Baghdad:The Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, Water Resources and Environment has announced plans to finance environmental projects through the World Bank and the Iraqi-Chinese agreement. The committee is also proposing the investment of 2 billion cubic meters of water in agriculture instead of discharging it into the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

According to Iraqi News Agency, Committee Chairman Falih Al-Khazali emphasized the need to address pollution in these rivers by developing both short and long-term projects to establish environmentally friendly treatment plants.

Al-Khazali highlighted that approximately 2 billion cubic meters of water are discharged into these rivers annually. Proper utilization of this water could allow for the cultivation of two million dunams with strategic crops and an additional four million dunams with vegetable crops. He noted that adopting optimal water utilization practices, similar to those in developed countries, could protect citizens’ health and reduce environmental impacts on agriculture and livestock.

He further explained that about 70% of existing treatment plants are not environmentally friendly, necessitating modernization and the establishment of new projects.

To address water pollution, proposals include borrowing from the World Bank’s lending fund and utilizing funds from the Iraqi-Chinese agreement for implementing treatment projects. The Al-Bu Aitha project, part of the Iraqi-Chinese agreement, is currently under implementation in Baghdad at a cost of $650 million to treat wastewater.

Al-Khazali also mentioned that the committee is working on significant amendments to the Environmental Protection and Improvement Law No. 27 of 2009. These amendments aim to impose penalties for environmental violations, underscoring the importance of the law and the committee’s commitment to its legislation.