Title: Climate change and its implications on Iraq: A review

Biography:

Nasrat Adamo graduated from Al Hikma University of Baghdad, 1968 with BSc Civil Engineering and MSc degree in Irrigation and Dams Engineering from University of Southampton (UK), 1972. Since his graduation he worked at the Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources (previously Irrigation). He was the Director of several Dams projects in the planning, design and construction phases, and became the Director General of the Iraqi Dams and Reservoir Organization. He also acted as International Expert and Consultant on special assignments on dams. He has published 30 technical papers in reputed journals and one book; working on another now. He served as the Secretary of the Iraqi National Committee on Large Dams (affiliated to ICOLD) from 2000 to 2006.

Abstract

Global Climate Change has become a hot topic nowadays for the media, politicians and world organizations which have conflicting views on its extent and what to do to avoid its impacts. This paper attempts to check how real this change is and the historical evidence of its occurrence and describes its causes and what does this mean for Iraq. Iraq is located in one of the most vulnerable regions of the world and it has felt these effects in the forms of recurrent droughts, disturbed pattern of precipitation in the form of its quantity, intensity and timing, increased desertification and sand storms. This is also manifested by the diminishing of the water resources of both The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers whose catchment areas suffer the same impacts. The paper discusses also some of the performed modeling studies carried out so far to predict the future of these two rivers. The expected sea level rise is also explored and the future effects on Iraq’s Gulf shore line, its navel and land installations there and impacts on the deltaic region of southern Iraq explained. Other consequences of future climate change impacts are outlined in terms of water scarcity, farmland deterioration and migration of people with expected grave problems on the social peace. Some recommendations to mitigate and alleviate the situation are given