Iraq

From the Iran-Iraq War to the rise of Islamic State, Iraq’s environment has been deeply scarred by conflict. Now facing climate change, conflicts over water with its neighbours, high levels of industrial pollution, biodiversity loss and the serious consequences of Islamic State’s scorched earth policies, environmental issues are increasingly critical for Iraq’s sustainability and security. Read the Iraq briefing.

Publications

Report: The past, present and future of the Mesopotamian marshes

This report presents new visualisation-led perspectives on the Mesopotamian marshes, exploring the scale of the Marsh Arabs’ cultural erasure, the contemporary threats from pollution, fire, saltwater intrusion and the oil industry, and how their ecosystem services could mitigate a heating climate.

Country brief: Iraq

A brief introductory overview of the environmental dimensions of Iraq’s conflicts, with facts, figures and further reading.

Blogs

ISIL’s scorched earth policy in Iraq: options for its victims to be recognised under international law

With what has been called a ‘landmark’ resolution, the UN Security Council has established a team to investigate international crimes committed by ISIL in Iraq. Will the investigative team also seek accountability for the victims of its scorched earth policy and oil fires? On which criminal provisions could the team of experts rely to address conflict-related environmental harm?

Twitter: #Iraq

Six years after the territorial defeat of Daesh in #Iraq, agricultural communities in the Ninevah Plains have still not recovered. The #ClimateCrisis is compounding the effects of Daesh's scorched earth policy, meaning recovery must be a collaborative effort.

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