Iraq / Arab Summit News Agency
On Sunday, the Iraqi Prime Minister, Muhammad Shia’a al-Sudani, launched an initiative to plant 5 million trees and palm trees in all governorates of Iraq, to counter the effects of climate change.
And a statement by the media office of the Prime Minister announced that Muhammad Shiaa al-Sudani, “launched from Basra a major initiative to plant 5 million trees and palm trees in all governorates of Iraq.”
During the spring of 2022, Iraq witnessed dozens of dust storms that produced breathing problems for thousands who had to go to hospitals to receive treatment, and forced the authorities to temporarily close schools and public administrations and suspend flights.
Among the measures taken to reduce this phenomenon, the Iraqi authorities talk about the establishment of green belts around cities, which act as a deterrent to dust storms.
Decades of conflict and mismanagement have severely affected the number of palm trees that once flourished in Iraq. In the past, palm forests surrounded major cities such as Baghdad and Karbala, but today their numbers have decreased or disappeared and were replaced by buildings.
With less rain, higher temperatures and increasing desertification, Iraq is one of the five countries most vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change in the world, according to the United Nations.
Iraq also suffers from an alarming decrease in the level of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Baghdad repeatedly accuses its neighbors Turkey and Iran of causing a reduction in the amount of water reaching its lands, especially because of their construction of dams on the two rivers, according to AFP.
