The head of the Strategic Center for Human Rights in Iraq has highlighted that over the past eight years, around 100,000 individuals have been forced to flee their homes in Iraq due to the impacts of climate change.
This displacement has mainly affected several southern Iraqi provinces, with Fazel Gharawi pointing out that this figure accounts for 15 percent of the population in those areas.
Iraq is currently ranked fifth among nations facing the consequences of environmental shifts, mainly attributed to factors such as escalating temperatures, reduced rainfall, water scarcity, dust storms, and increased desertification.
These changes have significantly harmed agricultural land, leading to soil salinity and degradation in affected regions like Maysan, Basra, Ziqar, and Wasit.
Gharawi has warned that if no immediate action is taken to address these issues, more citizens in the mentioned provinces could face displacement in the future.
To combat this crisis, he has called for the swift implementation of environmental recovery projects within the next five years.
These projects aim to establish forests and natural areas in arid zones by employing techniques like artificial rainfall, with the objective of safeguarding gardens from destruction, preventing the sale of land for residential purposes, and preserving the ecosystem for future generations.
