Who will save Iraq's environment? Drought and desertification increase the suffering of millions of

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[size=52]Who will save Iraq's environment? Drought and desertification increase the suffering of millions of citizens![/size]

[size=45]Baghdad / Hussein Hatem[/size]
[size=45]There are many challenges facing Iraq's environment as a result of various and varied factors, foremost of which are air pollution and severe water shortages, as well as drought and desertification and an increase in the number of dust storms.[/size]
[size=45]Iraq is facing an unprecedented environmental crisis, as its skies are raining with dust and pollutants, and Mesopotamia is no longer providing the country's lands with abundant rain that saves them from an imminent drought.[/size]
[size=45]Among the most prominent admissions of the future disaster is what the President of the Republic, Barham Salih, admitted that “seven million Iraqis will actually be affected by drought and forced displacement” as a result of climate change.[/size]
[size=45]Ironically, in 2021, Iraq celebrated the centenary of the founding of its modern state in conjunction with environmental challenges that threaten its existence! In just 100 years, its ecosystem is on the verge of collapse, and the level of water flow in its historical rivers has decreased to less than a tenth.[/size]
[size=45]After recording in 1920 a flow of 1,350 m3/sec, the flow became less than 150 m3/sec in 2021.[/size]
[size=45]Iraq spends more than 63% of its water resources on agriculture without meeting its domestic need for crops, and often depends on imports from abroad, which means that there is water wastage that is not matched by an abundance of productivity.[/size]
[size=45]The Minister of Environment, Jassim Al-Falahi, told Al-Mada that "the challenges facing the environmental sector are great and include three levels, and the most prominent challenge facing us is climate changes, a significant increase in temperatures, the shortage of our water revenues, the challenge of drought, dust storms and the desert, in addition to environmental pollution, which includes water and air. and soil.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Falahi added, "There are great challenges related to the increase in pollution rates, and these need a serious pause, in addition to the challenge that includes biodiversity and natural reserves and is related to the presence of polluted sites that need serious follow-up."[/size]
[size=45]He explained that "the most prominent pollution in Iraq is the contamination with mines and explosive devices, and we lead the countries of the world in it, especially after the occupation of large areas by ISIS terrorist gangs," adding: "We have great cooperation with international organizations, and I say frankly that the ministry for many years did not receive the necessary support from a financial point of view." Rather, it relied on funding from international organizations and donors, and was able to carry out very large work to clean many contaminated areas from mines and explosives, but the contaminated areas are large and need solidarity and support at the level of the federal budget or at the level of international support.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Falahi indicated that “the environmental sector, after separating the Ministry of Environment from health and issuing paragraphs within the health insurance articles 37 and 44, is a sure confirmation that this ministry’s laws are still in force and have not changed, and we have special support from the Prime Minister who is interested in environmental issues and the introduction of the concepts of renewable energies and clean energies to compensate The massive shortage of energy and in line with international environmental standards, and he is interested in introducing the concept of a green economy, and this is an additional factor for the Iraqi economy, which is concerned with crude oil as a main factor.[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out, "Baghdad suffers from a significant decline in infrastructure and needs a new administrative city," noting that "the environmental pollution in Baghdad has reached levels that cannot be tolerated."[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out that "the ministry has a database for pollution in all governorates," noting that "the investment law needs to be amended, as a strategic vision must be developed for investment and to move away from randomness."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Falahi went on to say, "There is a great potential for making investments in the health and environmental sectors on the outskirts of cities."[/size]
[size=45]The Director General of the Environmental Awareness and Information Department at the Ministry of Environment, Amir Ali Al-Hassoun, told Al-Mada that "the Iraqi environment is facing several updates, most notably the pollution of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, in addition to the abuses," noting that "what is happening has been going on since the eighties, but things have greatly intensified during In recent years, especially after the decline in water levels due to the water policy of Turkey and Iran.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Hassoun added, "Currently 35% of the percentages that were up to four decades ago reach Iraq," noting that "the municipal departments have not worked to establish infrastructure that treats sewage water."[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out that "the Baghdad Municipality and the municipalities' departments are among the biggest polluters of the Tigris River, in addition to the rest of the health and industrial activities, especially that oversight is weak and not strict."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Hassoun pointed out that “the pollution rate increases as water becomes scarce, and the Ministry of Environment gives a weekly position on the numbers for each governorate,” noting that “the Ministries of Environment and Water Resources are following up the issue well, but the volume of pollution is large in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.”[/size]
[size=45]He believed, "The Iraqi citizen is currently at risk, especially in the south, and the Ministry of Environment and its departments are officially monitoring and sending measures with every party working to pollute the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, whether it is an industrial or oil activity that causes damage according to Law 27 of 2008, a law that authorizes the ministry to take A set of procedures, including a warning and a closure penalty for all violations.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Hassoun noted, “The ministry sometimes cannot close an oil facility or a facility that generates electric power with old origins and life depends on it,” noting that “there is a Diwaniyah Order No. 99 of 2019, according to which a higher committee was formed under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister, which is still active and supervised.” The Prime Minister to find solutions to those problems,” stressing that “despite the difficult financial circumstance of the budget, the committee is determined to address these problems in the Baghdad Municipality and the sectors that cause pollution in order to avoid Iraq falling into a major pollution crisis.”[/size]
[size=45]Despite Iraq’s accession to the “Paris Climate Agreement” in late 2021, climate change is being used as a political tool or a means of blackmail, as Turkey and Iran do with Iraq.[/size]
[size=45]Iraq’s ranking according to the environmental performance efficiency standard was ranked 116 out of 180 countries. Therefore, Iraq recently tried, with international aid, to address its environmental failures by launching a national adaptation plan to combat climate change in late 2019 over a period of 36 months, in cooperation with the United Nations Environment Program And with a reduced funding not commensurate with the size of the environmental disaster, at a value of $2.5 million, granted by the Green Climate Fund. However, until August 2021, none of the objectives of the plan were achieved, and Iraq is now classified as the fifth most exposed country in the world to water and food scarcity and high temperatures, according to a report by the United Nations Environment Organization. The report was supported by the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) and Journalists for Human Rights (jhr .).[/size]
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