Iraq revives endangered desert trees in Diyala nursery

Shafaq News – Diyala

Along the Baghdad–Kirkuk highway in Diyala, environmental activists have launched a 20-dunum (20,000m²) nursery to reintroduce endangered desert trees that have nearly vanished from Iraq in recent years.

Intisar Jabbar, one of the project’s founders, told Shafaq News that climate change, neglect, and excessive logging had decimated many native species. The initiative, named “10+1,” focuses on cultivating 11 types of resilient trees, including red and white acacia, Indian rosewood, jand, and arta.

The nursery has capacity for 250,000 seedlings and currently holds more than 80,000. Among its successes is reviving the Najafi talh, a tree reduced to near-extinction after being cut for hookah charcoal. “We now have more than 8,000 seedlings,” Jabbar noted, adding that seeds of other species were brought from Saudi Arabia and the UAE to replenish Iraq’s vegetation cover.

Beyond preservation, she stressed the trees’ role in stabilizing sand dunes, improving air quality, and restoring ecological balance. Seedlings are distributed free or at nominal prices to universities and institutions to encourage wider planting.

Co-founder Adnan Anwar explained that the nursery is divided into two wings: one for urban plants used in homes, gardens, and medians, and another for desert trees that consume little water and thrive in arid environments. He pointed to progress in reintroducing wild sidr and Najafi talh, while also adapting species like ghaf and red acacia with seeds imported from Gulf states.

Looking ahead, Anwar urged the creation of a nationwide greenbelt stretching from Basra to al-Baaj in Mosul, 50 kilometers wide, to lower average temperatures by three degrees, increase humidity, stimulate rainfall, and curb dust storms.

“Environmental security is essential for Iraq as it prepares for harsher climate conditions in the coming years."