The 15th United Nations Conference (COP15) on Desertification and Drought opens Monday May 9 in Abidjan. One of the countries most affected by the phenomenon is Iraq, which is seeing its arid zones expand. The first reason is obviously climatic. It rains less and less, temperatures reach record highs in summer, above 50°C, which causes greater water evaporation.
But there are also political causes because Iraq mainly depends on its two rivers, the Euphrates and the Tigris, in terms of water resources. However, their sources are in Turkey and Iran, where huge dams have been built in recent years, depriving Iraq of much of this water flowing into the country. “If nothing is done, there will be no more green spaces, no more houses, no more drinking wateralarmed Salman Khairallah, environmental activist. Iraq will simply become a desert. The UN estimates that Iraq will lose 20% of its water resources by 2025, accelerating this desertification.”
A very worrying situation with multiple consequences, including repeated dust storms. There have never been as many as in recent months. You have to imagine a thick orange cloud that completely envelops the city, where it is impossible to see more than a few meters. This causes thousands of hospitalizations due to respiratory problems. But there are also economic consequences because international airports have to close.
In addition to these very impressive phenomena, farmers suffer all year round from this drought and water shortages. They can no longer water their fields, sometimes go into debt in the construction of wells, or choose to settle elsewhere, in the cities, to find a more secure job, which creates population movements and instability in the country.