Environment minister says desertification, sand dunes among top challenges in Dhi Qar

DHI QAR — Environment Minister Halo Askari said Thursday that desertification and sand dunes are among the main environmental challenges facing Dhi Qar, warning that addressing them requires legal reforms and coordinated international and domestic funding.

Speaking to the Iraqi News Agency during a visit to Nasiriyah, Askari said the ministry is working to amend laws and regulations to help the governorate tackle its environmental problems.

He said the challenges in Dhi Qar are linked to drought and sand dunes, warning that sand encroachment “may hinder traffic and aviation.”

“Addressing this phenomenon requires cooperation and harmony through international funding as well as domestic funding,” Askari said.

Dhi Qar Gov. Haitham al-Hamdani said the minister reviewed issues affecting the governorate, “foremost among them desertification and sand dunes in the north of the governorate, particularly in the al-Batha area toward Samawah.”

Iraq is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change, facing rising temperatures, severe drought, declining rainfall and increasing desertification. The country faced its worst water shortage in eight decades in 2025, with reserves at their lowest levels in 80 years due to drought, climate change and upstream dam projects in Turkey and Iran.