GEO-6 Regional Asssement for West Asia


2.


The Iraq-Iran war


The Iraq–Iran war (1980–1988), the region’s longest war in the 20th century, which resulted in 600 000 Iranian and 400 000 Iraqi deaths (UNEP 2003) has left the Shatt al- Arab estuary and the Mesopotamian marshlands, two extremely ecologically important areas, severely mined and damaged by chemical weapons. Marshlands dried out due to construction of defensive infrastructure and causeways, while palm plantations and millions of trees around the Shatt al-Arab estuary were destroyed. Moreover, towards the end of the war, up to 4 000 Kurdish villages were devastated, leading to the displacement of their populations and the destruction of orchards and cropland (AFED 2008). Marine ecosystem degradation was intensive, especially due to the targeting of oil installations leading to the spilling of approximately 2 million barrels of oil and the destruction of more than 500 commercial vessels, which still affects marine life to date. Most of these issues have never been addressed, as among the war’s indirect impacts was the loss of functioning institutions, notably the failure of the Environment Department of the Ministry of Health to re- establish its pre-war functions (AFED 2008). In 1990, during Iraq’s occupation of Kuwait, military and civil infrastructure was bombed, damaging sewage systems, water supply plants, power stations, oil refineries, petrochemical industries and biological and chemical weapons facilities.


During the First Gulf War, up to 5 million people were forced to leave their homes, resulting in the greatest displacement of people in the shortest time period ever recorded (Arkin et al. 1991). Notably, the largest oil spill in history, known as the world’s worst ecological disaster, was caused by the release of 6–8 million barrels into the Regional Organization for the Protection of the Marine Environment (ROPME) Sea Area. A toxic micro-layer formed and temperatures dropped suddenly, affecting birds and marine life. As the ROPME Sea Area is enclosed and shallow, contaminants tend to accumulate rapidly and settle. The region also nestles among the most important habitats for marine turtles, and the life cycle of these important species was disrupted (AFED 2008; Dixon and Fitz-Gibbon 2003; Poonian 2003). A popular uprising followed the end of the war, an event which led to a


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governmental campaign to drain the second largest wetland in the region as a punishment. The scheme entailed diverting the waters away from opponents who had taken refuge in the Mesopotamian marshlands. This led to the elimination of 93 per cent of the marshlands by 2002, the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Marsh Arabs, and subsequent desertification (AFED 2008; Poonian 2003).


The invasion and occupation of Iraq by the US, which lasted almost 10 years (Dewachi et al. 2014), resulted in oil fires that suffocated people, poisoned ecosystems and led to acid rain, fallout of soot and chemical pollution (Mayell 2003). This burning released approximately 500 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, an amount which is considered to have contributed to the progression of climate change. Furthermore, marine habitats were significantly polluted by burning oil, aggravating the degradation caused by previous conflicts. Additional to the burning oil was the pollution from bombing, which reached neighbouring countries and contaminated groundwater and surface water resources. More specifically, the targeting of industrial sites, as well as armament factories, caused acute pollution episodes. These events have led to the damage of numerous freshwater ecosystems, the loss of wetlands, and to the further degradation of the Mesopotamian marshes. Although information regarding particular species is lacking, the destruction of habitats is enough to assume very high rates of biodiversity loss (Dixon and Fitz-Gibbon 2003; McLaren and Willmore 2003). Other environmental impacts include the significant increase in phytoplankton productivity in the waters at the mouth of the Tigris and Euphrates due to a rise in nutrient levels caused by raw sewage and wastewater. Moreover, large amounts of waste, garbage and toxic material were dumped and burnt in desert ecosystems (Mayell 2003). Finally, a by-product of the war has been the extremely high amounts of fuel required for planes, boats and tanks to maintain the occupation (Dixon and Fitz-Gibbon 2003).


Recently, the aggression of radical groups that began in June 2014 has further aggravated the environmental situation in Iraq. The intensive fighting near the Baiji oil refinery has caused an increase in levels of hazardous substances in


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