The German Society for International Cooperation GIZ has intensified its efforts to increase green spaces in Kifri district, in addition to organizing environmental awareness campaigns, as the district is struggling to bring the ratio of green spaces to international standard.
The organization's endeavor is carried out in coordination with Kifri Municipality, with the united goal of mitigating the pace of climate change and its repercussions on the region.
Dilshad Isma’il, who works in the organization's projects department, told KirkukNow, “We organize various environmental activities every month, such as tree planting campaigns, seminars and clean-up campaigns. These activities are part of the efforts to protect the ecosystem and reduce environmental pollution.”
Last month, the organization supervised a tree planting campaign at the English Institute in Kifri. Dilshad Isma’il indicated that the organization's team “planted various types of flowers and plants inside the institute premises, this is part of our efforts with regard to the issue of the environment.”
According to statistics by the organization, its teams have planted more than 2,000 plants in cooperation with the Kifri Municipality over the past five years after identifying locations and gardens to increase green spaces.
Some of the organization's activities are implemented in schools, sidewalks and squares, they also and include raising awareness among students, children and youth to encourage them to take care of the environment.
The Kifri district commissioner, Ali Khurshid, said that the GIZ plays an important role in increasing green spaces in Kifri, in coordination with the municipality.
Kifri district is one of the disputed areas between the Iraqi federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government KRG, but it is administratively associated with Garmian. According to data from 2023, the percentage of green spaces in Garmian was only 5.7 %, which is less than the global standard that has set the percentage at no less than 30%.
Regarding Kafri district, statistics published by the municipality last June indicated that the percentage of greenery in the district ranges between 7% and 9%.
Ali Khurshid says that the municipality has carried out intensive afforestation campaigns in the past few months, which he believes have enabled them to increase the ratio of green spaces.
The Garmian administration consists of three districts, the climate of the region is hot and witnesses dust storms in the summer, while in the winter rain precipitation is low.
The impacts of climate change have intensified efforts in recent years to increase the ratio of greenery to reduce the impacts of climate change.
Khurshid said, “Currently, we are in the process of establishing a green belt around Kifri to increase green spaces as well as mitigate the repercussions of climate change and repel dust storms.”
Kifri Municipality and the GIZ are focusing their campaigns on the parks located in the center of the district and are seeking to increase the number of parks within the district neighborhoods.
According to statistics by the Garmian General Directorate of Municipalities, there are 243 large parks and gardens in Garmian.
“We plan to supply water to the sites that are scheduled to be designated for the establishment of gardens through networks and provide them with natural lawn grass to transform them into gardens,” Ali Khurshid noted that, “Our other goal is to use the drip irrigation system to water the gardens instead of mobile water tanks.”
Among the joint activities carried out by the German organization in cooperation with the Kifri Municipality is the design of a number of roundabouts in the district and transforming them into gardens, for example, the "Mam Sabir" garden that was established by the organization and has now become a place where Kifri families gather.
“We have also planted trees in the landscapes surrounding Bawa Shaswar,” said Dilshad Ismail.
The organization's activities in Kifri and other areas of the Garmian administration are carried out as environmental pollution and climate change is posing a direct threat to the population’s health.
The Ministry of Health in the Kurdistan Regional Government says that environmental pollution is one of the causes of cancer, with 9,911 cancer cases recorded in 2023, and statistics indicate that lung cancer is the second most common case.
In addition to Kifri, the German Cooperation Organization is implementing environmental activities in Kalar, Khanaqin and a number of districts in the region.
Qadr Isma’il, a teacher in Kifri, welcomed the organization's efforts, but said that the percentage of greenery has not reached the required level considering the increase in population density and environmental pollution.
“The task requires educating citizens and some measures that the government must implement, as one of the problems is the lack of green spaces within residential projects, which leads to global warming.”
Qadir Ismail, who is also an environmental activist, explained that “the smoke rising from oil wells, factories and vehicle exhausts pollutes the area, and the lack of trees and greenery directly leads to the spread of diseases.”
