army before shifting focus to environmental restoration in 2014.

Omar's pioneering work began in 2016 when he organized displaced farmers to create tree nurseries in safe zones. His innovative mobile nursery concept uses repurposed shipping containers to grow drought-resistant saplings. By 2023, his teams had planted over 12 million trees across northern Syria, revitalizing ecosystems and providing livelihoods for 5,000 families. His methods are now being replicated in Lebanon and Jordan through the Arab Green Alliance.

Awarded the 2021 Goldman Environmental Prize, Omar's approach combines ecological restoration with community empowerment. His War to Green program trains ex-combatants in agroforestry, transforming weapon factories into tree nurseries. Despite ongoing conflict, his teams maintain 90% tree survival rates using indigenous knowledge combined with modern hydroponics.