WHY CLIMATE ACTION IS SO URGENTLY NEEDED IN IRAQ
As you may be aware, we recently launched our fourth project pillar – Climate Change – to help provide sustainable solutions to the escalating climate emergency in Iraq and Kurdistan.
We did this in response to Iraq being named the world’s fifth most vulnerable country to climate change by a recent report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and in this blog, we hope to explain why the situation is so critical.
As the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) stated in a report called Migration, Environment and Climate Change in Iraq last year: “Without preparation and planning, the scale of environmental change is likely to be devastating and may force Iraqis to relocate in order to survive.” It also urged: “Preparing for and addressing the risks associated with climate-induced migration requires urgent and coordinated action.”
The reasons for the worsening situation in Iraq and Kurdistan include:
· Soaring temperatures
· Diminishing rainfall
· Intensifying droughts and scarcity of water
· Frequent sand and dust storms
· Flooding
· Expanding population
· Food insecurity
· Rising sea levels in Iraq’s far south
IOM also reported higher levels of displacement due to water shortages, and the organisation stressed in its report: “As environmental changes intensify, displacement is likely to increase exponentially.” It also highlights how much harder it is for the displaced to cope with water shortages and other climatic changes, “since their resources were already depleted by years of displacement and the cost of trying to repair homes and farms damaged by war.”
Additionally, IOM reports that approximately 1.77 million people in Iraq are prone to food insecurity, caused by a loss of agricultural livelihoods and productivity, as well as conflict, displacement and falling incomes. The poorest populations who rely on government food rations are also unable to access fresh, nutritious food and are accordingly at increased risk of health burdens associated with malnutrition. Increasing climate change is only likely to exacerbate these challenges.
Our Founder Taban spoke about climate change at a UNHCR conference last year
As a result of climate-driven migration, the displaced are often forced into old and degraded areas of urban centres, or former agricultural areas, where there are often few services and employment opportunities, coupled with a lack of basic rights.
Of course, all of these impacts hit women most heavily – with gender-based violence and exploitation far more likely as a result of such factors. IOM also points out that women are “particularly vulnerable to the effects of environmental change given their agency to negotiate resources and access to services is often restricted by prevailing social norms.”
The organisation adds: “Persons with disabilities are likely to be particularly affected by environmental changes and forced displacement since they already face social marginalization, difficulty finding employment, and higher barriers to accessing services,” says IOM in its report.
Each of the above problems can create new sources of conflict, as competition for limited resources grows, along with tensions with local authorities. That in turn can lead to further displacement.
If you have read this far, you’ll have some idea of why we are so concerned, and why we feel duty-bound to try and do more through our climate-themed programmes. You can read more about the initiatives we’ve already started here, but we are urgently looking for additional support to increase this much-needed area of our work – whether through direct project funding or partnerships.
We are very open to discussion, so please do get in touch here if you can support us in any way: info@thelotusflower.org.uk.
