Iraq projected to lose name ‘Mesopotamia’ due to drought

Iraq has been witnessing an acute water crisis that has caused an ongoing lean period over the past few years, especially in the southern governorates, as its two main lifelines – the Tigris and Euphrates rivers – are drying up because of the impact of climate change and the construction of several dams on the two rivers by the upstream countries.

The impact of climate change is the main factor that is able to make Iraq lose its name “Mesopotamia”, which means “between the two tributaries” in ancient Greek, for which it was famous throughout history.

“Conflicting feelings this morning. I am very sad as I witness the decline of the Tigris River, but at the same time I am happy to discover an ancient city that bears witness to the ancient Iraqi civilization… Whatever it is, what happened to the Tigris reminds us of the great danger posed by climate change, which we must confront as soon as possible! #Iraq,” Rosie Dyas, the British government’s official spokesperson for the Middle East & North Africa, wrote on Twitter.
 
Water ebbing away from the Tigris has unearthed a Bronze Age city dating back to the age of the Mitanni Empire (ca. 1550-1350 BCE) on the Tigris River basin in the village of Kemune, west of Duhok Province, said the Office of University and Science Communication at Albert-Ludwig Universität Freiburg. The office added that the drought that has hit Iraq over months, especially in the southern governorates, forced the Iraqi authorities to withdraw water from Mosul Dam for irrigating crops, and consequently, the decreased water allowed the ancient city to reemerge.

The Euphrates and Tigris originate from Turkey, and one of the Tigris’ tributaries comes from Iran. The Euphrates River rises from Turkey and goes southwards to Syria and then Iraq, while the Tigris originates from the southeastern Anatolia region in Turkey and then goes to Iraq, where it joins the Euphrates at Shatt Al-Arab River before emptying into the Arabian Gulf.  In addition to this, other tributaries of the Tigris rise from Iran. Tributaries include the Lesser Zab River, Sirwan River which feeds the Diyala River in Iraq, and Karkheh River.

The four countries sharing the Euphrates and Tigris rivers [Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran] are at a loggerhead over their shares of the rivers, as Turkey and Iran acted unilaterally to secure water for their peoples. Turkey has built Ilısu Dam on the Tigris River and intends to construct a new dam called Jazra on the river, besides other existing dams on the Euphrates like Atatürk Dam. Also, the Iraqi government has accused Iran of building dams on the Tigris and diverting the river water to drought-stricken areas. 

Lack of rain has affected the Tigris and Euphrates rivers by 73 percent, said Sami Dimas, Regional Director of the United Nations Environment Program, in a press conference held at the Ministry of Environment on March 22. He added that the decline of the two rivers’ levels led to “an imbalance in the population by 70 percent” in rural places. 

The revenues of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers received from Turkey decreased by 50%, as was stated by the Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources on May 11, 2021, the Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported. Meanwhile, water coming from Iran to the Darbandikhan Dam on Diyala River near the border was 0%.

About 7 million people in Iraq are vulnerable to losing their water needs over the coming few years if the neighboring countries' water policies do not change, said Acting Minister of Environment Jassim Al-Falahi during a workshop on the sidelines of the 2nd Baghdad International Water Conference on March 30, 2020.

Turkey is planning to establish the new Jazra Dam on the Tigris River, which “imposes a danger because it will retain Iraq’s small share of water if it is implemented without the agreement between the Turkish and Iraqi sides,” Khadem Sahar, Director of the General Authority for Dams and Reservoirs at the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture, told the Iraq Media Network on November 17, 2021.

The situation of water stress in Iraq would be escalated as both Turkey and Iran will continue in their water policies to secure water to their populations and to develop industrial and agricultural projects, Diaa El-Din El-Qussy, a water expert and advisor to the former Egyptian Minister of Irrigation, told Jussor Post on Sunday.

He ruled out using the military option by Iraq in case the situation worsened, saying “the military option is not to be thought of, because Iraq is weaker than Turkey and Iran militarily. So, the only option for Iraq is resorting to international laws and diplomatic ways.”

Abbas Sheraqi, professor of geology and water resources at Cairo University, said that the main reason behind the water shortage in Iraq is the construction of the Turkish dams, as Ankara has started building more than 20 dams on the banks of the two rivers, adding that Turkey has vast arable land that could consume huge amounts of water from the two rivers.

“This is an aggression on Syria and Iraq, and if Iraq had a strong army, Turkey would not have dared to build dams,” he said.