Environmental pollution in Baghdad has increased 11 times, and experts are sounding the alarm

[size=33]Environmental pollution in Baghdad has increased 11 times, and experts are sounding the alarm[/size]

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
The Iraqi capital records record levels of pollution 11 times more than it was in the eighties of the last century (Reuters)
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
12/16/2022
[rtl][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.][url=https://twitter.com/share?text=%D8%AE%D8%B7%D8%B7%D8%AA %D8%AE%D8%AF%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%A7 %D9%84%D9%80 3 %D9%85%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%8A%D9%8A%D9%86 %D9%88%D9%8A%D8%B3%D9%83%D9%86%D9%87%D8%A7 9 %D9%85%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%8A%D9%8A%D9%86 %D9%86%D8%B3%D9%85%D8%A9.. %D9%87%D8%B0%D9%87 %D8%AE%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA %D8%A8%D8%BA%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%AF %D9%84%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%AE%D9%84%D8%B5 %D9%85%D9%86 %D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%84%D9%88%D8%AB %D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A6%D9%8A %D8%BA%D9%8A%D8%B1 %d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%b3%d8%a8%d9%88%d9%82&source=sharethiscom&related=sharethis&via=ajanet_ar&url=https%3A%2F%2Faja.me%2Fgpachf][/url][/rtl]
Baghdad - Iraq has been suffering for years from high rates of environmental pollution, and the capital, Baghdad, is one of the Iraqi provinces with the most pollution rates, after its population approached 9 million people, which observers attribute to the absence of planning, slums, and the failure to build a new administrative city to get rid of pollution, which has reached dangerous levels. affected human health.
Baghdad is one of the smallest governorates in Iraq in terms of area, and includes factories, factories, and various industrial and commercial activities, some of which are within residential neighborhoods, while the government has pledged on more than one occasion to work to remedy this situation.

Infinite pollution

[size]
There are many cases of pollution that can be seen in Baghdad, and one of them is what was narrated by journalist Saad Allah Al-Khalidi, who suffers from pollution in his area of ​​residence, southwest of the capital, due to the leakage of methane gas from the dilapidated sewage network, which has cracks and needs immediate treatment, according to him.
Al-Khalidi told Al-Jazeera Net that most of the people of the region offered their homes for sale after the gas leakage caused cases of suffocation and other diseases, especially those suffering from respiratory diseases, calling for the removal of the sewage disposal station from densely populated residential neighborhoods, and the establishment of a new one, since the station is consumed and has been established for more than a year. From 40 years.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]Baghdad is one of the smallest Iraqi governorates, but it is the most polluted (Reuters)
[/size]

The causes of pollution

[size]
The Iraqi Political Economic Center (an independent organization concerned with environmental affairs) diagnoses the reasons for the increase in environmental pollution rates in the capital, stressing the importance of establishing a new administrative city as a serious step to get rid of this pollution, and to develop immediate plans and solutions to manage this file in Baghdad and all regions of Iraq.
The director of the center, Wissam Hammal Al-Helou, said - in a statement he issued on December 12th - that there is a significant increase in environmental pollution rates in Baghdad, reaching dangerous levels of about 173 units in the air pollution scale (AQI).
Al-Helou added that this number is 11 times higher than what the index was in the late eighties of the last century, due to the lack of expansion of the capital, the failure to establish new economic projects, and the reliance on old traditional environmental plans, in addition to the absence of sufficient attention and lack of financial allocations for the environment file, with the spread of financial corruption. And administrative confusion in all previous governments that managed the environmental file.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]Al-Helou: Sewage water and the lack of expansion of Baghdad contributed to the increase in Baghdad pollution (communication sites)
[/size]

Sewage

[size]
And Al-Hilo indicated that various reasons contributed to the high percentage of pollution in the air, soil and water in the capital, indicating that among them are the sewage projects for the city of Baghdad, which were designed to accommodate only 3 million people upon construction, but now the population has reached nearly 9 million people, according to the Ministry of Planning. Which caused great pressure on the infrastructure of heavy water treatment plants.

Regarding the causes of water and soil pollution, Al-Hilu explained that other factors have contributed to pollution in recent years, including water scarcity and lack of rain, as well as random, unplanned construction, which represents one of the most prominent environmental challenges.
He pointed out that the large and huge numbers of cars in the streets of Baghdad, the large number of private electric generators, the presence of factories and factories inside the city, and the population creep towards the Dora oil refinery - which is located in the southeastern part of the capital - are all factors that contributed significantly to the high levels of pollution.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]Environmental expert Hamza believes it is necessary to prevent encroachment on rivers to reduce pollution (Al-Jazeera)
[/size]

possible treatments

[size]
And on ways to treat pollution and reduce its rates in Baghdad, the chief expert in water strategies and policy, Ramadan Hamza Muhammad, believes that one of the most important possible and inexpensive solutions now is to convince decision-makers of the seriousness of the problem and the proposed solutions, and to launch a campaign to activate the law to prevent transgressions on the taboos of rivers, and focus on activating The work of the environmental police to implement the law with expanded powers, and the need for the participation of government representatives from the relevant authorities to find a vision regarding future solutions.
Muhammad explains - in an interview with Al-Jazeera Net - that the quality of surface water in rivers is affected by normal processes such as soil fluctuations, rain and erosion, as well as human activities such as manufacturing and agricultural production, indicating that water quality is no less important than its quantity for human health, agricultural and industrial practices, as well as the environment.
He points out that water quality characteristics are affected by human actions, and likewise by natural conditions, which include geology, climate, and the amount of vegetation cover, especially since the sources of pollution are wastewater that contains fertilizers, as well as inorganic materials and heavy metals, according to Muhammad.
[/size]

New administrative city

[size]
On December 8, the Municipality of Baghdad announced the completion of the final version of the new comprehensive development plan for the capital, confirming its implementation until 2030, noting the imminent implementation of a development plan to rehabilitate the water and sanitation sectors, road coverings, and the construction of a number of bridges.
[/size][size]
The Mayor of the capital, Ammar Musa Kazem, said - in press statements - that the Municipality had previously contracted with an international consulting body for the purpose of preparing a new development plan to update the old comprehensive development plan, which expired in 2000, indicating that the new plan proposed several activities, including the expansion of the city towards the outskirts and the transfer of Industrial areas towards the borders of the capital, and addressing transportation and housing problems in accordance with the laws in force.
Regarding the implementation of the development plan, Kazem explained that the scheme will be announced for a period of 60 days before the public opinion and the competent authorities to express and evaluate observations about it, and after the end of the specified objection period, it will be sent to the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers for the purpose of ratification and approval in accordance with the approved legal contexts, stressing that the plan includes the water and wastewater sectors. Sanitary, cladding, roads and bridges, and developing the entrances to the city of Baghdad within its borders.
Earlier, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Environment, Jassem Al-Falahi, confirmed what the Iraqi Economic and Political Center went to, as he explained that environmental pollution in Baghdad had reached levels that could not be tolerated, due to the significant decline in infrastructure, pointing to the need to establish a new administrative city, noting that the ministry It has a database of pollution in all governorates.
Al-Falahi called for amending the investment law, pointing to the necessity of adopting a strategic vision for investment and moving away from randomness, especially since there is a great possibility to establish investments in the health and environment sectors on the outskirts of cities.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]Al-Obaidi confirms that pollution causes diseases in the respiratory and digestive systems (Al-Jazeera)
[/size]

Arboreal therapy

[size]
Another way to address pollution is to increase afforestation and green belts in the vicinity of the capital, according to the environmental expert, Eng. Thaer Youssef, who sees - in an interview with Al-Jazeera Net - the urgent need to create green belts in the vicinity of Baghdad, to address the environmental effects resulting from the lack of rain and the decrease in agricultural areas, warning that Planting trees in the streets will contribute to reducing temperatures by two degrees Celsius, especially in the summer, with the need to work to increase green spaces as an outlet for families in most areas of the capital.
Among the necessary treatments to reduce pollution, Youssef sees the importance of creating landfill areas on the outskirts of Baghdad and working to recycle them, and following up and preventing the release of sewage into rivers, as it is one of the most severe causes of water pollution, which leads to the spread of cancerous diseases and kills environmental life. water and soil, stressing the importance of activating the role of civil society organizations to follow up on all environmental violations that lead to environmental pollution in general.


He concluded his speech by emphasizing the need for the Capital Municipality to develop plans to remove traffic jams, to reduce the pressure of car exhausts that contribute to air pollution, after the number of cars reached more than 3 million, according to the General Traffic Directorate.
[/size]

Huge health risks

[size]
The city of Baghdad is witnessing multidimensional pollution in the soil, water and air, which affects the lives of the population in general, and increases pollution rates and the spread of diseases such as asthma, cancerous diseases, and others.
The Director of Health Promotion at the Ministry of Health, Haitham Al-Obaidi, confirms that there are many diseases resulting from pollution and neglect, most notably respiratory diseases, indicating - in his speech to Al-Jazeera Net - that there are many other internal diseases resulting from pollution such as diseases of the digestive system and many others.[/size]
Source : Al Jazeera
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]