Iraq is in the midst of a growing water crisis brought on by recurring drought, the lack of rainfall, dams being built by neighboring countries, and no strategy by Baghdad. Recent statements by the Water Ministry show the government is not serious about dealing with this issue.
On August 13 the Water Ministry told the press that there was enough water in storage facilities along with Turkey increasing the flow down rivers to cover all of the country’s planned projects. The problem was just a few days before the ministry’s spokesman said that Iraq’s water reserves were at the lowest level in history. He said that levels were half the amount of 2022 and water down the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers had both declined. Earlier in 2023 the Ministry said water reserves dropped from 60 billion cubic meters in 2020 to just 5 billion.
This is typical of the Iraqi government. It has a history of making false and exaggerated statements about major issues. Water is just the latest. There is no real strategy to avert this looming disaster. That’s because the elite doesn’t care about water because it doesn’t benefit them. The result is that things will only get worse.
SOURCES
Rasul, Azhi, “Improvement in water flow to Iraq after bilateral talks with Turkey: Minister,” Rudaw, 8/14/23
- “Iraq’s water reserves at the ‘lowest’ in history: Ministry spox,” Rudaw, 8/8/23
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