Iraq to send delegation to Turkey in August for water-sharing talks

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq is preparing to send a negotiating delegation to Turkey in August to address shared water resources, the Iraqi Observatory for Environmental Rights said. The delegation is expected to include representatives from the ministries of water resources, agriculture and environment, along with academic experts. The observatory said Iraq's water inflows have fallen by more than 40 percent over the past five years due to reduced water flow from Turkey, leading to the drying of marshlands and dangerous drops in the Tigris and Euphrates river levels in Baghdad and Basra. It warned the decline threatens the livelihoods and drinking water supply of roughly 5 million people. According to the group, around 50 percent of agricultural land in central and southern Iraq has been degraded, with rising soil salinization. The observatory described the water file as a national security issue and urged the delegation to pursue a binding and equitable agreement under the framework of transboundary river law. No further details on the timing of the visit or the agenda were immediately available.