Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq faces a severe environmental challenge as 134 species are at risk of extinction, the Strategic Center for Human Rights warned on Sunday, citing data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Iraq is home to dozens of notable mammals, birds, and reptiles, including the goitered gazelle, wild goat, Iraqi wolf, striped hyena, sand fox, wildcat, smooth-coated otter, and wild boar, the center said, pointing to rare and migratory birds such as the Asian houbara, northern bald ibis, African sacred ibis, white-headed duck, Egyptian vulture, eastern imperial eagle, and storks, many of which rely on Iraq's marshes as a key stop along their global migration routes. It also listed native fish, including shabout, bunni, gattan, river carp, and freshwater turtles.

According to official data, the report noted, Iraq also has about 311 fish species, while nearly 234 plants and animals face varying levels of extinction risk. These include 59 fish, 43 bird, and 20 mammal species.

“Protecting wildlife is no longer solely an environmental issue but has become directly linked to food security and the right to a healthy environment,” the center said, attributing the decline to pollution, drought, rising temperatures, desertification, falling water levels in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and widespread illegal hunting.

The center urged the government, the ministries of Environment, Agriculture, and Water Resources, the Kurdistan Regional Government, and security agencies to take immediate action by tightening enforcement against poaching, expanding nature reserves, restoring the marshes, increasing water releases, and launching a national program to protect endangered species and safeguard the rights of future generations.

Read more: Silent extinction: Iraq’s wildlife fades as water runs out