And according to what the Minister of the Environment Nizar Amidi announced, Thursday, during a press conference, that the two projects will be implemented in cooperation with the World Bank, and with the support of the Fund for the Environment (GEF), which is the highest in terms of international support from the two institutions, bringing the total financial support in the form of a grant to $20 million, describing the two projects as a “quantitative leap” in reducing chemical pollution.
And about what the two projects include, Ali Al-Lami, adviser to the prime minister for environment and climate affairs, explained at the same conference that they focus on the safe environmental disposal of obsolete pesticides. in some warehouses of the Ministry of Agriculture, and the cleaning and rehabilitation of heavily polluted sites in areas liberated from the terrorist organization ISIS in 6 governorates.
Where does Iraq’s chemical pollution come from?
Iraqi environmental expert, Ayman Qaddouri, revealed to Sky News Arabia the biggest pollution outbreaks Iraq is suffering from, and what the sources and dangers are as follows:
War remnants of internationally banned destructive weapons, equipment and vehicles, perhaps the most significant of which are the remnants of the second Gulf War (1991) and are concentrated in southern Iraq. Remnants of the third Gulf War and the American invasion (2003) are concentrated in the Western Desert. What the war against ISIS produced between 2014 and 2019 in the western and northwestern governorates of Iraq. Another type of waste is that resulting from chemical pollution, which comes from stale agricultural fertilizers and rotting soil treatment materials. Chemical stores pose a hazard if they are close to water resources, and if moved there, the concentration of hazardous substances increases in water intended for human consumption. The discharge of waste water and household waste into the main rivers (Tigris and Euphrates) is also a form of chemical pollution. Gas burning associated with oil extraction is one of the most dangerous manifestations of chemical pollution, in addition to a waste of national gas wealth that would solve economic and service problems, and I m’ expect that this issue will now be the first objective of the Ministry of the Environment.
An important step
Qaddouri appreciates the recent decision of the Ministry of Environment, considering it “a step in the right direction”, especially since the Global Environment Facility (GEF) is a leading institution in the field of environmental protection. improvement of environmental services and brings together more than 180 countries that cooperate with funding and expertise to activate the role of local organizations and the private sector in this field.
According to Qadouri, “The government of Muhammad Shia’a al-Sudani has two things. The first is that it is the first government after 2003 to give such importance to the environmental issue, by including paragraphs related to the environment and climate change in the general budget, and the second is its attempt to fit into the world by adhering to climate and environmental agreements to move Iraq’s environmental and water agenda to the regional level.” and my nation.”
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