KALHA, Iraq — Drought has wreaked havoc on farming in the plains near the city of Kalha in Iraq’s southern province of Maysan.
Local farmer Abu Nzar, 52, is desperate for water to irrigate his dried out fields.
Maysan is hardly the only Iraqi province to suffer from a water crisis. Experts blame climate change, as well as the blocking of water flowing into Iraq from dams in neighbouring Turkey and Iran.
“We had created a stream from the Euphrates, but it no longer reaches here,” said the farmer, who notes that many nearby farmers have abandoned their fields and moved to the city. “If this water scarcity is not resolved, we too will be forced to leave because farming these lands without a local water source costs too much.”
According to a 2020 report by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and a number of other non-governmental organizations, water shortages have triggered almost 15,000 new displacements in Dhi-Qar, Maysan and Basra provinces as of January 2019.
Farmer Hamid Majeed and his brothers have all abandoned their fields and moved to cities.
“As you see, the water flow has been cut out. There is no water here and our people are leaving for urban areas. Three of my brothers have moved to cities,” said Majeed.
In a bid to enhance coordination with its neighbouring countries, Iraq's Ministry of Water Resources held its first international water conference less than two weeks ago.
Iraqi officials discussed with Tehran and Ankara how the neighboring countries could share their interconnected water resources.
“This matter will become too difficult and problematic if we do not receive the amount of water that we have agreed upon with Turkey,” Aoon Dhiyab, an adviser at the Ministry of Water Resources Ministry. “However, Turkish authorities have claimed numerous times that they have no intentions to block the flow of water.”
Iraq is the world's fifth-most vulnerable nation to the effects of climate change, including water and food insecurity, according to the United Nations. After years of conflict and mired in political and economic crises, it is also one of the least prepared to deal with the emergency.
Reporting by Mustafa Goran
Translation by Zhelwan Zeyad Wali
