Baghdad: The Iraqi Green Observatory announced on Tuesday that four government departments are contributing to the destruction of orchards and hindering efforts to combat desertification in the country.
According to National Iraqi News Agency, the Observatory stated that some ministries have undertaken measures involving the clearing of vast agricultural lands and the removal of numerous trees. This is in violation of the Environmental Protection and Improvement Law, which prohibits the cutting down of mature trees in public areas within cities, except with explicit permission. Furthermore, the actions contravene a Cabinet decision mandating the Ministries of Construction and Housing, Agriculture, and the governorates to halt the clearing of orchards and agricultural lands, preventing their conversion into residential or other uses while allowing changes in classification.
The Observatory highlighted that the General Company for the Implementation of Transport and Communications Projects under the Ministry of Transport has signed a long-term investment contract with the private sector for constructing multi-purpose warehouses on an orchard in Baghdad. This orchard is currently cultivated and has a designated water supply. Implementing this project will result in the destruction of crops and the removal of planted trees.
Further complicating matters, the Roads and Bridges Department at the Ministry of Construction, Housing, and Municipalities proposed a road plan leading to Ali al-Wardi City in the Nahrawan area of Baghdad. This plan conflicts with several agricultural and irrigation projects, threatening the destruction of numerous orchards, agricultural lands, and farmers’ homes.
In addition, the National Center for Water Resources Management at the Ministry of Water Resources has been criticized for neglecting to prepare studies on desertification, its causes, and the negative effects of declining river levels on agriculture and afforestation. This neglect exacerbates the increasing desertification phenomenon. The Observatory pointed out a weakness in measures taken by the Ministry of Agriculture and other relevant departments to mitigate the growing risk of desertification, which poses a threat to food security, biodiversity, and exacerbates the impacts of climate change on the environment.