A report issued by the Strategic Center for Human Rights warned that 134 species of wild animals and aquatic organisms in Iraq are facing extinction as a result of climate change, pollution and the deterioration of natural habitats, at a time when the repercussions of drought, desertification and the decline in the levels of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers are increasing on biodiversity and food security in the country.
And threatened species are under increasing pressure from prolonged drought, rising temperatures, expanding desertification, declining water flows, and poaching of rare and migratory animals.
He pointed out that the list of threatened animals includes the rem deer, mountain antelope, Iraqi wolf, striped hyena, sand fox, wild cat, and marsh fox, as well as a number of rare birds such as the Asian Houbara, the Northern bald ibis, the white-headed duck, the Egyptian eagle, and the imperial eagle.
The report also pointed to the escalating risks facing local fish, water turtles, and millions of migratory birds that depend on the marshes of southern Iraq, which are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, and which have been greatly degraded in recent years due to drought and low water flows.
And the report stressed that Iraq is one of the countries most affected by climate change, as low rainfall rates, high temperatures, and a decline in water releases in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers exacerbated desertification and the loss of wetlands, which are a key habitat for biodiversity and agriculture.
And biodiversity loss is no longer just an environmental issue, but a direct threat to food security, the fisheries sector and livestock, as well as the livelihoods of rural populations who depend on natural ecosystems for their livelihoods.
The report called on Iraqi authorities to tighten measures to combat illegal fishing, expand nature reserves, rehabilitate marshes, increase water releases to rivers and wetlands, as well as prepare a national program to protect endangered species before their loss becomes final and irreplaceable.
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