Baghdad warns tree cutters of fines as it plants 190,000 trees

BAGHDAD — People who cut down or damage trees in Baghdad can be fined more than 500,000 dinars (about $330 at the official rate), the Baghdad Municipality said Saturday as it plants 190,000 trees in an autumn campaign.

Municipality spokesperson Uday al-Jandil told the state-run Iraqi News Agency that fines above 500,000 dinars apply in some cases and that the amount depends on the age of the tree. Security forces arrested several people suspected of cutting down trees in recent days and took them to a police station, he said.

“The Baghdad Municipality continues its tree-planting efforts across the capital as part of the autumn campaign. However, some individuals occasionally tamper with or cut down these trees,” Jandil said.

He urged residents to report tree cutting or damage to the municipality and the security forces. People who see vehicles being used to cut down trees can photograph them, note their license plate numbers and send the information to municipal departments, he said.

Jandil said the municipality is also building parks and gardens in Baghdad’s municipal districts to expand green spaces. In August 2025 he said the capital’s green belt, an urban forest against dust storms, was more than 95% complete.

The Green Iraq Observatory, an environmental group, said in September 2025 that Iraq had lost about 1 million trees in two years, by its own estimate. It ranked drought first among five causes. “The drought crisis affecting most governorates has led to tree dehydration, breakage and eventual death due to diseases,” the statement said, adding that the problem was most visible in the south.

The group also cited orchards whose water was deliberately cut off so the trees could be uprooted and sold to restaurants that grill fish. It also cited the clearing of green spaces for housing and commercial projects, particularly in Baghdad, where mature trees were replaced with small seedlings.

Two months later the observatory said election campaign posters had damaged about 300,000 trees through cutting, broken branches and nails driven into trunks.