A greening campaign has been initiated in two remote villages in Garmian administration of Sulaimaniyah Northern Province, where each family planted between two to four trees and committed to their protection.
The campaign, conducted in the villages of Sai Hussein and Salim, was organized by Adwi, a local non-governmental organization NGO focusing on environmental and women's issues, on the occasion of Earth Day, April 22.
Fikria Ibrahim, 57, received three trees from the NGO after attending a seminar introducing World Earth Day and planted them in her yard. She expressed her joy at seeing trees distributed to all villagers and learning about Earth Day for the first time.
“I was really happy when I saw them distributing trees to all the villagers. They said today is Earth Day. This is the first time I heard that the earth has a special day,” she said.
“The Adwi teams told us it was important to protect the earth by planting trees and increasing greenery which greenery lowers temperatures, and taught us how to protect trees.”
They said today is Earth Day, the first time I heard that the Earth has a special day
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 far 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%.
Other teams distributed two types of trees to the villagers, berry and albizia (albizzias- Silk) trees, because they say can withstand harsh weather and are suitable for the area.
“I decided to protect and water them better than serving myself. I will make a fence around the trees today,” Ibrahim said.
While Earth Day may not hold significant importance in Iraqi society, efforts by media and civil society organizations are gradually raising awareness about the day and the importance of protecting the Earth,
Ibrahim noted the rising temperatures in her village and the lack of greenery, describing it as a "desert." Approximately 45 families reside in the two villages.
Nihayat Ghaydan, 39, a housewife, received four trees during the seminar and promptly
planted them in her yard. She expressed surprise at the opportunity to protect the Earth and having a special day dedicated to it.
“We dug a hole and planted them in our yard. I take care of the trees. I really didn't know we could protect the earth. I didn't know the earth has a special day,” she said.
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. Iraqi Ministry of Health has registered over 43,000 cancer cases in 2023.
Iman Nuri, a member of the Adwi team in Garmian, shared that villagers, both men and women, actively participated in the seminar and expressed eagerness to increase greenery and environmental efforts. "In the seminar we talked about human actions that harm the earth and accelerate climate change," she said.
