The Kurdistan Region needs to take into consideration the establishment of a specialized court which could deal with the violations on the environment and enforce the law to preserve the homeland for generations to come, said Abdul Rahman Siddiq, head of Board of Environmental Protection and Improvement.
Siddiq explained in an exclusive interview with BasNews that raising the public awareness is key to protect the Kurdistan Region’s environment. He also touched on the water crisis which is looming now to threaten the near future of Kurdistan, Iraq, and the neighboring nations.
[Below is the transcript of the interview which was edited for clarity]
BasNews: Air pollution, dust storms, and temperature have significantly increased this year in the Kurdistan Region. Are these due to draught only?
Siddiq: Climate change is affecting the world entirely but differently. In some areas we see flash flood while other areas suffer from draught, high temperature, dust storms, etc. Draught is just one consequence of climate change. Our region generally suffers from draught once in a decade, but there has almost never been a plan to limit the disastrous impacts.
This year, local administrations in various areas of Kurdistan confirmed the draught which led us to form a task force to react to the situation. Together with the ministry of agriculture, governors, and local officials we set a plan to survive this year’s draught with minimum damage.
It is important for us to acknowledge climate change as a global crisis and fulfill our responsibilities towards our planet.
BasNews: Iraq and the Kurdistan Region are experiencing extremely and growing temperature during summer season every year. Many people believe life could be difficult in this part of the world in the next few decades. Have you investigated this issue?
Siddiq: The world, as a whole, is going through this issue and we will suffer the consequences collectively if necessary actions are not taken. The 9th cabinet of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is committed to raise awareness on this issue as it believes climate change does not recognize political borders.
Our board is also working to attract the attention of policy makers in the Kurdistan Region towards the environmental crisis, so that we will be able to provide the legal grounds which would make the people committed to preservation of the environment they live in.
We are also working with the relevant authorities to reconsider the design of urban areas so that we will be able to protect our energy sources and the water security while the population growth rate and intensity of the urban areas are kept under control.
We have taken several steps in the past year, including the reactivation of the Council of Environmental Protection and Improvement, establishing a constant contact line with the ministries and authorities relevant to environment issues, formation of a special board for the environment NGOs in every province, and demanding the establishment of a special court or a department at Kurdistan Region courts that could deal with the environmental violations.
BasNews: Landfill or dumping ground is another deteriorating issue. Have you conducted any research to design a plan for preventing soil contamination?
Siddiq: Waste is categorized as household hazardous waste, industrial waste, agricultural waste, and construction waste. One of the best strategies to effectively deal with this issue, is to recycle the waste. For this purpose we have urged the ministry of municipality to take swift actions to increase the number of recycling factories which will well contribute to the protection of Kurdistan environment while they will become a production line for materials.
BasNews: The oil refineries across the Kurdistan Region are often blamed for air pollution which has reportedly led to an increase in the cancer rate. What have you done to address this?
Siddiq: There are tens of illegal refineries operating in the Kurdistan Region which are not under the supervision of the relevant authorities and they greatly pollute our environment. Some other refineries have official operation license, but they have not adapted to new technologies to limit the environmental impact.
To address this issue, new and modernized refineries should be established, the government should oblige oil companies to follow the guidelines, and green areas should be expanded. Meanwhile, it is important that the environment protection department is active at the Ministry of Natural Resources.
BasNews: What is government’s plan to contain the environment pollution?
Siddiq: The agenda of the 9th cabinet of the KRG defines Kurdistan environment as “the main national asset”. We are working with international institutions to preserve our environment through different plans, including switching to clean energy and recycling factories, expanding greenery in urban and rural areas, reconsidering the masterplans of the cities and many other initiatives.