Iraq unveils integrated project to stop desertification
Desertification in Iraq. Photo: Iraq-Business News
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi government revealed on Saturday an integrated project to stop desertification in the country, according to the Iraqi news Agency (INA).
Director of the Department of Forestry and Desertification in the Ministry of Agriculture, Rawiya Al-Azawi, said that the ministry will launch an afforestation campaign in several sites in the country.
Al-Azawi clarified that the ministry started last month a sand dune stabilization project on the international highway linking the governorates of Dhi Qar, Muthanna and Diwaniyah, by covering sand dunes with mud in order to confront dust storms.
Al-Azawi indicated that the next stage will witness biological stabilization works, afforestation, and provision of water sources to irrigate plants.
“The aim of the project is to reduce the negative impacts of dust storms that recently became common in Iraq,” Al-Azawi mentioned.
The project will be integrated to prevent desertification and dust storms hitting in the country, Al-Azawi added.
The Iraqi Meteorological Organization and Seismology confirms that the lack of vegetation cover and the encroachment of sand dunes into green areas as a result of drought are among the important reasons for the increased dust storms in Iraq this year.