Studies Center: Addressing Iraq's environmental challenges represented by increasing its population

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[size=52]Studies Center: Addressing Iraq's environmental challenges represented by increasing its population growth[/size]

[size=45]Translated by / Hamed Ahmed[/size]
[size=45]A report by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy addressed the crisis of steady population growth that Iraq is witnessing, which is estimated at more than a million births annually, and the environmental and social repercussions that this may pose in the future, amid other challenges that the country is already experiencing, including a high unemployment rate, a housing crisis, and a scarcity of water resources resulting from the consequences of climate change.[/size]
[size=45]The population is expected to reach 80 million people by the year 2050, indicating the need to take rapid and comprehensive measures to resolve this crisis at both the governmental and individual levels.[/size]
[size=45]As an ideal model that reflects this crisis that the country is experiencing, the report chose the site, Sadr City, in Baghdad, as it is one of the most densely populated cities, as it includes approximately three million people within an area of ​​less than 30 square kilometers. Due to the restriction of expenses and the housing crisis, several families often share one house, and this overcrowding creates a burden on the infrastructure and leads to a chronic water crisis and the deterioration of sewage networks. With all these challenges, the city's population growth is increasing, and the city is witnessing record rates of early marriage and polygamy as well.[/size]
[size=45]While many people tend to believe that marriage and many births are purely personal matters, this social phenomenon has significant effects on the development aspect of Iraq and its entire future. In a country that already faces the challenges of providing housing, food, and education for its citizens, the high birth rate will only increase the burdens accumulating on the government. According to one analysis, the population of Iraq will increase by one million people annually. In fact, the Ministry of Planning recorded in 2020 the reception of 1 million and 258 thousand and 28 newborns. It is expected that the country's population will reach 80 million people by the year 2050, which puts Iraq on the brink of an environmental and social crisis.[/size]
[size=45]There are other sources that confirm these government expectations. According to the United Nations Population Census Department, the population growth rate in Iraq for the year 2023 has reached 2.27%, and the current population of 45.7 million will reach more than double this number by the year 2085. This growth This is a major cause for concern, especially in light of the severe water scarcity crisis that Iraq is experiencing and the transformation of many fertile lands into barren lands.[/size]
[size=45]According to the representative of the United Nations Development Program in Iraq, the country, due to climate change factors, desertification and increasing temperature rates to which agricultural lands are exposed, is losing more than 100 square kilometers of agricultural land annually, an area larger than the area of ​​the capital, Baghdad. These poor environmental factors, in addition to increased birth rates and increased water scarcity, pose an additional challenge to irrigation of agricultural lands.[/size]
[size=45]The report indicates that increasing population growth exacerbates the environmental challenges facing Iraq. As climate change destroys more and more agricultural land, the expanding population consumes more and more land to house this growing population. In Mosul alone, the housing deficit in 2022 reached 200,000 housing units, compared to only 20,000 housing units in 2012. According to the Population Planning Department of Mosul, this great acceleration in population growth requires expanding the city’s area by another 7 kilometers, which will be at the expense of Farmland. It is worth noting that the Nineveh Plain region, with Mosul as its center, was considered the breadbasket of the people of the region.[/size]
[size=45]While the effects of the increasing world population vary from one country to another, the impact on countries that depend on the import of food, especially grains, will be significant, and Iraq is one of these countries. In addition, Iraq is among the countries most vulnerable to the consequences of climate change, and its arid lands Semi-arid regions will not be able to provide food for this large population.[/size]
[size=45]The report recommends the necessity of taking rapid and comprehensive action in order to solve Iraq's population crisis at the state and individual levels, noting that the increase in population is taking place in the absence of any planning for birth control. Such information is vital to help families plan properly for their future. It requires the government to pledge, on its part, to expand and develop infrastructure, invest in educational institutes, and put an end to the phenomenon of early marriage, which contributes to increasing the population, for the well-being of future generations.[/size]
[size=45]• From the Washington Institute for Near East Policy[/size]
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