Iraq's President advocates climate action to protect water resources and food security.
Shafaq News/ Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid warned on Sunday that climate change will jeopardize food security and future generations.
He advocated for the construction of dams and the creation of green belts around cities to alleviate the hazards of climate change and slow temperature rise.
The President delivered these statements at the opening session of the conference on drought, climate change, and economic and demographic strategies in Iraq, which was held in Erbil under the patronage of Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani.
Rashid said, "There is significant climate change occurring in Iraq, affecting economic life, agriculture, and water resources in our country." He clarified that "water is the greatest natural resource for sustaining life, and climate change and the environment are global problems facing not only Iraq but also the world."
He emphasized that the increase in population has affected the environment and significantly threatened food security, along with the increase in drought rates in Iraq and the scarcity of rainfall in recent years. "Additionally, neighboring countries not releasing a fair share of water, the adoption of traditional irrigation methods by farmers in the country, the rise in surface temperatures, and the use of agricultural fertilizers all negatively impact
Rashid stated that climate change and rising temperatures are among the issues confronting Iraq, "leading to water pollution and desertification of agricultural lands," stressing that all of this has an impact on the environment and threatens food security and water resources for future generations in Iraq.
He emphasized that Iraq is striving to mitigate the harmful consequences of climate change by constructing multiple dams and attempting to store water.
He also advocated for the development of dams in the Kurdistan Region and the storage of rainfall and snow. "We have a duty to improve the environment and to store water in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq."
