Investment devours the green... Nineveh loses half of its agricultural lands in a random race for pr

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[size=52]Investment devours the green... Nineveh loses half of its agricultural lands in a random race for profit![/size]

[size=45]Nineveh Governorate has recently witnessed a random investment expansion that has negatively affected the agricultural sector there. The governorate has lost about half of its agricultural lands as a result of excessive investment and projects that ignored the importance of preserving agricultural and environmental resources.[/size]
[size=45]This unregulated expansion has caused the deterioration of agricultural lands, threatening their food security and increasing the concerns of residents and farmers about the agricultural future of the region. The concerned authorities are facing increasing criticism for not developing investment plans in line with sustainable development, which poses major environmental and economic challenges to the governorate.[/size]
[size=45]Anas Al-Taie, an agricultural engineer and owner of the One Million Trees Planting Campaign in Mosul, says, “The forests have lost nearly 40 percent of their trees, and we have launched numerous campaigns to plant seedlings to restore the density of trees in them.”[/size]
[size=45]He added, "The ISIS era and the loss of trees were not the only things that destroyed Mosul's forests. Many suspicions followed the fires that struck them in 2020 and 2021, and the most severe was in 2022, after 50 to 60 dunums were burned, according to what the Civil Defense Directorate reported, and hundreds of eucalyptus trees turned to ash."[/size]
[size=45]For his part, Omar Al-Husseini, an observer of Mosul affairs, says, “Many of the fires were set in order to convert them into investment, and sell them to establish malls, restaurants, and tourist cafes, considering that the forest area is the only tourist outlet in Nineveh Governorate.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Hussaini added, “The incident of destroying trees in the forests by a bulldozer has angered the people of Mosul, after talk of converting the land for investment with the aim of establishing restaurants and cafes, which prompted the former governor of Nineveh, Najm al-Jabouri, to intervene and stop the referral.”[/size]
[size=45]The Ministry of Planning recently revealed in a report that the slum dwellers in Iraq represent about 12 percent of the total population, and that slum dwellings constitute about 16 percent of the total housing.[/size]
[size=45]The government decision to stop construction on agricultural lands opened the door to cases of corruption and bribery paid to some security personnel carrying out duties to prevent construction on those lands and even to municipal committees that inspect the structures built there.[/size]
[size=45]Environmental experts express their fear of the project to expand the city by seven kilometers in all directions, as it will consume the remaining agricultural lands, which are a source of livelihood for many families, especially in the Nineveh Plain.[/size]
[size=45]Experts express their concerns about the expansion of industrial and commercial investments in Nineveh Governorate at the expense of agricultural lands. This concern stems from the possibility of converting large areas of agricultural lands into non-agricultural investment projects, which could negatively affect local food security and the agricultural economy on which many areas in Nineveh depend. In addition, these investments, despite their importance in supporting economic development and creating new job opportunities, could lead to a reduction in green spaces, and thus a decline in agricultural production. This expansion could increase pressure on available water resources, which are essential for the agricultural sector in the region.[/size]
[size=45]There are calls to develop policies that balance economic development with the preservation of agricultural lands, ensuring sustainable development and preserving the agricultural sector as one of the pillars of the economy in Nineveh.[/size]
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