Table of content
|
|  Yüklə 13.41 Mb.
|
ConclusionsIraq is a very recent Party to the Convention (2009), therefore although the new born Republic is showing a strong interest and commitment towards environmental issues and related international agreements, many challenges and environmental emergencies still need to be addressed. The creation of the Ministry of Environment in 2003, was a first step in recognizing an urgent need for action that would not only address specific damage to the environment like pollution, deforestation, and desertification, but would try to embrace a more global vision of the environment, comprising ecosystems, their functions and services, and the human society depending on them. In this perspective the Iraqi government and the MOE have recognized in the Convention on Biological Diversity a most suitable tool to globally protect the environment at various levels of action. Nevertheless, the overall assessment of CBD implementation in Iraq is still poor and influenced in most cases by a lack of historical and current data as well as a lack of institutional capacity, cooperation, and coordination. In particular, with reference to the progress towards the achievement of the 2010 Target and of the Strategic Plan of the Convention as from the Tables above, we can summarize as follows:
Out of 11 Goals and 21 targets set, Iraq shows five (5) to be improving, four (4) to be worsening, three (3) where no significant changes have been recorded, and nine (9) cases in which not enough information is available to make an evaluation. The main areas in which achievements have been reached include: Target 1.1 (at least 10% of each of the world's ecological regions effectively conserved) and Target 1.2 (areas of particular importance to biodiversity protected) will be met if the marshland area of Hawizeh and the Central Marshes achieve effective protection and if current plans to implement the Ramsar Site Management Plan and the National Park are put into place. These two areas together form the 9.6% of the global ecological region “Tigris and Euphrates alluvial salt marsh”. In Iraq, 88 Key Biodiversity Areas have been identified; unfortunately not all of them have been surveyed due to lack of funds, capacity, and security concerns. In regards to Target 6.2 (management plans in place for major alien species that threaten ecosystems, habitats or species), a management plan for Water Hyacinth has been drafted and approved, showing that the problem of Invasive Alien Species (IAS) is recognized and, where possible, addressed. For Target 7.2 (Reduce pollution and its impacts on biodiversity), some polluted sites have been cleaned up and some laws and orders to stop dumping waste in the rivers have been enacted as well as mandates to treat sewage waters. In the case of Target 11.2 (technology is transferred to developing country Parties, to allow for the effective implementation of their commitments under the Convention, in accordance with its Article 20, paragraph 4), Iraq will need consistent transfers of technology from Parties, especially related to pollution remediation. Overall, some improvements have been registered through the activities carried on by NI and the New Eden Group in cooperation with the MOE, particularly with the monitoring and analysis of data of the marshes and KBA sites. Areas in which, on the contrary, very little progress has been made are as follows: For Target 2.2 (Status of threatened species improved), very little information is available on the status of endemic and/or threatened species, but some figures taken from other international sources (e.g. the CITES Convention) are reporting alarming numbers of species in trade whose control is completely absent. In the case of Target 4.2 (unsustainable consumption, of biological resources, or that impacts upon biodiversity, reduced), the achievements in this field are very poor and Iraq still relies on unsustainable natural resource extractions such as electro-fishing and intensive production techniques that make large use of pesticides and chemicals. For Target 4.3 (no species of wild flora or fauna endangered by international trade), nothing has been achieved in this field, as already mentioned for Target 2.2. And for Target 6.1 (pathways for major potential alien invasive species controlled), there are no border controls for checking the entrance of IAS, and there is no list of IAS that are dangerous for Iraqi ecosystems or legislation to prohibit their introduction into the country.
Out of four (4) main goals and 19 sub-goals, we have three (3) sub-goals in which some improvement has been achieved, three (3) sub-goals in which a worsening of the situation has been registered, four (4) sub-goals in which no significant changes have been recorded, four (4) sub-goals in which not enough information is available to make an evaluation, and five (5) sub-goals in which the targets set were considered not relevant to the Iraqi situation at this time. In terms of Goal 1.6 (Parties are collaborating at the regional and sub-regional levels to implement the Convention), Iraq has registered some improvement and some efforts have been made to collaborate at the regional and sub-regional level. Important activities to improve further progress toward this goal will include broad participation of organizations at regional meetings and workshops. Goal 2.1 (all Parties have adequate capacity for implementation of priority actions in national biodiversity strategy and action plans), has not been achieved in Iraq but some important improvements have been achieved thanks to the activities of NI. Improvements are also expected with the forthcoming organization of trainings and workshops in collaboration with the CBD Secretariat. For Goal 2.5 (technical and scientific cooperation is making a significant contribution to building capacity), various initiatives carried out by NI, the New Eden Group, the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, UNEP, and others have significantly contributed to build capacity in biodiversity issues. This can be regarded as an improvement. Other areas of action and goals for which progress or improvement is lacking are as follows. Progress towards Goal 3.1 (every Party has effective national strategies, plans and programmes in place to provide a national framework for implementing the three objectives of the Convention and to set clear national priorities), is still lacking. The main national priorities and goals are defined in this report, but there is no national plan or coordination to implement the Convention at this time. There has been no improvement to achieve Goal 3.3 (biodiversity concerns are being integrated into relevant national sectoral and cross-sectoral plans, programmes and policies). The idea of integrating biodiversity issues in all relevant sectors is something completely new for the institutional structure of Iraq and it will pose significant challenges to achieve. For Goal 3.4 (the priorities in national biodiversity strategies and action plans are being actively implemented, as a means to achieve national implementation of the Convention, and as a significant contribution towards the global biodiversity agenda), no strategy or plans exist therefore they are not actively implemented. The few existing actions to protect biodiversity do not yet fit into a coherent national strategy and prioritized scheme. It is worth noting that the overall assessment carried out in the two tables above shows a great number of goals and targets that cannot be properly evaluated because no information is available. This problem is partially due to a lack of data and to the difficulties of collecting data in the field but are also the result to the lack of communication and cooperation between the involved stakeholders.
The main challenges for Iraq to implement the Convention are: lack of institutional capacity and coordination; lack of effective and ad hoc legislation to address environmental emergencies and needs; lack of legislation implementation and enforcement; lack of environmental monitoring and control; lack of scientific capacity; lack of communication and involvement of local people and rural communities; lack of resource allocation planning; and security constraints.
The future priorities for Iraq are to meet the main challenges to the implementation of the Convention as defined above. These largely correspond to the tentative general objectives of the NBSAP, as illustrated in Chapter II (paragraph II.3.1) and from the table above (under Goal 3.1). The most important achievement that has to be set as an absolute priority for the Iraqi process towards biodiversity protection, however, is a radical change of mind in the stakeholders at all levels of engagement towards nature, ecosystems, resources, and species. Only with a different attitude towards nature and a full understanding of its immense value and importance to the country will effective protection and conservation be achieved. |