{"id":429422,"date":"2022-04-10T09:15:27","date_gmt":"2022-04-10T06:15:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/iraqis-clean-up-river-as-first-green-projects-take-root\/"},"modified":"2022-04-10T09:15:27","modified_gmt":"2022-04-10T06:15:27","slug":"iraqis-clean-up-river-as-first-green-projects-take-root","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/iraqis-clean-up-river-as-first-green-projects-take-root\/","title":{"rendered":"#Iraqis clean up river as first green projects take root"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3bf2a58d811\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3bf2a58d811\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/iraqis-clean-up-river-as-first-green-projects-take-root\/#%E2%80%9CIraqis_clean_up_river_as_first_green_projects_take_root%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Iraqis clean up river as first green projects take root&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CIraqis_clean_up_river_as_first_green_projects_take_root%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Iraqis clean up river as first green projects take root&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2022\/young-iraqi-volunteers.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2022\/young-iraqi-volunteers.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Young Iraqi volunteers take part in a cleanup campaign on the banks of the Tigris River, a rare environmental project in the war-battered country.\">\n<figure class=\"article-img\">\n            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2022\/young-iraqi-volunteers.jpg\" alt=\"Young Iraqi volunteers take part in a cleanup campaign on the banks of the Tigris River, a rare environmental project in the war\" title=\"Young Iraqi volunteers take part in a cleanup campaign on the banks of the Tigris River, a rare environmental project in the war-battered country.\" width=\"800\" height=\"527\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-darken text-low-up text-truncate-js text-truncate mt-3\">\n                Young Iraqi volunteers take part in a cleanup campaign on the banks of the Tigris River, a rare environmental project in the war-battered country.<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Garbage clogs the banks of Iraq&#8217;s Tigris River in Baghdad but an army of young volunteers is cleaning it, a rare environmental project in the war-battered country.<\/p>\n<section class=\"article-banner first-banner ads-336x280\">\n         <!-- \/4988204\/Phys_Story_InText_Box --><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p>With boots and gloves, they pick up soggy trash, water bottles, aluminium cans and muddy styrofoam boxes, part of a green activist campaign called the Cleanup Ambassadors. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This is the first time this area has been cleaned since 2003,&#8221; shouts a passer-by about the years of conflict since a US-led invasion toppled dictator Saddam Hussein.<\/p>\n<p>The war is over but Iraq faces another huge threat: a host of interrelated environmental problems from climate change and rampant pollution to dust storms and water scarcity.<\/p>\n<p>The 200 volunteers at work in Baghdad want to be part of the solution, removing garbage from a stretch of one of the mighty rivers that gave birth to the ancient civilisations of Mesopotamia.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It breaks my heart to see the banks of the Tigris in this state,&#8221; said one 19-year-old volunteer, who gave only her first name, Rassel, working under Baghdad&#8217;s Imams Bridge. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We want to change this reality. I want to make my city more beautiful.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The task is Herculean in a country where it remains common for people to drop their trash on the ground.<\/p>\n<p>The green banks of the Tigris, popular for picnics by families and groups of friends, are usually littered with waste, from single-use plastic bags to the disposable tips of hookah pipes, especially after public holidays.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2022\/the-200-volunteers-wan.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2022\/the-200-volunteers-wan.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"The 200 volunteers want to make a difference, but face a Herculean task in a country where trash is commonly dropped on the ground.\">\n<figure class=\"article-img text-center\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2022\/the-200-volunteers-wan.jpg\" alt=\"The 200 volunteers want to make a difference, but face a Herculean task in a country where trash is commonly dropped on the grou\" title=\"The 200 volunteers want to make a difference, but face a Herculean task in a country where trash is commonly dropped on the ground.\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-left text-darken text-truncate text-low-up mt-3\">\n                The 200 volunteers want to make a difference, but face a Herculean task in a country where trash is commonly dropped on the ground.<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><b>Rubbish chokes wildlife<\/b><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There is a lot of plastic, nylon bags and corks,&#8221; said Ali, also 19 and an organiser of the cleanup event.<\/p>\n<p>The group then handed their collected waste to the Baghdad City Council which took it away, bound for a landfill. <\/p>\n<p>More often the garbage ends up directly in the Tigris. It is one of Iraq&#8217;s two major waterways, along with the Euphrates, that face a host of environmental pressures.<\/p>\n<p>The rivers or their tributaries are dammed upstream in Turkey and Iran, over-used along the way, and polluted with domestic, industrial and agricultural waste.<\/p>\n<p>The trash that flows downriver clogs riverbanks and wetlands and poses a threat to wildlife, both terrestrial and aquatic.<\/p>\n<p>When the water empties into the Gulf, plastic bags are often ingested by turtles and dolphins and block the airways and stomachs of many other species, says a United Nations paper. <\/p>\n<p>In Iraq\u2014which has suffered four decades of conflict and years of political and economic turmoil\u2014separating and recycling waste has yet to become a priority for most people.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2022\/the-green-banks-of-the.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2022\/the-green-banks-of-the.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"The green banks of the Tigris are popular for picnics -- but are usually littered with waste, from plastic bags to the disposable tips of hookah pipes.\">\n<figure class=\"article-img text-center\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2022\/the-green-banks-of-the.jpg\" alt=\"The green banks of the Tigris are popular for picnics -- but are usually littered with waste, from plastic bags to the disposabl\" title=\"The green banks of the Tigris are popular for picnics -- but are usually littered with waste, from plastic bags to the disposable tips of hookah pipes.\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-left text-darken text-truncate text-low-up mt-3\">\n                The green banks of the Tigris are popular for picnics &#8212; but are usually littered with waste, from plastic bags to the disposable tips of hookah pipes.<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The country also lacks proper infrastructure for waste collection and disposal, said Azzam Alwash, head of the non-governmental group Nature Iraq.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There are no environmentally friendly landfills and plastic recycling is not economically viable,&#8221; he said. <\/p>\n<p><b>Plumes of smoke<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Most garbage ends up in open dumps where it is burned, sending plumes of acrid smoke into the air.<\/p>\n<p>This h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ens in Iraq&#8217;s southern Mesopotamian Marshes, one of the world&#8217;s largest inland deltas, which Saddam once had largely drained. They were named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2016, both for their biodiversity and ancient history.<\/p>\n<p>Today a round-the-clock fire outside the town of Souq al-Shuyukh, which is the gateway to the marshes, burns thousands of tonnes of garbage under the open sky, sending white smoke drifting many kilometres away. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Open burning of waste is a source of air pollution, and the real cost is the shortening of Iraqi lives,&#8221; said Alwash. &#8220;But the state has no money to build recycling facilities.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Even worse is the air pollution caused by flaring\u2014burning off the gas that escapes during oil extraction. <\/p>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2022\/the-garbage-flows-down.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2022\/the-garbage-flows-down.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"The garbage flows downriver, clogging riverbanks, wetlands and threatening wildlife -- here men row a canoe on the Tigris in Iraq's southern city of Nasiriyah.\">\n<figure class=\"article-img text-center\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2022\/the-garbage-flows-down.jpg\" alt=\"The garbage flows downriver, clogging riverbanks, wetlands and threatening wildlife -- here men row a canoe on the Tigris in Ira\" title=\"The garbage flows downriver, clogging riverbanks, wetlands and threatening wildlife -- here men row a canoe on the Tigris in Iraq's southern city of Nasiriyah.\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-left text-darken text-truncate text-low-up mt-3\">\n                The garbage flows downriver, clogging riverbanks, wetlands and threatening wildlife &#8212; here men row a canoe on the Tigris in Iraq&#8217;s southern city of Nasiriyah.<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>This toxic cocktail has contributed to a rise in respiratory illnesses and greenhouse gas emissions, a phenomenon the UN&#8217;s climate experts have voiced alarm about. <\/p>\n<p>Environment Minister Jassem al-Falahi admitted in comments to the official <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> agency INA that waste incineration&#8217;s &#8220;toxic gases affect people&#8217;s lives and health&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>But so far there have been few government initiatives to tackle Iraq&#8217;s environmental woes, and so projects like the Tigris cleanup are leading the way for now.<\/p>\n<p>Ali, the volunteer, hopes that their effort will have a more long-term effect by helping to change attitudes.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Some people have stopped throwing their waste on the street,&#8221; he said, &#8220;and some have even joined us.&#8221;<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<div class=\"article-main__explore my-4 d-print-none\">\n<p>                                            Thai national parks ban single-use plastics\n                                        <\/p><\/div>\n<hr class=\"mb-4\"\/>\n<p class=\"article-main__note mt-4\">\n                                                \u00a9 2022 AFP<\/p>\n<p>                                        <!-- print only --><\/p>\n<div class=\"d-none d-print-block\">\n<p>                                                 <strong>Citation<\/strong>:<br \/>\n                                                 Iraqis clean up river as first green projects take root (2022, April 10)<br \/>\n                                                 retrieved 10 April 2022<br \/>\n                                                 from https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2022-04-iraqis-river-green-root.html<\/p>\n<p>                                            This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no<br \/>\n                                            part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script id=\"facebook-jssdk\" async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/science\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Science category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2022-04-iraqis-river-green-root.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Iraqis clean up river as first green projects take root&#8221; Young Iraqi volunteers take part in a cleanup campaign on the banks of the Tigris River, a rare environmental project in the war-battered country. Garbage clogs the banks of Iraq&#8217;s Tigris River in Baghdad but an army of young volunteers is cleaning it, a rare&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":429423,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2022\/young-iraqi-volunteers.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-429422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sciencee"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=429422"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429422\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/429423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=429422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=429422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=429422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}