Water and Development in Iraq Rabat 17 Dec 2010
Hassan Janabi Iraq’s Ambassador to the UN Agencies in Rome
Central Marshes Irrigated Agriculture Development Phases in modern Iraq
1. Evolution as a modern state 1920s – 1970s. 2. Mismanagement , bad policies and war destruction 1980s – 2003. 3. Recovery, transition and new governance arrangements 2003- Present (still uncertain)
Phase 1. Evolution as a modern state 1920s – 1970s
. Natural river system with abundant water and fertile land. . Science - based planning & implementation of water resources development projects. . Construction of critical water control infrastructures across the country. . Agrarian Reform (not particularly successful) . Massive land reclamation projects . Turkey Countries contributing to Duhok Tigris R.
Tigris 12% Mosul 32% Erbil 48 BCM Sulaimaniya Kirkuk Iraq Turkey 56% Iran Syria Euphrates Tikrit Karkha R.
BCM 28 Baquba ايران Ramadi Baghdad
Jordan Hilla Kut Karbala Amara 3% Diwaniya 12% Najaf M.O.D Samaw
Iraq Nassirriya Marshes Turkey
85% Syria Basra
Countries contributing to Euphrates R. Saudi Arabia Kuwait
The Marshlands in Southern Iraq Tigris
Amara Barrage Hawizeh Marsh
Central Marshes Euphrates
Hammar Marsh Shatt al-Arab Phase 2. Mismanagement , bad policies and war destruction 1980s - 2003
. Extremely centralized authoritarian approach and poorly (or badly) focused programs. . Diversion of resources towards military needs. . Draining of the vast Mesopotamian wetlands. . War destruction & adaptation of fertile and water rich lands to serve military operations rather than crop production. . Declining in water resources availability due to dam constructions in neighboring countries.. Kerekaya 10 BCM Ataturk 50 BCM 1990 Kiban 31 BCM 1987 1975 Biricik 1.2 BCM 2000 Kerkamish 0.2 BCM1999
Tishreen 2 BCM 1999 Duz 3.5 BCM 1962 Tabqa 12 BCM Karun 14 BCM 1975 Kerkha 8 BCM 2006-2001 2001 (Series of dams) Dam Construction since mid 1970s Euphrates 1925 – 2005
Euphrates River Mean Monthly Discharges m3/s
Loss of 9.1 BCM /year 2400 2200 Month Ave. 1925-73 958 m3/s 2000 Month Ave 1975-05 1800 703 m3/s 1600 Annual Mean 1925-73 1400 Annual Mean 1975-05 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Water Resources changes
Euphrates River Annual Average Discharge at Iraq’s border in 30 BCM Total Annual 25 flow 2009 20 15 10 5 0 19371973-74-74 1975-2009 1999-2009 3. Recovery, transition and new governance arrangements 2003- present
• Rehabilitation, recovery and emergency intervention (lawlessness). • New Constitution (2005) with two main Articles related to water resources management, namely articles 110.8 and 114.7 (first attempt to divide power/authority). • Enormous investment opportunities (Investment Law No.13 in 2006). • Empowered Civil Society.
The Major Challenges
1. Centralization VS Decentralization/Federalism. 2. Authority & responsibility. Who is responsible for what (MWR, MMPW, Baghdad Mayoralty, KR Gov. and Governorate Councils. 3. No water-sharing agreement with riparian countries. 4. Climate change impact (prolonged drought)
The Major Challenges… Continued
1. Transformation of agriculture (i.e changing role of MoAg, water saving technolgies…etc). 2. Lack of effective framework for coordination between the three levels of government as well as horizontally (MWR, MoAg, Baghdad Mayoralty, Min of Environment). 3. Ambiguous constitutional articles (likely to change) . New measures
• Reuse of drainage water for wetlands restoration purposes Dalmaj Lake . Fresh water ecology Vs Salt water ecology
Ibn Najim Marsh Water and Development in Iraq
Thank you