Wasserkrise Im Irak wird immer schlimmer
The water crisis has spread in southern and central provinces of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region as dams built by Turkey and Iran, irrespective of international laws, slow the flow of rivers into Iraq to a trickle.
There are growing fears up to seven million people will be displaced due to the dramatic fall in water resources.
“Nine months ago, the Iraqi water resources ministry warned of water shortage during this summer. It called for necessary measures to be taken to tackle the issue,” Iraq’s Water Resources Minister Hassan al-Janabi told reporters on Saturday.
“The government responded to us, forming a high level committee comprising of many parties from agriculture, interior, defense, industry, electricity, housing and reconstruction and municipalities as well as the Iraqi Media Network in order to tackle the matter in question on a national level in case of water decrease,” he added
The committee has recently met to set out a 24 point plan to address the problem, he said.
The Kurdistan Region has also fallen victim to the water crisis, as neighboring Iran has created dams on rivers flowing into its territory.
The town of Qaladze is on the brink of catastrophe after Iran restricted the flow of the cross-border Little Zab River.