Table of content

Appendix 4: National Indicators Used in the Report

Indicators of PRESSURE on Biodiversity and Ecosystems

Indicator: Land Cover and Use Variables

The Iraqi Central Organization for Statistics and Information Technology maintains information on a variety of environmental sectors in Iraq including the following table representing general land use categories for Iraq.

1978 Land Utilization (University of Texas Library, 2010)	Land-cover classification of Iraq in 2005 (Schneider, C. & Martin, T., Winter 07/08).

Agricultural land use in Iraq, divided between overall, irrigated, and rain-fed agriculture, is shown in the table below.

The following data and map from WRI (2009) is available on land cover within the Tigris-Euphrates River Basin.

Tigris Euphrates River Basin Land Cover and Use Variables in the
Percent Forest Cover	1.2
Percent Grassland, Savanna and Shrubland	47.7
Percent Wetlands	2.9
Percent Cropland	25.4
Percent Irrigated Cropland	9.1
Percent Dryland Area	99.2
Percent Urban and Industrial Area	6.2
Percent Loss of Original Forest Cover	99.9
Source: WRI, 2009

Indicator: Change in land use, conversion of forest & steppe lands to other land uses (e.g. deforestation rate)

It should be noted that wide areas of Iraqi Kurdistan were intentionally deforested during the Anfal campaign by the Saddam regime, with many reports of large areas of mature oak stands cut down though little information is available on the extent of these activities.

Indicator: Fish Catch Assessments

There is an active and expanding aquaculture industry throughout Iraq based mostly on carp species and there are some fish stocking activities.

Indicator: Alien & Invasive Species

Indicator: Hunting Pressure

Indicator: Unsustainable Fishing Practices

Indicator: Desertification

The UNEP Desk Study (2003a), states that desertification is exacerbated by unsustainable agricultural practices, overgrazing, and land degradation from military movements and use of munitions. It also noted the potential for damage to the desert crust due to the movement of military vehicles and indicated that major drought conditions (experienced in 1999 and in 2008/2009) can result in extensive damage to land quality and productivity.

Iraq enacted Desertification legislation (Law No. 2) in 1983.

Desertification can also increase the number of dust storms. There are two types of dust storm events in Iraq. Haboobs are dramatic, short events that occur during the late fall to spring seasons. Shamal dust events are caused by persistent northwest winds blowing over and picking up dust from a source region (such as the lower Tigris Euphrates Basin) into the atmosphere. These events are not as sudden as the haboob, but can last up to 4 to 5 days (Moses, 2010).

Indicator: Road Building Impacts

Indicator: Mining & Resource Extraction

Indicator: Polluted & Hazardous sites

Hot Spots Sites and Oil Polluted sites throughout Iraq were both visited in 2004 with support from UNEP. Individual directorates may have visited some of these sites subsequently but from 2005 to 2009, there has been no consistent program for monitoring these sites. In 2008, MOE established a contaminated site and chemical management department, to begin monthly monitoring and oversee, in cooperation with other government ministries and the private sector, the clean-up of these sites.

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  Al Qadissiya – A destroyed small arms metal plating and annealing (metal treatment) works
  

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  Al Suwaira - A pesticides warehouse complex
  

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  Khan Dhari – A refinery chemicals warehouse;
  

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  Al Mishraq – A sulphur mining and acid complex;
  

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  Ouireej – A scrap yard containing conflict damaged military and civilian vehicles.
  

Some remediation activities have been done at two of these five high-priority sites (Al Qadissiya & Al Suwaira). Additional information from MOE on these and other polluted sites includes:

MOE initiated a new project in 2006 to plan to assess the military industries sector and other related company sites. A total of 63 sites were involved in producing different products for the military. Unfortunately, due to poor security only 20 sites were assessed. The next step in this project was to remediate one of the contaminated sites. The site (7 Nissan, Al-Nakheel \ Baghdad – Al Nahrawan) was remediatated in 2008. Hamoraby – Al Muataz and Al Muntaser / Babil Governorate) will be remediated in 2010, and there are plans to clean up several other sites in the next few years.

With the establishment of the Contaminated Sites Assessment and Chemical Management Department one of the first steps was to build a database of contaminated sites in Iraq and collect data in three steps: desk study; visual assessment; and sample collection and analysis. The data presented here represents information from the desk study.
Oil pollution

A MOE field team in cooperation with the Ministries of Oil, Agriculture, and Municipalities and Public Works, first visited polluted oil sites in 2004, with support from UNEP. Areas with significate oil pollution include:

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  Pipelines: There is a pipe network in the region that transports oil back and forth from the Northern Oil Company to the Northern Refinery Company. This area includes the main oil pipe between Iraq and Turkey (the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, which is the main outlet for Iraq’s northern oil exports). The MOE field team indicated the presence of oil pollution (from pipeline oil spills) to the Tigris River in the Makhol Mount Series; in this region there are 16 oil pipes connected between the Northern Oil Company and Northern Refinery Company through Tigris River. The MOE field team found a break on the main pipeline that transports the oil to Turkey.
  

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  Oil Refining: The MOE field team indicates a lack of efficiency in waste treatment in the Northern Refinery Company (Baiji Refinery).
  

Problems exist at the locations of oil drilling and oil wells:

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  There are 13 oil fields in Missan Governorate, three of them located in the east boundaries (Hawizeh, Faka, and Abu Garab).
  
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  Hor Al Hilfaia is a larger oil field in Missan Governorate, located in the Southeastern part of Hawizeh Marsh. There are six wells in this field.
  

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  There are many oil pipelines transporting oil from Al Shua’aba Refinery to the Khor Az Zubayr Port. The MOE field team indicated there are several oil spills along these pipelines.
  

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  Sunken Ships & Ship accidents: The MOE field team indicated there is significant pollution caused by sunken and sinking ships in the Shatt Al Arab.
  
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  Oil Refining: The MOE field team indicated lack of efficiency of waste treatment in the Basrah Refinery (Al Shua’aba).
  

The MOE Contaminated Sites Assessment and Chemical Management Department maintains a separate section that focuses on oil pollution and addresses these issues in four sectors:

1. 
   Oil and gas survey and productions
   
2. 
   Oil and gas refinery industries
   
3. 
   Oil and gas and products transport
   
4. 
   Oil and gas and products storage
   

Indicator: Land mines

In addition, regular bombardments of border villages in Iraq by both Iran and Turkey have been occurring throughout much of the last two years, creating a hazardous situation in the border regions. These bombardments and mine fields are dangerous to both humans and many large species such as near threatened leopards.

While mine fields limit human access (and thus decrease human-caused threats to biodiversity), they also lock up areas from potential biodiversity studies and make it difficult to fully characterize the species diversity of some areas.

The MOE Mines Directorate maintains a list of all minefields in Iraq with their status. The following map provides an overview of the types and locations of minefields in the country.