Tamimi talked about an “anticipated meeting between parliament and the minister of water resources scheduled for October to discuss plans and procedures to address the risks of the dam construction and the negative effects on irrigation and agriculture.” He added, “Parliament will also host officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to look into diplomatic efforts for international lobbying against the dam project.”
An October 2015 study by the World Resources Institute revealed that Iraq ranks 21th on the list of countries that are threatened by water crisis, despite having two rivers flowing in its territories.
Civil engineer Qahtan Khayal al-Sultani, who worked on irrigation projects in the center and south of the country, told Al-Monitor, “The Islamic State and other armed groups controlled dams and water projects in the country’s west and east. Iraq’s dry climate and high temperatures increase the evaporation of water, which prompts farmers to leave their lands. This is especially true since large quantities of water are being wasted due to the rudimentary irrigation techniques and the lack of water storage projects. Most of the water is channeled to Shatt al-Arab and then the Gulf without being tapped into.”
With the growing danger of receding water levels in irrigation canals, there have been increasing calls to address the threats to the water security. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's office had said in a media statement on June 17, 2015, “The water issue is of paramount importance in Iraq’s foreign policy with Syria and Turkey, and Iraq is trying to find solutions and settlements with these countries to increase its shares of water.”
One of these solutions, parliamentarian Ali al-Badri told Al-Monitor, "is to exercise economic leverage on Turkey so as to coordinate the construction of dams and reservoirs it intends to set up and ensure a fair water distribution between the upstream countries [Turkey and Iran] and the downstream countries [Iraq and Syria].” Badri also suggested “using the oil that is being transported through Turkish territory as a way to lure Turkey since it is in dire need of it.”
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