Iraq faces alarming loss of 100,000 dunams annually to climate change, desertification
Strategic Center for Human Rights in Iraq revealed that approximately 27 million dunams, equivalent to 15% of the country's total area, are already desertified. Furthermore, a worrying 55% of Iraq's land is at risk of desertification.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - Iraq is losing a staggering 100,000 dunams of land every year due to the combined effects of climate change, desertification, and drought, according to Fadhil al-Gharawi, the head of the Strategic Center for Human Rights in Iraq.
He warned that the entire vegetation cover of the country is under serious threat.
In a statement released on Monday, al-Gharawi highlighted the alarming extent of desertification in Iraq.
He revealed that approximately 27 million dunams, equivalent to 15% of the country's total area, are already desertified. Furthermore, a worrying 55% of Iraq's land is at risk of desertification.
The decline in vegetation cover is equally concerning. Al-Gharawi noted that the vegetation cover in Iraq has drastically decreased from 50% to a mere 17%.
He cited estimates from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, indicating that forest areas in Iraq have shrunk to a meager 8,250 square kilometers, representing only 2% of the country's total land area.
Al-Gharawi attributed this alarming decline in vegetation cover to a combination of factors, including extreme weather, climate change, sandstorms, scarce rainfall, and global warming.
He emphasized that the scarcity of vegetation cover further contributes to rising pollution levels, with direct consequences for human health and food security.
In response to this crisis, al-Gharawi urged the government, all governorates, institutions, and citizens to initiate a massive campaign to plant 15 billion trees over the next ten years.
These trees should be perennial species capable of withstanding the harsh climate conditions, aiming to compensate for the severe shortage in vegetation cover.