Iraq’s Environment Ministry is preparing for a surge in internally displaced people as thousands of families leave the wetlands. Humanitarian operations are becoming more widespread. Emergency food aid distribution may be necessary in Diwaniyah province, which is one of the provinces hardest hit by rising temperatures. Rising temperatures are increasingly becoming a matter of survival for the poorest people. According to the International Monetary Fund’s Climate Institute, Iraq will become the hottest country in the MENA region by 2050, with average temperatures exceeding 36 degrees Celsius (97 degrees Fahrenheit). (ix) The figure of 7 million out of the current population of 40 million will also increase the number of Iraqis suffering from drought. The demographic curve looks like the population will double over the next 25 years.
At the Cop26 climate change conference in Glasgow in 2021, a delegation from Baghdad announced a two-part plan to combat drought. The first will cover the period from 2020 to 2025 and will focus on reducing carbon emissions. The second one looks to 2030 and aims to develop technology transfer, particularly in the irrigation sector. This is an important area. Iraq’s agriculture uses outdated technologies that are no longer able to meet the challenges of today’s climate change. Some farmers continue to use flood irrigation, which floods farmland with large amounts of water. This not only consumes a lot of water, but is also inefficient. Water evaporates in the sun or percolates deep into the soil, but in situations where soil fertility is severely compromised, it provides little benefit to plants. Irrigation using sprinklers saves 70% compared to flooding, but it faces resistance due to deeply rooted practices inherited from the past. But farmers can no longer rely on dams. Iraq’s dams currently store 20 billion cubic meters (5.2 trillion gallons) of water, and 50 billion cubic meters (13 trillion gallons) is needed to meet the country’s needs. (x) The situation may be tense, but it is not hopeless. Spring rains in 2024 increased water storage. Water levels in Mosul Dam rose 7 meters (23 feet). The situation has also improved in Dokan, Hamrin, Darbandikan and Al-Azim.
Iraq has about 20 large dams but needs many more to meet its needs. The Makr Dam project was designed to store 3 billion cubic meters (659 billion gallons) and was intended to support irrigation in the Salah al-Din and Kirkuk regions. Construction was interrupted in 2003 by the American invasion. Construction resumed in 2021 but was halted due to prohibitive costs. (xi) Water Resources Minister Aoun Diyab Abdullah favors building small dams, some of which are dedicated to electricity. generation. They are cheaper and faster to build. Iraq plans to increase the number of storage centers by 30 million cubic meters (7.9 billion gallons) across the country, as already in place in Jumla (Erbil), Diwana (Suleimaniyah), Khan (Duhok) and Torgar. (Garmian).
The construction of the dam will involve improved management of existing infrastructure after years of political instability that have left the sector neglected. For example, Al-Azim Dam is better managed than before. After a long dry spell, there is now enough water to irrigate farms and some urban areas. It’s a small victory, but a victory nonetheless. And what Iraq needs today is more small victories across its territory.
regain courage
In the face of global warming, motivation becomes extremely important. This year, 30 to 40 percent of Iraq’s farmers have given up their land. (xii) There are two main reasons for this. There are power shortages and rising prices for gasoline, which is essential to running water pumps. The third reason is harsh working conditions and miserable income. The devaluation of the Iraqi dinar has made imports more costly for farmers wishing to invest in new and economical irrigation systems. Furthermore, the government’s monopoly on agricultural inputs (subsidized seeds) is perceived as unfair by farmers, with government payments to farmers chronically delayed. Additionally, 5,544 fires were recorded between January and May 2024, destroying thousands of hectares of farmland and equipment.
Baghdad authorities mobilized to help farmers who did not want their land exposed to dust smoke. Assistance programs are being developed to promote innovative irrigation methods. The National Investment Commission (NIC) is working with the United Nations to fund emergency measures to keep rural people on the land and slow desertification.
Unexpectedly, countries are now setting an example by examining their own activities. Khalid Shamal, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Water Resources, boldly admitted that pollution is also caused by government agencies. (xiii) The healthcare sector is singled out for not following strict rules for environmental management. Too many hospitals dump waste into the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. The resulting contamination is frightening, as the waste includes vials containing chemicals, fragments of human organs, and equipment that has come into contact with viral diseases. The same goes for industrial facilities such as petrochemical factories and power plants owned by the Iraqi state. In the future, each of these locations will have its own wastewater treatment plant.
international cooperation
Iraq, with all the goodwill in the world, cannot do it alone. Rivers have no role in human geopolitics. They flow across borders and international treaties. Upstream, Turkey controls about 70 percent of the Euphrates River waters. Plans to build around 20 new dams in Greater Anatolia are a cause for concern. Iraq’s water resources minister, Aoun Diab, makes no secret of his concerns. Although Ankara has “promised not to harm Iraq,” Iraq estimates that 35 percent of its water rights are not protected. This number is difficult to verify, but it does indicate potential tensions between the two countries. Iraqi diplomacy is making every effort to correct the inequitable distribution of water resources. The Iraqi President demands strict compliance with the signed bilateral agreements (xiv).
The second issue is relations with Iran. According to Iraqi calculations, 20 percent of the tributaries that Iran is supposed to share do not flow across the border. Iran disputes this claim. The report points out that Iran’s contribution accounts for only 7% of Iraq’s consumption, and points out that Iran’s contributions account for only 7% of Iraq’s consumption, and that there are many issues such as exceeding water intake quotas, silting of dams, and the existence of secret dams storing water for private use. It points to Baghdad’s failures in water management.
Over the past four decades, MENA diplomats have signed a number of interstate agreements to harmonize water allocation, as detailed in the table below.
