Iraq observatory warns 55% of country faces desertification threat

BAGHDAD, Iraq — An Iraqi environmental observatory has warned that desertification and drought pose a direct threat to food security and economic stability, with affected land reaching roughly 96.5 million dunums, or about 55.5% of the country's territory. The Green Iraq Observatory said in a report marking the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought that land already classified as desertified has risen by 48.5% since 2021 to around 40.4 million dunums, with approximately 100,000 dunums of farmland lost each year to salinization and advancing desert. The observatory identified Dhi Qar, Maysan, Muthanna and Diwaniyah as the provinces hardest hit, citing dried irrigation canals and declining water levels in marshland areas that have reduced fish stocks and animal populations. It listed reduced water flows from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers linked to upstream dam construction, accelerating climate change effects and falling rainfall among the primary causes of degradation. The report also pointed to growing rural-to-urban migration and rising pressure on infrastructure and basic services in receiving areas. It warned that dust storms could reach up to 200 days per year and called for a comprehensive national strategy to combat desertification, expanded afforestation programs and the adoption of modern irrigation methods.