Dem Irak droht das Wasser auszugehen

Dem Zweistromland droht, so jedenfalls warnt ein Bericht der Welt Bank, bald eine gefährliche Wasserknappheit:

The World Bank warned on Wednesday that Iraq is running out of water and this will have a devastating impact on employment and the economy. 

“By 2050, a temperature increase of 1 degree Celsius, and a precipitation decrease of 10% would cause a 20% reduction of available freshwater. Under these circumstances, nearly one-third of the irrigated land in Iraq will have no water by the year 2050,” read a World Bank report on Iraq’s economy.

A failure to manage water resources would be one factor damaging the economy, it stated. A 20 percent reduction in available freshwater would mean higher unemployment: “demand for unskilled labor in agricultural activities could drop by 11.8% and in non-agricultural activities by 5.4%” and GDP “could drop by up to 4 percent, or US$6.6 billion compared to 2016 levels.”

This past year was a very dry one and farmers across the country saw their crops wither and yields drop. The agriculture ministry said last month that the government has approved a plan to reduce this year’s winter crops in irrigated areas by 50 percent because of lack of water.