Kurdistan Launches “Seed of Life” Project to Reforest Mountain Areas Using Helicopter Seeding

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — In a landmark environmental initiative, the strategic “Seed of Life” project has officially been launched in Duhok province, marking a new phase in efforts to restore forests and expand green spaces across the Kurdistan Region’s mountainous terrain.

The project seeks to increase vegetation cover and revive degraded forests through the aerial dispersal of one million seed balls using helicopters, a technique designed to overcome the difficulty of accessing rugged and remote mountain areas.

Each seed ball contains between 10 and 15 native tree seeds, including species such as pine, sumac, and oak, selected for their adaptability to the local ecosystem.

The initiative is being implemented by the Zila Organization for Humanity, in cooperation with the Duhok Aviation and Traffic Directorate. More than 500 young volunteers from across the province participated in preparing the seed balls, highlighting strong community engagement and youth involvement in environmental protection.

Nivar Barwari, head of Zila Organization for Humanity, said the project’s primary objective is to significantly expand forested and green areas.

“From the total of one million seed balls, we expect approximately 10 to 15 million trees to eventually grow,” he said, noting that the project is designed to have a long-term ecological impact rather than deliver short-term results.

Due to the challenging geography of many targeted areas, aerial seeding by helicopter was chosen as the most effective method. Badirkhan Waisi, Director of Aviation at the Duhok Transport Directorate, said the operation will continue over a two-week period, allowing seeds to be distributed quickly and across a wide area.

“This method enables us to reach places that are otherwise inaccessible and ensures broader and faster coverage,” he explained.

The project is being carried out in two phases, with 500,000 seed balls dispersed in the first stage and the remaining 500,000 scheduled for the second phase.

Dilsad Abdulrahman, Director of Duhok’s Environmental Department, praised the initiative as an innovative approach that combines technology with environmental protection.

“This is a forward-looking idea that uses modern techniques to serve the environment, and it will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the province’s ecosystem,” he said.

The “Seed of Life” project aligns with broader efforts by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to address environmental degradation and climate change. Under the KRG’s ninth cabinet, the overall green cover target has been increased from 15 percent to 20 percent, with Duhok currently leading other provinces at 27.6 percent green coverage.

It also complements other strategic initiatives, including the “Erbil Green Belt” project, which aims to plant seven million trees around the city and reduce approximately 210,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

Iraq as a whole has been ranked among the five countries most affected by climate change, making reforestation, water management, and environmental restoration efforts increasingly urgent. Yet, no comparable large-scale environmental or climate-adaptation initiatives have been undertaken across most Iraqi provinces, where the federal government has shown limited activity in implementing green projects or sustainable water programs to confront worsening drought and climate stress.

In contrast, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has launched hundreds of environmental and water-management projects, ranging from mass tree-planting campaigns to the construction of dams of various sizes aimed at preserving water resources and protecting groundwater.

Against this backdrop, initiatives such as the “Seed of Life” project underscore the Kurdistan Region’s comparatively strategic and prudent management of land and water resources, reflecting a more proactive response to climate risks, while much of federal Iraq continues to suffer from water mismanagement and inadequate climate resilience planning.