24 May 2022

Basra Forum: Discussing Climate Security in South Iraq

The effects of climate change and water insecurity remain pressing issues – not only for Iraqis’ daily lives, but also for the country’s security. On 12 May 2022, PSI held its second climate-security dialogue in Basra, southern Iraq, in collaboration with Ozon for Sustainability, a local non-governmental organization. This event, titled “Fostering Climate Security and Environmental Cooperation in South Iraq”, convened over 80 local practitioners, academics and journalists. Participants gathered against the backdrop of catastrophic sandstorms hitting the country, which suffers from increasingly arid land.

The discussions in Arabic focused on the topics of climate change-exacerbated water pollution and saltwater intrusion and their impacts on security and the stability of local communities, dividing the afternoon into two expert panel discussions. The subsequent Q&As sparked widespread participation throughout the audience. Overall, there was an increased focus on the conflict dimension of environmental phenomena as compared to last year’s dialogue which covered water stress, desertification and climate change impacts on security.

The occasion marked the official launch of the Basra Forum for Climate, Environment and Security (BF), a local network to foster dialogue and collaboration among Iraqi civil society, governmental institutions, non-governmental organisations, academia, and other relevant actors working in the field of climate change and environmental degradation. 

Shaping local responses to climate change impacts

The event was opened with a speech by Dr. Dergham Al Ajwadi, Deputy to the Governor of Basra. Deploring the absence of a local strategy to tackle climate change effects, he expressed hope that the event would aid in developing a local response to climate change impacts, which present a dramatically increasing challenge to the province.

Rochus Pronk, The Netherlands Deputy Ambassador to Iraq, drew attention on the need for cooperation not only locally but nation-wide, with neighboring countries and the international community. He further highlighted the close cooperation between the Netherlands and Iraq in combatting climate change.

Louise van Schaik, Head of the EU & Global Affairs Unit at the Clingendael Institute emphasized the importance of the local format of the event. While most events discuss climate-related security risks in English and from a predominantly Western view, PSI’s effort is to shift the focus on what matters to Basra and the people living in the South of Iraq. She also announced the launch of the Basra Forum for Climate, Environment and Security, participation in which was again encouraged by Maha Yassin, PSI research fellow and host of the event.

 

 “Talking about this topic is painful” - Water pollution in southern Iraq

The first panel about climate change-exacerbated water pollution and its impact on security featured researchers from the University of Basra, a regional official and an activist. The panel highlighted that the issue has only recently started to receive attention from the government, yet action to protect Basra’s water resources would have to be sped up and water storage systems updated as soon as possible. The strong correlation between decreasing water levels and rising conflict risk was also emphasized, with mention of many tribal conflicts being rooted in water shortage.

“The future of the Shatt al Arab is very dark”, a panel member said. The speakers agreed that water pollution is a central problem, with oil companies often being responsible for violations. Additionally, decreasing water levels turning rivers into sewage canals was mentioned as a major issue. The panel highlighted the need for data collection on the water inflow to Basra and accounting for the needs of citizens, in addition to industrial needs.

“Following current trajectories will lead to catastrophe” - Salination as a threat to public health and wellbeing

The second panel, made up of researchers and officials, discussed the issue of saltwater intrusion and its impact on security and livelihoods of local communities.

The panel highlighted that recent studies found increased levels of salinity in the Shatt al Arab, which are detrimental to public health and wellbeing, for example by destroying habitats of fish. “Following current trajectories and policies will lead to catastrophe”, a panel member said, stating the need for the water of Shatt al Arab being treated.

Speakers also connected increasing salinity to security risks, with effects especially hitting already fragile farming communities, leading to a rise in conflict potential. As in the first panel, pressure on urban areas through domestic migration was mentioned.

Carrying on climate-security action in southern Iraq

The panels provoked active engagement on behalf of the audience, which posed a number of questions and called for solutions such as imposing laws against environmental- and water pollution, and national and local security bodies treating climate change as a terrorist threat. Overall, there was a high level of participation in the event and a greater understanding and openness for the climate-security link and its political challenges. The dialogue set an incentive for participation in the Basra Forum and a spirit of deeply needed climate action in the region. In a subsequent meeting in Bagdhad later this month, the issues discussed in the climate-security dialogue in Basra will be addressed at a federal level to bridge the gap between local and national political stakeholders.  

Photo credit: Planetary Security Initiative