Legislative Decree No.29 of 2012 on Agricultural Land Reclamation.

This Decree consisting of 55 articles aims at regulating the agricultural land reclamation in Syria. Part I deals with the rules for the Agricultural Land Reclamation while Part II deals with the Distribution of irrigated reclaimed land. Article 1 states that the Minister of Irrigation may, in accordance with the Minister of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform and after taking the opinion of the General Union of Farmers, declare a public benefit in the reclamation of lands in any area of the Syrian Arab Republic. The Decree establishes as well that (i) it is prohibited to make any change in the features of the land except for the harvesting of existing agricultural crops or authorized by the public authority in charge of reclamation or supervision; (ii) the agricultural work stops during the process of reclamation according to the annual executive programs; (iii) no compensation shall be incurred as a result of the destruction of the plantations or the destruction of the installations; (iv) the ownership of the lands covered by the reform decision may be transferred. Article 11 specifies duties of the right holders in the reclamation area.In Part II is stated that (i) to distribute reclaimed irrigated land shall be established one or more committees; (ii) the plans for irrigated reclaimed land shall be organized in accordance with the books of technical conditions and specifications set by the Ministry for this purpose; (iii) the ownership of any irrigated land shall not exceed sixteen hectares and the excess area shall be transferred to the State.Part III deals with the investment of irrigated reclaimed land and establishes that (i) it is prohibited to change the features of the irrigated reclaimed land or the facilities thereon; (ii) in agreement with the Ministry, shall be set the minimum and maximum limits for the quantity of water supplied to the irrigated reclaimed land according to the nature of the land and the water conduits for the approved agricultural cycle and the irrigation method used.Part IV and V deal, respectively, with Sanctions and General Provisions.