How does Iraq face pollution lists? – Moj Iyad
On the outskirts of the Iraqi capital, where the land was once overflowing with greenery and breathing with the rhythm of the seasons, today a fifty-year-old woman stands staring at soil that has lost its color, saying in a low voice, “We tried, but the land does not yield a crop.” This testimony is only an entry into a broader story that goes beyond an individual experience to reveal a complex environmental crisis that strikes deep into the Iraqi countryside and puts agricultural workers in direct confrontation with pollution and scarcity of resources. Pollution in Iraq is no longer an emergency event or a passing phenomenon, but rather has turned into A daily reality with multiple sources. In addition to emissions from oil activities, irregular waste incinerators are widespread, waste is piled up in open spaces, while polluted water seeps into the fields. In this scene, the land is no longer the only victim, but everyone who depends on it to live.
A crisis that is expanding in numbers
Data from the Central Bureau of Statistics reveal a sharp decline in irrigated agricultural areas, as they decreased from about 2.5 million dunums to approximately 1.5 million dunums by 2024. The data indicate that this decline is not only linked to water scarcity, but also to the deterioration of soil quality due to pollution and high salinity.
In 2026, only 46 percent of arable land is actually exploited, which means that more than half of the productive lands are out of service. In parallel, data from the Ministry of Planning warns that desertification threatens about 96.5 million dunums of land, including more than 40 million dunums that are actually desertified. It explains that this deterioration results from the intersection of pollution factors, mismanagement of water, and drought, which leads to the land gradually losing its productive capacity. These numbers do not mean It is only a loss in agricultural production, but rather reflects a profound transformation in the structure of the countryside, where job opportunities are shrinking and sources of income are eroding, especially for women, who constitute about 23 percent of the agricultural workforce, according to the updated national contributions report for Iraq for the year 2026 submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which confirms that climate change and pollution together are pushing agriculture towards decline and threatening livelihoods in rural areas.
The water is beginning to collapse
Large agricultural areas north of Baghdad, such as Taji, depend on the water of the Tigris River, which is managed through a water system that starts from the Samarra Dam. However, the decline in river levels in recent years has led to a decline in water supplies, forcing farmers to resort to groundwater. However, this alternative was not safe, as the water extracted from wells often contains high percentages of salts and minerals, which is indicated by reports from the Food and Agriculture Organization, which confirm that more than 60 percent of agricultural lands in central and southern Iraq are suffering. From high salinity as a result of the use of water that is not suitable for irrigation, which leads to the deterioration of the soil and a continuous decline in its productivity, and with the absence of sufficient surface sources to compensate for this deficiency, agricultural lands enter a cycle of deterioration that is difficult to break, as salts accumulate and the soil loses its ability to produce. In southern Baghdad, the loss is no longer limited to crops, as field testimonies indicate a decline in the productivity of livestock, with cases of poor reproduction recorded in cows, in addition to the spread of skin diseases among the population as a result of the use of polluted water.
This double deterioration in agriculture and livestock raising strikes the rural home economy to the core, as families depend almost entirely on these resources to secure their daily needs. The United Nations Environment Program also warns that pollution in Iraq is no longer limited to a single source, but rather is a complex pollution that moves from the air to water, then to the soil, and then to food, which increases the magnitude of both health and economic losses. With the decline in production, families are forced to rely on the market to secure food after they were self-sufficient, which increases the economic burden in an environment that already suffers from… Limited opportunities.
Fetal abnormalities in the marshes
Environmental activist Mortada Al-Janoubi says that villages near the oil fields, including the areas adjacent to the Hawizeh Marsh and the Halfaya field, are exposed to continuous emissions from gas flares and oil residues covering the atmosphere. Al-Janoubi explains that during field work to document the environmental reality, cases of abnormal births were monitored in homes that were only hundreds of meters away from the fields. Al-Janoubi points out that pollution does not stop at birth control, but rather extends to respiratory and cancerous diseases, in addition to effects on the soil and crops in the villages surrounding the marshes, where oil fields are expanding. Local communities are exposed to continuous emissions from gas flares, and with the absence of adequate control, these areas turn into high-risk environments, especially for women who spend long hours in the open air. Ministry of Environment spokesman Luay Al-Mukhtar spoke about a comprehensive strategy to confront water scarcity and climate change, stressing that the environmental crisis affects “human existence and growth.” “The Economic,” and that the government is moving forward with plans to reduce emissions and improve agricultural sustainability. Al-Mukhtar indicates that there are plans to address emissions and improve the management of water resources in Iraq.
On the part of the Ministry of Agriculture, Minister Abbas Jabr Al-Alawi acknowledged that climate change causes the loss of large areas of agricultural land annually, and that the state is moving to adopt modern irrigation techniques and smart agriculture to meet the challenges.
A future at stake
Data from the Ministry of Planning indicate that more than 55 percent of Iraq’s area is vulnerable to desertification, while large areas have already turned into unsuitable for agriculture. As this trend continues, fears of loss of food security and expansion of poverty are increasing.
But behind these indicators stands a deeper human story: women who wake up before dawn, work in harsh conditions, and face the gradual loss of everything they have relied on in their lives.
In Iraq, the crisis is no longer just a decline in production or an environmental defect, but rather it has turned into an existential question. When the land abandons its owners, how can those who lived on it redefine their lives?
