Main page content

Water, peace and security (WPS) partnership: Iraq

Iraq is currently experiencing its second driest season in 40 years due to record low rainfall. Since the 1980s, water flows from the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, which provide up to 98% of Iraq’s surface water, have decreased by 30%. This water flow is expected to decline even further by 50% and 25% respectively by 2025. Alongside rivers, groundwater is the second most important supply of water, albeit it is being underutilized. Groundwater is expected to also decline significantly due to increased salinization.

Tigris river, Mosul, Iraq, bridge
© Levi Meir Clancy/Unsplash.com
Tigris River, Mosul, Iraq

Iraq’s overall water supply is expected to decrease by up to 60% by 2025 in comparison to 2015.  The significant decline of the country’s water supply can be attributed in part to the construction of dams, reservoirs and irrigation projects by Iraq’s upstream neighboring countries. However, water management practices within Iraq have also had a critical impact on the quantity and quality of water, subsequently resulting in various types of conflict. By addressing water challenges within its borders, Iraq has the opportunity to improve its water situation, mitigate water-related conflicts more effectively, and become more resilient against future water-related shocks.

The Water, Peace, & Security (WPS) partnership is working to turn the current vicious water-conflict cycle into a more virtuous water-peace cycle in Iraq by:

  • Developing data-driven dashboards to support stakeholders in addressing local water-security-related questions
  • Delivering training modules and workshops that focus on the different elements of the water-security nexus
  • Supporting dialogues with Iraqi stakeholders at the local, provincial and national levels

WPS is currently refining the aforementioned Webtool in order to provide information on how broader changes in the water system in southern Iraq impact the societal system and to facilitate the analysis of potential solutions. We have also constructed an Agent-Based Model to obtain insights into the mechanisms of water-related migration based on specific factors that will also show the causal relations between the water and societal systems.

This description was originally published on the Water, Peace and Security (WPS) partnership’s website. The full description can be found here.

 

Contact person and email:

info@waterpeacesecurity.org

@WaterPeaceSec

Return to the Climate for Peace homepage

Supported by the Netherlands

Type: Dialogue/advocacy, Process

Relevant action areas: 3. Climate security risk-informed resilience and adaptation; 4. Climate security risk-informed peace; 5. Knowledge and experience sharing; 6. Cooperation through dialogue

Location of project: Iraq

Duration: 2018-present

Partners: IHE Delft, World Resources Institute, Deltares, The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies, Wetlands International, International Alert

Key activities: Data-driven dashboards, stakeholder engagement, training modules, workshops on water-security nexus