Desertification threatens 93 percent of Iraq's territory, warns Iraqi MP
Iraq has lost 40 percent of its green belts in the past 20 years, threatening 93 percent of the country's territory, a lawmaker warned.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - Desertification poses a serious threat to Iraq's environment, yet authorities seem somewhat reluctant to address the issue.
Iraq has lost 40 percent of its green belts in the past 20 years, threatening 93 percent of the country's territory, a lawmaker warned.
According to Mudhir Ma'an, a member of the Iraqi parliament, 93 percent of the country's territory is threatened with desertification and the expansion of sand dunes.
"Environmental changes in Iraq in recent years are worrying. Recent studies have shown that the dangerous effects of this phenomenon include water scarcity and widening desertification. Additionally, a growing rate of sand dune formation has been reported in six provinces," he stated.
"The environment is part of national security, and if serious steps are not taken, we will wish for today in a few years' time. Recent studies have identified 40 areas across the country that require reviving their green belt areas," Ma'an emphasized.
Since 2003, more than 40 percent of Iraq's green belts have been lost due to the conversion of agricultural land to residential areas, desertification, war, and the expansion of sand dunes, according to the MP.
Of the more than 130 million acres of land in Iraq, 95 million acres are already desertified, while 27 million acres are under threat of desertification. The arable and fertile land covers an area of 12 million acres, and more than 200,000 acres lose their agricultural potential due to desertification annually.
