Drought urges Syria, Iraq to cooperate against Turkish geopolitics
DAMASCUS (North Press) – Advisor to the Iraqi Minister of Water Resources, Aoun Diab, necessitated on Sunday that Syria and Iraq need to unify their stances regarding Tigris and Euphrates rivers, warning against the continuation of the four-year environmental disaster in the two countries.
The water scarcity Syria and Iraq suffer from comes in tandem with a drought caused by extremely low rainfalls, and the low water levels of Tigris and Euphrates, caused by the drought that has swept the region for the last couple of years, impinges upon agriculture, livestock and hygiene sectors.
Diab told North Press that there are extensive meetings between Water Resources ministries in both countries.
Dual cooperation to stand up to crisis
On September 17, the 9th session of the joint dual meeting on the International Hydrological Programme (IHP) of UNESCO was concluded in Damascus.
The session was attended by Tammam Raad Minister for Water Resources of Syria and his Iraqi counterpart Mahdi Rashid al-Hamdani.
The two sides, at the time, agreed to continue joint work and cooperation, and to unite to get their water rights amid low flows of water and climate changes.
Diab said there is effective cooperation between the two countries, adding that researches and studies would continue until they reach an effective formula to alleviate the damage and conserve water.
He revealed Syrian-Iraqi intention to hold a meeting in Baghdad to discuss the water-related issues, notably that of the Euphrates river.
He said, “The aim of meetings is to discuss water conservation amid the drought, sweeping the region that affected Iraq immensely especially in the south and Iraqi Marshes.”
As for Syria, the low water levels have reached unprecedented records, causing diseases such as cholera, said a UN report published on September 12.
The UN attributed the reason behind the cholera outbreak in Syria to “severe shortages of water,” which pushes people to rely on contaminated unsafe water, and it called for urgent solutions.
Iraq, too, is not spared of the dangers imposed by the drought and decreasing Euphrates and Tigris water levels, whose waters ought to be international waters shared by Turkey, Syria and Iraq.
Geopolitical war
While both countries’ officials, who work on the environmental arena, discuss repercussions made by climate change, others emphasize that it is a geo-political war.
They argue that the decline in the Euphrates and Tigris waters in Syria and Iraq takes place at a time when Turkey builds irrigation dams without considering the rights of the two other countries.
Although the Euphrates and Tigris are cross-border international rivers, Turkish projects have led to nearly 80% reduction in Iraq’s share of the rivers and 50% in Syria’s share.
According to the 1987 agreement signed between Syria and Turkey regarding the Euphrates River, Syria’s share of water coming from Turkey is no less than 500 cubic meters per second on average, equivalent to 2.500 barrels. However, that share has fallen below 200 m³ per second.
This reduction to Syria’s shares has taken place since the establishment of the Autonomous administration of North and East Syria (AANES), which pushed many AANES officials to say it is a geopolitical war launched by Turkey.
The AANES was first formed in 2014 in the Kurdish-majority regions of Afrin, Kobani and Jazira in northern Syria following the withdrawal of the government forces. Later, it was expanded to Manbij, Tabqa, Raqqa, Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) defeated ISIS militarily there.
This applies to Iraq as well, Rashid al-Hamdani said in a statement made on October 1, citing Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s statement at the United Nations General Assembly 77th session days ago where he said, “Projects of diverting rivers in neighboring countries are done without consulting Iraq and without taking into account the right of Iraq to water.”
Al-Hamdani pointed out that the continuing efforts to reach understandings with the Turkish side are shown by the ministerial team visiting Turkey to discuss the Turkish available treasury and joint action to face water scarcity.
He also asked both neighboring countries, Turkey and Iran, to seriously consider the water issue in his country. On the other hand, al-Hamdani urged the Iraqi government to take serious actions in case the two countries fail in solving the current water crisis.
Iraqi officials had previously called for the use of economic leverage against the upstream countries [Turkey and Iran].
Most notably statements were launched last summer by, the currently resigned, First Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi Council of the Representatives, Hakim al-Zamili, saying, “There is a real danger to the lives of citizens as a result of water scarcity, especially in central and southern Iraq.”
“Blocking water from flowing into our land would kill our people.” Al-Zamili added.
He also threatened to pass a law against trade with the two countries if they continued to cut water back when he said, “If both Turkey and Iran endure that situation, we would boycott their products.”
The Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources warned, last summer, against the consequences of Turkish projects on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and their serious repercussions on the country, especially in the south.
Turkish projects violate UN conventions’ concepts which refer to Tigris and Euphrates as non-navigational as well as transboundary, meaning that riparian states should have equal shares, causing no-harm to any other state.
Advisor to the Minister of Water Resources of Iraq commented in this regard, saying, “This is contrary to the concepts of the framework agreements of the UN of 1997, which govern the state of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, because their waters are considered non-navigable waters that cross the common borders……this agreement contains provisions that include water independence in an equitable and reasonable manner and not harm the state downstream, as the upstream country should not seize water and forget the needs of downstream countries.”
What increase the Iraqi concerns are the Turkish irrigation projects, that includes storing and holding water within Turkish territories, leading to a state of scarcity in the downstream country.
Drought threatens the region
The summer of 2022 is the harshest in the history of Iraq, as described by Diab, and the region has not witnessed such a drought through dozens of years.
The lack of precipitation in spring and fall, according to Diab, had major repercussions on both countries, Syria and Iraq.
Earlier, the Iraqi President, Barham Salih, discussed with the minister of Water Resources Mahdi Rashid Al-Hamdani, with the presence of the minister of agriculture and water resources in Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) Begard Talabani, water security and challenges both Iraq and KRI face regarding water crisis.
Salih stressed on “the necessity of continuing the strategic plans developed in this regard and embarking on the initiative to revive Mesopotamia, and that addressing climate changes should be a national priority.”
He pointed out that “the importance of organizing water relations through dialogue with neighboring countries in accordance with the principles of good neighborliness and taking into account the interests of all without harming Iraq.”
Diab expects low precipitation this fall, which will cause Iraq to face “greater dangers,” as he put it.
Talking about the coordination with the Syrian side, Diab highlighted the importance of unifying the position of the two countries towards the upstream country, since it is clinging to life.