Shafaq News- Al-Sulaymaniyah

Forests across the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), particularly in Badinan and areas along the Turkish border, are being cut and burned, Aynda, an environmental protection organization, said on Thursday, urging Baghdad and Erbil authorities to take legal, political and diplomatic steps to stop the activities.

During a press conference, Marouf Majid, the organization's head, pointed to dozens of photos and videos circulating online in recent days showing forests being cut, cleared, and stripped of plant resources in southern KRI.

Majid attributed the activity to traders taking advantage of military conditions linked to Turkiye, describing it as a return to destructive practices that have affected the area in previous years.

The organization also criticized the lack of an official government response and limited coverage of the incidents, saying that large-scale cutting of mature trees, burning natural forests, and removing vegetation damage ecosystems, destroy habitats for wild animals and birds, and disrupt the natural balance.

It further appealed to the international community and the United Nations to act under international agreements governing environmental protection during conflicts.

Read more: Iraq’s Green Belt: The race to forestall desertification

Majid recalled that the organization had raised the issue in 2021, when it brought the matter before the KRI Parliament and called for an end to forest cutting. “The absence of effective enforcement mechanisms and penalties had allowed the practices to return in 2026,” he said.

Earlier this month, Aynda marked the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies by warning of worsening air pollution and environmental threats in Iraq, including the KRI, citing the country’s low ranking in the global pollution index as a reflection of “the deteriorating environmental conditions.”

Read more: KRI forests face renewed tree-cutting threat as winter approaches