Over the past few years, the expanse of desertified areas in Iraq has significantly increased due to climate changes that have impacted vast agricultural lands in the Mesopotamian region.
These developments pose a grave threat to water and food security, with ripple effects on agricultural plans. This comes amid record-breaking temperature spikes across the country, coupled with dwindling water releases from upstream countries.
The United Nations Development Programme in Iraq has confirmed that the marshland areas are the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, emphasizing that the nation loses approximately 400,000 acres (400 square kilometers) of agricultural land annually due to these climate shifts.
Zozan Kogar, Deputy Head of the Iraqi Parliament’s Agriculture, Water, and Marshlands Committee, emphasized that drought poses a multifaceted threat to the country’s food, economic, and societal security.
This peril stems from climate variations, reduced rainfall, heatwaves, and diminished water inflow in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, further exacerbated by reduced water releases from Turkey.
Kogar noted that the agricultural sector is the hardest hit, with drought affecting 70% of arable land that heavily relies on around 80% of the water from the Tigris and Euphrates.
Southern provinces have borne the brunt of this impact. Moreover, many Iraqi families, especially in marshland regions, have been forced to migrate due to worsening financial conditions.
These families depend on agriculture and livestock breeding, both of which are severely affected by drought. Kogar cautioned that this crisis could escalate social unrest and economic insecurity.
