Environmental risks in Iraq
Iraq’s environment has been subject to pressures from population growth, war, climate change, poor land use planning
Abstract
Iraq’s environment has been subject to a number of converging pressures stemming from population growth, the impact of 3 wars, climate change, poor land use planning, and encroachment on fragile ecosystems. Iraq faces serious environmental problems, ranging from poor water quality, soil salinity, air pollution, and conflict pollution to the deterioration of key ecosystems, climate change impacts and threat of water shortages. This review has used a mixture of peer reviewed and grey literature. The strength of evidence in relation to environmental risks in Iraq is mixed, as there is a lack of reliable data and some areas have been more researched than others.
K4D helpdesk reports provide summaries of current research, evidence and lessons learned. This report was commissioned by the UK Department for International Development.
Citation
Price, R.A. (2018) Environmental risks in Iraq, K4D Helpdesk Report. Brighton, UK: Institute of Development Studies
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