Geography

Iraq is a West Asian country bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, Kuwait to the southeast, Saudi Arabia to the south, Jordan to the southwest, and Syria to the west. Iraq lies between latitudes 29° and 38° N, and longitudes 39° and 49°E (a small portion of Iraq lies west of 39°). With a total area of 437,072 Sq.Km. Iraq can be divided into four physiographic regions based on its topography: the alluvial plains of the central and south-eastern parts of the country; Al-Jaz'rah (the area in the north between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers); deserts in the west and south; and the mountains in the northeast. All these regions extend into neighboring countries, although the alluvial plains lie mainly within Iraq. The north of the country is mostly composed of mountains. Iraq has a small coastline measuring 58 Km along the Arabian Gulf.

Population and land use

The population of Iraq was about 39 Million in mid-2019 according to the Population Reference Bureau. Iraq ranks 36^th among the most populous countries in the world. The density of the population of Iraq is 93 inhabitants per Sq.Km. The population of Iraq represents 0.52% of the world population. Iraq is home to diverse ethnic groups, most of them Arabs and Kurds. Of the total area of Iraq, 434,128 Sq.Km. is the land area of which 94,000 Sq.Km is agricultural land and 8,250 Sq.Km is the forest land according to 2016 estimates of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

 

Climate and rainfall

Most of Iraq has a hot arid climate. Summer temperatures average above 40°C and often exceed 48°C. Winter temperatures sometimes exceed 21°C with maximum temperatures of roughly 15 to 19°C and night-time temperatures dipping from 2 to 5°C. The precipitation level is low, and most places in the south and middle of Iraq receive less than 250 mm annually. Iraq has two climatic zones—the hot, arid lowlands, including the alluvial plains and the deserts; and the northeast, where the higher elevation experiences cooler temperatures. The northern mountainous regions have cold winters with occasional heavy snows, sometimes causing avalanche. Maximum rainfall occurs during the winter months. Rainfall during the summer months is rare, except in the far north of the country.

Food and agriculture

Iraq’s economy was based almost exclusively on agriculture until the 1950s. In the decades that followed, Iraq’s abundant oil reserves overtook agriculture as the number one contributor to the GDP of Iraq. About one-sixth of Iraq’s total area is arable (7 Mha), and another one-tenth is permanent pasture. A large proportion of the arable land is in the north and northeast, where rain-fed irrigation dominates and is sufficient to cultivate winter crops, mainly wheat and barley. The remainder is in the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates, where approximately half of Iraq’s arable land is irrigated throughout the year. The main crops are barley, wheat, rice, cotton, corn (maize), millet, sugarcane, sugar beets, oilseeds, tobacco, fodder, vegetables and fruits. Yields vary considerably from year to year, especially in areas of rain-fed cultivation. Iraq was once the world’s largest producer of dates but has slipped to the 7^th position after the gulf war.

Irrigation and drainage

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Iraq completed a large-scale project that connected the Tigris and Euphrates. A canal emerges from the Tigris near S'marr' and continues southwest to Lake Al-Tharth'r, and another canal extends from the lake to the Euphrates near Al-Habb'niyyah. This connection is crucial because, in years of drought, the river level is shallow. The total irrigation potential of Iraq was estimated at 63% in the Tigris basin, 35% in the Euphrates basin, and two percent in the Shatt Al-Arab basin. Over 80% of water for irrigation comes from river diversion. The rest of the water comes from water lifted from rivers using irrigation pumps, wells, and springs. Irrigation is used in the summer for rice, corn, dates, vegetables, and fruits grown primarily in central and southern Iraq. Wheat and barley are the main irrigated winter crops. The agriculture sector consumes about 85% of the water in Iraq. The area under irrigation in the country is 3.55 Mha. Ministry of Water Resources is seeking to modernize its transport water network to the irrigated fields, but this always depends on adequate funding, and involving the local farmers in the management of irrigation operations administration through encouragement to establishing the water users’ associations. It is worth to mentioning that the Ministry of Water Resources does not get any Irrigation water use charges from farmers who beneficiaries from the water quotas.

 

Water resources management

Iraq is drained by the Tigris-Euphrates river systems, although less than half of the Tigris-Euphrates basin lies in the country. Both rivers originate in the Armenian mountains of Turkey, where they are fed by melting winter snow. The Tigris flows 1,417 km and the Euphrates 1,212 km through Iraq before their confluence near Al-Qurnah to form the Shatt al-’Arab, which flows another 109 km into the Arabian Gulf. The period of maximum flow of the Tigris is from March to May. The Euphrates, whose flow is roughly 50% greater than that of the Tigris, has no large tributaries in Iraq. The general orientation is to increase the number of waters harvesting dams and provide funding for these projects as well as sustain the existing water reservoirs.

 

Water sharing agreements

In 1987, Syria and Turkey signed a Protocol, which is an interim agreement on water quantity. The agreement lays down that an annually 16 BCM (500m³/s) is to be released at the Syrian-Turkish border. In 1989, Iraq and Syria signed a joint minute of meeting, which allocates the water of the Euphrates River according to a fixed ratio of 42% to Syria and 58% to Iraq. Turkey unilaterally promised to secure an annual minimum flow at its border with Syria.

ICID and National Committee

Iraq became a member of the ICID in 2006 and formed Iraq’s National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (IRQCID). Mr. Kadhim Mohsin Ahmed was the Vice President of ICID from 2013 to 2016. Currently, Mr. Hussein Abdulameer Baga is the President of IRQCID and can be contacted at icid_iraq@yahoo.com