Al-Sulaymaniyah exceeds international 20% green space benchmark

Shafaq News – Al-Sulaymaniyah

Vegetation now covers 23.6% of Iraqi Kurdistan’s al-Sulaymaniyah, surpassing the global green space standard of 20%, according to Bahroz Salar, director of parks at the al-Sulaymaniyah Municipality.

Salar told Shafaq News that the percentage is calculated based on the province’s 143 million square meters of total area and is expected to increase as several ongoing municipal projects near completion.

He added that upcoming plans include expanding urban agriculture, establishing new parks in residential and suburban areas, and aligning projects with sustainable development goals to maintain a balanced urban ecosystem.

The Parks Directorate confirmed that al-Sulaymaniyah’s green space ratio remains the highest in Iraq and Kurdistan.

The Kurdistan Region, which hosts nearly all of Iraq’s forests, has lost around half of its vegetation cover over the past five decades due to deforestation, wildfires, climate change, and military activity. Environmental experts warn that the decline—particularly in Duhok, Erbil, and al-Sulaymaniyah—poses a nationwide ecological threat, as reforestation efforts by the Kurdish government still lag behind the pace of forest loss.

Read more: Kurdistan’s forests under threat: War, climate, and efforts to rebuild