Azad Nanakeli returned to his Kurdish home Erbil to find all of the wells contaminated with waste and chemicals. AU is one among many art pieces on display at Iraq’s first pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Fewer canvases are overflowing with pristine landscape scenes as unsustainable building programs throughout the Middle East encroach upon this […]
Environmentalist in countries such as Iraq, Egypt and Lebanon joined 350.org’s ‘Moving Planet’ campaign to celebrate and support greener forms of transport The stifling heat of the Middle East may be one reason why people prefer to take the car rather than walk or cycle but that doesn’t mean that they don’t support the creation […]
This infographic by Carboun tells you everything you ever wanted to know about water and the Middle East but couldn’t be bothered to read Building on the blossoming debate on water and its complexities and Carboun’s first infographic on the carbon emissions from the region, comes this second infographic which aims to decode the water […]
These children in Iraq appear to be healthy, but 15% of all new babies born in Fallujah have birth defects. Green Prophet writer Arwa has been hot on the trail of the war’s devastating environmental impact on Iraq. She created a profile of environmental problems caused in part by the war and talked to conservationists […]
The world’s largest solar-powered clock in Iraq will tell time sustainably! As part of the war-torn country’s restoration plan, Baghdad University in Iraq commissioned the world’s largest solar powered clock. Designed by UK-based Smith of Derby, which has been making and servicing historic clocks for over 150 years, the Beacon Clock will be 3.5m in […]
Azzam Alwash (left), director of the environmental organisation Nature Iraq, talks with a Marsh Arab who lives in the Mesopotamian Marshlands of Iraq In the first part of this two-piece feature, Azzam Alwash the director of Nature Iraq, spoke to us about his warm memories as a child visiting the Mesopotamian Marshlands of Iraq with […]
In this two-part feature, Azzam Alwash tells us how he achieved the impossible and helped restore the Marshlands of south Iraq after its destruction under the Saddam regime Travelling through the Mesopotamian Marshlands of Iraq on a boat with his father, Azzam Alwash felt he had glimpsed a garden of Eden- a land of abundance, […]
Iraq is rife with environmental woes, as Arwa points out in her survey. And some of the most endangered animals are migratory birds: the Basra Reed Warbler (found in the southern Marshlands) and the Egyptian Vulture (found in the Kurdistan-Iraq Mountains) are especially at risk. To honor World Migratory Bird Day May 14-15 this year, […]
By 2100, at least ten billion people will devour the planet. At a recent film screening in Al Ain, one female student asked: “what’s the point of changing if nobody listens to us?” It is a powerful question and it is a powerful obstacle that becomes mute in the face of this: 10,000,000,000 (billion) people […]
Sandstorms, like any kind of air pollution, know no borders. Last Wednesday a viscous sandstorm in Iran forced schools and government offices to close. The more extreme than usual storm grounded some flights, and sent a number of people to hospital as well. According to the AFP, the Iranian media is blaming countries west of […]
Middle East NGOs must cross social, political and religious barriers to achieve long-term solutions to solve their regional complex environmental problems. While changes in political landscape across the Middle East and North Africa continue to pose immediate security and economic challenges for the region, can the environmental movement find a voice through wider political participation […]
As a new political order struggles to assert itself in the autocratic states of the Middle East novel challenges – and possibilities – emerge. In looking toward the future, social Greens throughout the region would do well to coordinate an agenda geared toward a sustainable tomorrow.
“Szzzzz, c’mon, honey; just take a little bitty bite of this delicious fruit” This question has been asked by much of Mankind ever since the dawn of the Creation: was the snake that enticed Eve and Adam to eat fruit from the Tree of Knowledge really environmentally unfriendly? And is it fair to blame the […]
The Iraqi Marshlands, which were pushed to the brink of extinction under the Saddam era, are slowly being restored to their former glory For over 7,000 years the Iraqi Marshland- also known as the Mesopotamian Marshlands- played an important role in global ecosystems by supporting rare wildlife and rich biodiversity. Located in south Iraq, the […]
What do you know about Iraq’s environmental issues? Well, if you’re anything like me surprisingly little considering its pivotal place in the Middle East I think this post was born at the moment I realised I knew so little about Iraq and it environmental concerns. I get to write a lot on all sorts of […]