KARBALA (AFP) – Envisioned as a lush fortress against worsening desertification and sand storms, the “green belt” of Iraq’s Karbala stands as a wilted failure.
Sixteen years after its inception, only a fraction of the 76-kilometer (47-mile) crescent-shaped strip of greenery has materialized, though the years proved a deep need for protection against mounting environmental challenges.
Eucalyptus, olive groves and date palms first took root in 2006 as part of a plan for tens of thousands of the trees to form a green protective shield around the city in central Iraq.
“We were very happy because the green belt would be an effective bulwark against dust,” said Hatif Sabhan al-Khazali, a native of Karbala — one of Iraq’s Shia holy cities that attracts millions of pilgrims every year.
Iraq’s host of environmental problems, including drought and desertification, threaten access to water and livelihoods across the country.
But nowadays, the southern axis of Karbala’s green belt is only about 26 kilometers long while the northern axis of the 100-meter (328 feet) wide strip is even shorter, at 22 kilometers.
Irrigation is sparse. No one pulls out the weeds anymore. Branches of the stunted olive trees sway between date palms — symbolic of Iraq — that struggle to grow.
“The construction was stopped,” said Nasser al-Khazali, a former member of the Karbala provincial council.
He blamed “lack of interest from the central government and local authorities,” saying: “The funding didn’t follow.”
According to him, only nine billion dinars ($6 million) was spent on the northern axis, out of the originally planned 16 billion dinars.
“Negligence” is how Hatif Sabhan al-Khazali explains the fate of the green belt project.
It’s a frequent refrain — along with “financial mismanagement” — on the lips of many Iraqis and was a driving factor behind near-nationwide protests against crumbling public services and unemployment that shook the country in 2019.
What was meant to be a buffer against frequent dust storms that envelop the country does little to lessen their impact.
Earlier in April, two such storms blanketed Iraq in less than one week, grounding flights and leaving dozens hospitalized due to respiratory problems.
According to the director of Iraq’s meteorological office, Amer al-Jabri, sand and dust storms are expected to become even more frequent.
He attributed this increase to “drought, desertification and declining rainfall,” as well as the absence of green spaces.
Iraq is particularly vulnerable to climate change, having already witnessed record low rainfall and high temperatures in recent years.