The semi-arid steppe lands of the SWAP region provide grazing for traditional pastoral nomads, most of whom now do some farming, either by irrigation or rainfall. The agricultural systems used by Bedouin in a region southwest of Aleppo, Syria have been surveyed and described by Rolf Wachholtz whose study provides a baseline for observing the evolution of these farming systems over the span of some 25 years. This project will attempt to classify the different agricultural systems recorded by Wachholtz, measure their extent and changes, and compare the NDVI of the general region with reserve areas in the same region. These results will be related to records of temperature and precipitation. They study will also chart the extent and location of new settlements, drilled wells for irrigation, and road systems and assess their impacts on changes in land use and quality of the land for agriculture and grazing.