The Mirage of a Fertile Crescent in Mesopotamia

The Middle East soil is fertile; for violence, tension, and confrontations, it has been a productive land, but its fame roots elsewhere at the heart of history. The Mesopotamia and Mediterranean region have been plauded as the epicenter of the formation of civilization due to the water resources, fertile soil and geo-strategic zone in which it is located connecting the whole world together. With the introduction of hydrocarbons as the main source of energy in recent centuries, a further message was sent to the world; the Middle East is the heart of the world.

Located at the center of the region, Iraq has been enjoying the fertile soil and magnificent climatic condition. The third millennium, nevertheless, started to show the unbecoming side of history to the nation, starting with an invasion, by the United States, and continuing with the propagation of extremism culminating in the emergence and of ISIS during the 2010s. Iraqi nation had a hard time passing through the horrendous era, with the political and societal crisis still devastating various facets of Iraqi lived experience. In the meantime, the advent of a deeper challenge further impacting the living condition looms large in the country.

Environmental issues are not fresh concerns for the Iraqi nation, but during the recent years, a series of complementary factors set the scene for deterioration of the condition. While hydrocarbons have been the main source of the development and growth in the region, they have turned out to be the Achilles heel of the long-term sustainable development for the nations. The Middle East is one of the main global sources on greenhouse gases emission largely emanating from the extraction of oil and industries affiliated with it. The ensuing climate change, that according to analysts has hit the Middle East more than other regions in the world, has led to multiple environmental implications for Iraq.

The Euphrates and Tigris Rivers, traditional knowns as the birthplace of civilization, have had their blueprints in the productivity of the soil and life of the people in Iraq. The climate change and a series of water policies by neighbors like Iran and Turkey, has put both rivers at stake. In less than three decades, the country will have to endure a one-fifth cut in water resources, largely constraining the agriculture. The naked reality of the drought has already had its slap on the face of a large group of farmers who had to forsake their ancestral job due to drought and water shortages. Others still try to resist by spending large sums of money in return for small and limited supply of water.

A collected study by multiple research and aid groups in 2021 revealed that over 400 square kilometers of the fertile lands in Iraq are exposed to parchedness and drought. The decreasing level of water have other implications like food shortage and salinity of the remaining water resources. The former may give rise to a fresh national crisis leading to further economic stress and societal challenges. In 2022, the World Bank notified Iraq about the climate change’s deteriorative impact on the economy, well-being and employment of the people. It is evident that more vulnerable people are at the forefront of the social groups harmed by the detrimental impacts of the fresh condition.

The recent heat waves and an ongoing process of rise in temperature has also hit the Iraqi dams whose reservoir of water have been diminishing on a yearly basis. Besides agriculture, it will constrain the electricity powerhouses which are largely reliant on dams’ water level. During the hot summers of Iraq, with a regular temperature of over 123 °F (51 °C), the electricity shortage and blackouts means air-conditioning houses and offices may prove impossible. Wealthier groups have turned to the power generators to fill the void, a facility that most people have no access to.

Missing their chances of having access to clean water for farming and daily use and other welfare amenities, migration from rural areas to cities has accelerated during the recent years. Besides giving rise to the food shortages, the flow of populations to the already dense cities may lead to further unemployment, poverty, and the expansion of social crimes. Record low rainfall, besides increasing temperature, will hit the life of millions in the country in the near future. The habitability of some major regions in Iraq is indeterminate for most experts and scientists working on the issue.

In the meantime, Iraq also suffers a mismanagement in controlling and containing the utilization of water by farmers and big industries. Apart from a failure to provide adequate instructions and a coherent ruling system, the irrigation systems in the country are too old and outdated, consuming double water resources to water the farms, to comply with the necessities and requirements of the new condition. Indiscriminate and uncontrolled extraction of underground water sources has put both the soil and water resources at stake. Water pollution has been the immediate outcome with the people experiencing contaminated water in major and various spots in Iraq. In 2018, over 100 thousand people have been treated in hospitals with symptoms of the use of polluted water.

Recent data analysis has documented the popular belief that drought and increased temperature are not rare or happening based on yearly rain fall and climatic occurrences. A yearly analysis of rainfall in Iraq, ending in 2022, revealed a record low in 40 years, severely harming the agriculture and the water resources of both Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Data shows a consistent trend in Iraq and across the wider Middle East, further concerning the already stressed-out inhabitants in more vulnerable regions.

Far from local displacements, further severity of condition for inhabitants may lead to a migration to other countries in quest for better living condition. The move could in turn lead to fresh challenges for the people migrating and for the nations having to host these groups. A series of comprehensive scientific studies, along with instruction, management and modernization of the consumption of water resources may be the first steps that should be taken to contain an imminent catastrophe in Iraq.