Iraq plants mangrove forest to fight climate disaster

Engineer Ayman Al-Rubaie, 47, carries mangrove tree seedlings in the mangrove tree nursery project, in the branching area of the Shatt Al-Arab River in Basra. (REUTERS)
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Updated 29 June 2023
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Iraq plants mangrove forest to fight climate disaster

  • Iraqi government bodies and United Nations agency aim to grow up to 4 million mangrove trees in the Khor Al-Zubair mudflats region
  • The scheme was inspired by successful projects to rehabilitate mangrove forests in nearby Kuwait and in the United Arab Emirates at the other end of the Gulf

BASRA: As Aymen Al-Rubaye plants mangrove seedlings in the sprawling tidal flats of southern Iraq, the black smoke rising over the skyline behind him shows the ecological damage that he is toiling to undo.
Rubaye, an agricultural engineer, is working for a project started by Iraqi government bodies and a United Nations agency to grow up to 4 million mangrove trees in the Khor Al-Zubair mudflats region, located near major oil fields.
Ankle-deep mud sucks at his boots as he pats down a seedling and moves on to plant another, part of what he hopes will become a mangrove forest that protects the coast, shelters vulnerable species and battles climate change.


“This plant will save us time and effort in our fight against global warming,” he said, describing the plant’s ability to capture and store carbon dioxide.
Iraq’s carbon emissions have more than doubled over the past decade, according to the World Bank, making it one of the region’s worst polluters when measured against the size of its economy.
The tidal flats south of Basra are a baking landscape of water, salt, mud and hazy sky, riven by channels that Rubaye and his team navigate by boat.
The smoke in the distance is billowing from a petrochemical plant near Zubair oil field, some 20 kilometers (13 miles) away, part of a vast energy sector that provides the bulk of Iraq’s income and is the main industry — and polluter — in the Basra area.


Southern Iraq was once known for rich marshes that were drained decades ago in an environmental catastrophe that wrecked a complex eco-system and pushed many of its inhabitants to ruin.
Planting mangroves on the tidal flats, south of where the marshes once lay, can protect coastal communities from storms and floods and create a new home for threatened species without using any of Iraq’s scarce freshwater for irrigation.
The scheme was inspired by successful projects to rehabilitate mangrove forests in nearby Kuwait and in the United Arab Emirates at the other end of the Gulf.
Mangrove plants “can resist these harsh conditions we are passing through” without needing irrigation water, Rubaye said. Mangroves thrive in the sort of hot, muddy and salty conditions that most other plants find inhospitable.
The new trees come from a nursery where 12,000 seedlings were growing, said Ahmed Albaaj of the UN’s World Food Programme, which worked on the project with Basra’s local government and university, and Iraq’s environment ministry.


Lebanon media says UN peacekeepers hurt in Israeli strike

Updated 5 sec ago
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Lebanon media says UN peacekeepers hurt in Israeli strike

  • National News Agency: ‘Enemy aircraft targeted a car in Sidon near the army checkpoint’
  • Vehicles from the UNIFIL peacekeeping force were in the ‘same lane’ during the raid
SIDON, Lebanon: UN peacekeepers in Lebanon were wounded on Thursday in an Israeli strike near their vehicle at the entrance to the southern city of Sidon, the official National News Agency said.
“Enemy aircraft targeted a car in Sidon near the army checkpoint,” NNA said, adding vehicles from the UNIFIL peacekeeping force were in the “same lane” during the raid, which led to injuries among its members who were receiving treatment at the scene.

Hezbollah does not pin ceasefire hopes on any US administration, lawmaker says

Updated 19 min 17 sec ago
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Hezbollah does not pin ceasefire hopes on any US administration, lawmaker says

BEIRUT: Hezbollah welcomes any effort to stop the war in Lebanon but does not pin its hopes for a ceasefire on any particular US administration, Hezbollah lawmaker Ibrahim Al-Moussawi said on Thursday, when asked about Donald Trump’s election victory.


France sees ‘window’ to end Gaza, Lebanon wars after Trump win

Updated 37 min 18 sec ago
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France sees ‘window’ to end Gaza, Lebanon wars after Trump win

JERUSALEM: French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Thursday in Jerusalem he saw prospects for ending Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon after Donald Trump was elected US president.
“I believe a window has opened for putting an end to the tragedy in which Israelis, Palestinians and the entire region have been immersed since October 7” last year, Barrot told reporters in Jerusalem.
Speaking alongside outgoing Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz, Barrot cited Trump’s “wish to see the end of the Middle East’s endless wars” as well as Israel’s recent “tactical successes.”
Barrot said he hoped a “diplomatic solution” would emerge “in the coming weeks.”
“Force alone will not be enough to guarantee Israel’s security,” he said, adding that “military success could not be a substitute for a political perspective.”
“It is time to move toward a deal that would allow for the liberation of all hostages, a ceasefire and the mass entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and to prepare for the day after.”
Barrot said “Israel has the right to defend itself” but pointed to “colonization,” “humanitarian aid restrictions” and “the continuation of air strikes in north Gaza” as risk factors for Israel’s security.
Barrot is expected to speak with Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas and his prime minister, Muhammad Mustafa


Israel signs $5.2 billion deal to acquire 25 F-15 fighter jets from Boeing

Updated 57 min 56 sec ago
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Israel signs $5.2 billion deal to acquire 25 F-15 fighter jets from Boeing

  • The $5.2 billion agreement was part of a broader package of US aid
  • Delivery of the new F-15IA aircraft will begin in 2031

JERUSALEM: The Israeli defense ministry said on Thursday it had signed an agreement to acquire 25 next generation F-15 fighter jets from Boeing Co.
It said the $5.2 billion agreement was part of a broader package of US aid approved by the US administration and Congress earlier this year and included an option for 25 additional aircraft.
Delivery of the new F-15IA aircraft will begin in 2031, with 4-6 aircraft to be supplied annually, it said.
The aircraft will be equipped with weapons systems integrated with existing Israeli weapons as well as having increased range and payloads.
“These advantages will enable the Israeli Air Force to maintain its strategic superiority in addressing current and future challenges in the Middle East,” the ministry said in a statement.
“This F-15 squadron, alongside the third F-35 squadron procured earlier this year, represents a historic enhancement of our air power and strategic reach — capabilities that proved crucial during the current war,” the director general of the defense ministry, Eyal Zamir, said in the statement.
Zamir said that the government has secured procurement agreements worth nearly $40 billion since the onset of the war in Gaza that began Oct. 7, 2023.
“While focusing on immediate needs for advanced weaponry and ammunition at unprecedented levels, we’re simultaneously investing in long-term strategic capabilities,” he said.
For Boeing, the F-15 agreement is the second major deal this year. In August, flag carrier El Al Israel Airlines, signed a deal with Boeing for the purchase of up to 31 737 MAX aircraft worth as much as $2.5 billion, beating out rival Airbus.
Ido Nehushtan, president of Boeing Israel, said the company’s relationship dates back to Israel’s establishment and “will continue working with the US and Israeli governments to deliver the advanced F-15IA aircraft through standard military procurement channels.”


Erdogan phones Trump to discuss cooperation

Updated 07 November 2024
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Erdogan phones Trump to discuss cooperation

ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has spoken by phone with US president-elect Donald Trump to discuss cooperation between the two countries, the presidency said on Thursday.
Erdogan “congratulated Trump on his election victory” and “expressed his desire to develop cooperation between Turkiye and the United States in the period ahead,” it said in a statement.
Erdogan was twice hosted at the White House by Trump during his first term, but has never been received there by current President Joe Biden.