ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — It's time to plant tomatoes in fields at the base of Gali Hassan Beg mountain, but water shortages have forced farmers to plant less and implement new techniques and methods to conserve water. "Because of the snow and rainfall, water was abundant last year. There is very little water this year," said Bilal Karim, a farmer who's been planting tomatoes for the past thirty years. As a result, we are pumping in water through pipes...we are planting tomatoes now, but we aren't sure whether this lack of water will cause us any problems," Karim explained. Karim typically plants tomatoes in 10 dunams of land, but because of the drought, he's planted only four dunams this year. New cultivation techniques and methods are being used by farmers to combat the dry weather. They’ve installed drip irrigation systems and brought in water pumps, but the cost is posing more challenges for the producers. “When there was a lot of water, workers were watering the crops and we didn't have the expenses that we do now,” said Ferhan Issa, another farmer. “Now, water pumps in the ponds are being used to irrigate the crops because there is not enough water.” The water crisis is expected to get worse in the Kurdistan Region as temperatures continue to increase. “The amount of water decreases in August. It will be more obvious then, not necessarily now. In mid-summer the surface water decreases, farmer Abdulwahab Issa stated. Iraq is the fifth-most vulnerable nation in the world to the effects of climate change, including water and food insecurity, according to the UN, yet it lags behind its neighbors in creating a plan to better manage its water resources. Tehran is building a network of dams and canals while Ankara has constructed a mega-dam on the Tigris River at the cost of the ancient city of Hasankeyf that is now underwater. The United Nations’ Watercourses Convention of 1997 governs transboundary water resources, however, only a few dozen states are party to the convention, under which nations are obligated to respect and equitably share their neighbors’ water resources. The treaty has been signed by Syria and Iraq, but not by Turkey or Iran. Turkey and Iran in March agreed they would cooperate with Iraq on water issues. Translation & Video editing by Alan Barzinji
