Water Resources: Iraq lost 70% of its external water revenues

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[size=52]Water Resources: Iraq lost 70% of its external water revenues[/size]

[size=45]The Ministry of Water Resources reported that Iraq lost 70% of water revenues coming from abroad, pointing to the storage of most of the additional Turkish releases on the Tigris River in the Mosul Dam.[/size]
[size=45]"The water problem in Iraq includes two main parts, the first is external," said ministry spokesman Khaled Shamal.[/size]
[size=45]Shamal added, "Iraq receives more than 70% of its water from neighboring countries, Turkey, Iran and Syria, and it does not have a binding agreement with these countries that guarantees its historical rights in the Tigris and Euphrates."[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out, "These countries have built large dams and major reclamation projects, which have changed and drained many of the sources of rivers and their discharges."[/size]
[size=45]Shamal explained, "The second problem is internal, represented by drought and climatic changes in Iraq, which is among the 5 countries most affected by it, and has become the country number 5 in the global drought index."[/size]
[size=45]And Shamal said, "This matter has cast a shadow over the Iraqi water reality and the Iraqi society, specifically in the governorates that are located in southern Iraq, Basra, Dhi Qar and Maysan."[/size]
[size=45]And he talked about "the ministry's endeavor, since the beginning of the winter season, to store the largest amount of water revenues, with the aim of strengthening the strategic storage of Iraq and thus the possibility of using it in the summer season."[/size]
[size=45]Shamal stressed, “the application of a strict water distribution policy,” to control the distribution of water on both banks of the Tigris River, and not to pay any additional releases except for the purposes of actual need.[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out, "the implementation of a campaign to remove the abuses related to water quotas, encroachment on the river and preventing the implementation of maintenance work, and environmental abuses, as it received large pollutants in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers."[/size]
[size=45]Shamal noted, "It is not possible to deal with pollutants with additional releases due to the lack of water, but rather with deterrent measures, in coordination with the security forces and the Supreme Judicial Council, that have been taken against all transgressors."[/size]
[size=45]And he stressed, "Turkey deals with the Tigris and Euphrates as two Turkish rivers that cross the borders in the direction of Iraq, and therefore there are two main problems."[/size]
[size=45]Shamal continues, “The first problem is the lack of a binding agreement with Turkey, and the second is the decrease in rainfall in the Tigris and Euphrates river basins, whether in Turkey or Iraq, and even in the tributary basin associated with the Tigris in Iran.”[/size]
[size=45]He reported, "The agreement reached with Turkey during the visit of Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani to it last March to double the water releases of the Tigris River."[/size]
[size=45]Shamal added, "The Turkish government doubled the releases the day after the prime minister's visit and continued, and the revenues in the Tigris River are still somewhat acceptable compared to the period before the visit."[/size]
[size=45]And he added, "The ministry stored the bulk of these releases in the Mosul Dam, and it also benefited from it in enhancing the waters of the Tigris River to improve water quality."[/size]
[size=45]Shamal added, “There is a problem that may be related to agriculture and field irrigation related to the Ministry of Agriculture and the existing irrigation methods, the scarcity of using sprinklers and the reliance on tourist irrigation.”[/size]
[size=45]And Shamal went on, that "the origin is not in the waste of water, but rather in Iraq's water revenues, which have decreased, as Iraq receives only less than 30% of its natural entitlement, and this is a dangerous indicator."[/size]
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