Erbil parks directorate cuts tree and flower imports, adopts local production

ERBIL — The Erbil Parks Directorate has reduced its annual spending on importing trees, flowers, and plants by 1 billion Iraqi dinars ($665,100) and now relies entirely on local production.

According to the directorate, all necessary supplies for parks and gardens in the city are sourced locally, with no imports from outside the Kurdistan Region. Previously, nearly 1 billion dinars were spent annually on importing plants and trees, primarily from countries like Turkey and Italy.

The directorate operates three large nurseries, producing over 100,000 trees and flowers annually. Rebin Ahmed, the director of the Erbil Parks Directorate, told 964media, “Due to the lack of budget, the financial crisis, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we were unable to import plants and trees from countries like Turkey and Italy. This prompted us to establish our own nurseries.”

The Kurdistan Region has faced recurring financial crises, primarily due to political disputes with Baghdad over budget allocations, delays in federal payments, and disagreements over oil revenue sharing. These challenges were exacerbated by a global drop in oil prices in 2014, the fight against ISIS, and the COVID-19 pandemic, which further strained resources.

He added, “We produce over 100,000 trees and flowers annually, which were previously imported at a high cost.”

The nurseries’ output is not limited to Erbil but is also supplied to other areas. Plans are underway to further increase production capacity.

Erbil has over 450 parks and gardens, including 20 large parks, according to the directorate.