Egyptian experts to participate in addressing desertification issue, Iraq's cabinet says

Iraq's cabinet agrees to involve Egyptian experts to address desertification, affirming the future projects related to the agriculture sector in the Diwaniyah Province, the General Secretariat of the Iraqi cabinet announced on Tuesday.
 
There is a committee to address the Euphrates River basin, sand dunes, desertification, and the establishment of a green belt, headed by the Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers and with the membership of representatives of the Ministries of Agriculture and Water Resources, in addition to several specialists, academics, consultants and university professors in the governorates of Diwaniyah, Muthanna and Dhi Qar, where four meetings were held during which they discussed the mechanism of developing visions and ideas to address the salinity of the Euphrates River basin, as well as the phenomenon of desertification in the governorates of Muthanna and Dhi Qar, The cabinet spokesman Haider Majid told the Iraqi News Agency (INA).

Majeed stated that "the Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers held a meeting two days ago with some Egyptian experts who have a role in the process of transforming Egypt's desert into green spaces, to transfer this experience to Iraq, indicating that "it was agreed to involve them in this vital and important project, and to establish transformational stations to treat salinity, as well as convert desertification areas into green agricultural spaces."

He also indicated that there are many mechanisms taken by the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers based on the directives of the Iraqi government regarding the interest in the agricultural sector and the advancement of this important sector, and there are future projects to support these projects, and great interest in the agricultural sector in Al-Diwaniyah Governorate, as it is a fertile and arable land," noting that " There are  many essential measures that  will be taken by the General Secretariat in coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources."

The decision coincides with International Water Day which is commemorated on March 22 annually.

Desertification is a witnessed issue in Iraq as large swathes of farmland, fisheries, power production, and drinking water sources have been depleted of water.

As much as 31% of Iraq’s surface is desert, according to UN's Inter-Agency Information and Analysis Unit (IAU). Years of inappropriate farming practices and mismanagement of water resources have exacerbated the effects of an already dry climate and contributed to increasing rates of desertification. Declining fertility, high soil salinity, erosion, and the extension of sand dunes are pervasive problems.

Iraq is the world's fifth-most vulnerable nation to the effects of climate change, including water and food insecurity, according to the UN. The Kurdistan region falls within the Mediterranean climate zone. According to a 2020 analysis by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Mediterranean basin has already been widely affected by global warming, and seasonal rainfall could fall by 40 percent over the next three decades.


PUKmedia