Prof. Dr. Bassam A. A. H. Alkhateb

Soil Physics

Dep. Soil Science and Water Resources/ College of Agriculture / University of Anbar

     Iraq is located East of the Arab world and bordered by Iran to the East and Turkey to the North, covers an area of ??437.072 square kilometers, and a with population of Iraq 39.33 million population . Most of the water resources originate from outside sources of the country, exposing the flow of water facing threats from political considerations and regional alliances. The water resources of Iraq depends on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers flowing from Turkey northward to the South. Most of the rivers come from Turkey (71%), followed by Iran (6.9%), Syria (4%), and the rest sources are inside Iraq . Iraq is rich in water resources because of the presence of the Tigris and Euphrates River, but it has a water deficit, so requires the distinction between the concept of water poverty and water deficit confirms that the departure of millions of acres of agricultural use because of poor water management. 

      Iraq is passing into a major water crisis, one of the most important reasons is the establishment of dams on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, Turkey has implemented a GAP project, which includes 22 dams and 19 power plants and increased irrigated area on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers included 25 irrigation systems. This project disrupts agricultural development plans in Iraq and Syria, reduced costs lead to deterioration in the quality of water us