Climate Threat Global Challenges

Experts See Tigris Water Agreement as Propaganda

The Iraqi government has long tried to pressure neighboring Turkey to release more water from its large dams in the Tigris River, writes The Guardian. The background is that the water level in the Tigris River has dropped significantly in recent decades. In 30 years, the volume of water reaching Baghdad has decreased by 33 percent.

As part of the work, Turkey and Iraq signed an agreement in November to reduce pollution and increase water levels. But the agreement is being criticized by climate activists, experts and the public. The criticism is, among other things, that few details of the agreement are known and that it is not binding.

- There is no actual agreement right now, says Mohsen al-Shammari, Iraq's former minister of water resources.

He calls the agreement "election propaganda" and points out that it was signed just nine days before Iraq went to the polls.

Tigris on the verge of drying up: “No water, no life”

The Tigris River in Iraq is heavily polluted and is at risk of drying up, threatening both the environment and the lives of the people living along the river, writes The Guardian.

The condition of the river has deteriorated in recent decades. Among other things, as a result of conflicts and lack of investment, which have led to large amounts of toxic waste and sewage being released into the water.

The situation is also being worsened by climate change and by Turkey building large dams that have meant that less water has reached the Iraqi part of the river.

For the Mandaean people, who have lived on the Tigris River in southern Iraq for thousands of years, a dried-up river could mean they have to move.

"No water, no life," says religious leader Sheikh Nidham to The Guardian.