Experts talk about drought: Iran has completely cut off water to Iraq

[size=52]Experts talk about drought: Iran has completely cut off water to Iraq[/size]

[size=45]Saif Abdullah/ Al Mada[/size]
[size=45]Experts in resources and agriculture believe that solutions to the water crisis exist, but the Ministry of Water Resources is not serious, while they revealed that Iran has cut off water from Iraq by 100%.[/size]
[size=45]No water from Iran[/size]
[size=45]Najm Al-Ghazi, a water resources expert, said in an interview with Al-Mada that "Iran has brought water quotas to zero and closed all rivers," noting that it "did not recognize Iraq's right to any part of these waters and considered them to be Iranian national rivers."[/size]
[size=45]Regarding the waters coming from Turkey, Al-Ghazi explained, "The Turkish government started constructing dams, which affected Iraq's water share, especially in the absence of a real agreement in this regard."[/size]
[size=45]The expert added, "Compensating water and obtaining quotas for Iraq from upstream countries requires many factors," stressing that "the first factors lie in making agreements with Turkey and Syria and putting pressure on Iran through the economic factor."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Ghazi pointed out that "the other factor lies in the use of the Iraqi oil paper that goes to Turkey, as well as other files associated with the Kurdistan region. All of these matters constitute a pressure card on the Ankara government."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Ghazi also believes, "The Iraqi side wastes large amounts of water, and therefore if this waste is exploited, it may be enough to cross the drought stage," noting that "international organizations are also required to put pressure on Iran and Turkey."[/size]
[size=45]He said, "The Iraqis are demanding issues that are far from reality, such as the use of groundwater and desalination of sea water," noting that "there are many solutions to overcome this crisis."[/size]
[size=45]Drought sounds the alarm[/size]
[size=45]On the other hand, the agricultural expert, Adel Mukhtar, said that "the water revenues coming from Iran and Turkey were arriving in large quantities, and Iraq used 25 billion cubic meters of water annually, in the field of agriculture, or 70 percent of the water coming to Iraq."[/size]
[size=45]In an interview with Al-Mada, Mokhtar indicated that "today, levels have decreased to as low as 50%," noting that "revenues coming from Iran have become zero, and those coming from Turkey have reached 50%."[/size]
[size=45]Mukhtar explained, "Iraq has no solutions except to reconsider the agricultural policy and reduce water use by half, which means using 12 billion cubic meters instead of the 25." He believes that "Iraq is going towards covered agriculture that uses less water and produces more, and this is the easiest solution now."[/size]
[size=45]Farmers tell stories of their suffering[/size]
[size=45]In addition, Mustafa Jalal, who works as a farmer in Diyala Governorate, believes that "the crops this year are few and do not meet the real need of local markets, as the government represented by (the Ministry of Agriculture) has reduced the water quotas for agriculture by half."[/size]
[size=45]In an interview with Al-Mada, Jalal added, "The markets need more agricultural products, which may force the government to re-import again, and this will affect agriculture in Iraq."[/size]
[size=45]For his part, another farmer, Abu Muhammad, told Al-Mada that "the government is required to find quick solutions to the water crisis, especially since most of the farmers have started to leave agriculture and head towards the cities in search of a livelihood."[/size]
[size=45]Abu Muhammad pointed out, “Leaving agriculture and heading towards cities is a disaster that takes Iraq’s agricultural future towards the unknown.”[/size]
[size=45]And in the latest report of the Norwegian Refugee Council, which indicates that more than 7 million citizens in Iraq are threatened by the loss of access to the Euphrates water in addition to drought, which exposes hundreds of kilometers of agricultural land to the risk of total drought.[/size]
[size=45]And the Ministries of Agriculture and Water Resources decided, last year, to reduce the area designated for cultivation in the winter season by 50 percent from last year.[/size]
[size=45]Iraq has recently witnessed a significant decline in the levels of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, especially in the southern governorates, amid warnings of significant effects on the agricultural sector and the possibility of stopping some drinking water plants in those governorates.[/size]
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