A ministerial plan to confront water scarcity.. and observers: a suffocating crisis looms on the hor

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[size=52]A ministerial plan to confront water scarcity.. and observers: a suffocating crisis looms on the horizon[/size]

[size=45]Baghdad / Firas Adnan[/size]
[size=45]The efforts of the Ministry of Water Resources continue to prepare for the summer season and confront scarcity, but observers reported a major crisis that will face the country during the coming months, the impact of which has not yet appeared, indicating that all the solutions that the official authorities talk about did not address the root of the problem, especially in terms of dialogue with countries. neighborhood.[/size]
[size=45]"The Ministry of Water Resources has a plan to deal with the water scarcity crisis, especially during the coming summer," said Khaled Shamal, a spokesman for the Ministry of Water Resources.[/size]
[size=45]Shamal continued, "This plan depends on more than one axe. The first is going to construct water reservoirs and maintain existing dams, as well as constructing harvest dams in areas that witness rainfall."[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out, "The second axis is to remove the excesses on the rivers and proceed with projects to irrigate the rivers and clean their streams to ensure that the water reaches its beneficiaries."[/size]
[size=45]Shamal pointed out that "the third axis is the improvement of irrigation projects and resorting to modern means that prevent water waste." Tahsin al-Moussawi, a specialist in water affairs, said, "Turkey deals with the water file as economic and does not share the damage with Iraq." Al-Moussawi added, "The drought crisis in Iraq has not yet reached its climax, which will be in the coming months."[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out, "This crisis will be more catastrophic than what we have reached during the current time," noting that "Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani called on the international community to help Iraq solve the water crisis."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Moussawi indicated that "the international community will not move on its own and come to Iraq, but rather the latter, as the person in need, must resort to this society." He noted, "The lack of water has serious effects, the first of which is famine, the spread of diseases, the fragility of society and the national threat." Al-Moussawi believes that “this file has not been a top priority despite its seriousness,” pointing out that “the solutions that the government is dealing with are patchwork that contribute to increasing pressure on society.” He denied, “There are negotiations with the Turkish side, from which we receive most of our water resources, and there are even talks that do not meet the need.” Al-Moussawi stated, "Those leading this file are waiting for heaven's mercy or solutions from neighboring countries, as the Turkish and Iranian sides have taken advantage of the current situation with arbitrariness towards Iraq."[/size]
[size=45]He noted that "the currently available storage does not exceed 9 billion cubic meters, which is very low and is nearing completion."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Musawi went on to say that, "In addition to this problem, Iraq did not take appropriate precautions by developing means of subsistence and using modern means in agriculture."[/size]
[size=45]The other specialist in water affairs, Adel Al-Mukhtar, does not expect “to find solutions to the water crisis, because Iraq continues with the same previous mechanisms that contributed to wasting large quantities.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Mukhtar added, "The visit of the Prime Minister, Muhammad Shia' al-Sudani, to Turkey was weak, because it was in the month of March and witnessed a request to increase the releases, and it was supposed to note that the region is exposed to rain during this season, and the Turkish side will have to release water."[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out that "the Sudanese would have been more appropriate to request the cessation of work on the Al-Jazra Dam, and the activation of the memorandum of understanding, which includes two important items. The first requires Turkey to give Iraq its water share, and the second is to share the damage." Al-Mukhtar said, "The visit to request water releases should take place in the month of July, when the rains stop to meet the possible thirst." And he finds that “the problem does not lie with the prime minister, but with the advisors who give him advice.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Mukhtar concluded, "The Iraqi water reserves are at their lowest levels, but the question that should be asked to everyone remains, what if the next winter is dry and does not carry water covering the reservoirs with it? Then we will be facing an environmental disaster."[/size]
[size=45]Another specialist in the matter of water, Naseer Abdel-Ridha, describes the water scarcity as “manifold and bears more than one direction.”[/size]
[size=45]Abdel-Ridha called on the government to "take real steps in addressing this problem, because the water crisis is no longer temporary, but has become permanent." He pointed out, "the importance of getting neighboring countries to respect Iraq's water rights and to adopt the principle of sharing damage, according to the principles of international law."[/size]
[size=45]Abdul-Ridha spoke about "the necessity of optimal investment in the water that enters Iraq and avoiding waste, especially through primitive methods of irrigation." He stressed, "Most countries of the world have resorted to modern methods of irrigation, by spraying or dripping, but Iraq has not reached this stage until now."[/size]
[size=45]And Abdel-Ridha concluded, “The private sector should be a partner in providing modern irrigation supplies through importing them, and the government should contribute to providing support for these measures in any way.”[/size]
[size=45]Although Iraq was exposed to several rain waves during the winter season, but, according to specialists, it did not fill the treasury void, which is currently at very low levels.[/size]
[size=45]Iraq has been suffering for three seasons from severe drought, which contributed to the migration of thousands of families, in conjunction with its classification as the fifth country most affected by climate changes.[/size]
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