Impacts of conflict and unfavourable household locations in a heterogeneous environment on local food insecurity in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Freshwater algae (Chlorophyceae-except Zygnematales) were collected from 18 sites (12 springs and 6 streams) in Shaqlawa district within Erbil Province, Kurdistan Region of Iraq from September-2019 to August-2020. Aim of this study isolation and identification new algal species. 27 new algal genera with 40 species records at first time in Kurdistan Region and others provinces of Iraq, which include the following, Scenedesmus considered the most abundance than others algae which seven species identified followed by genus of Chlamydomonas, genus of Chlorophyceae, genus of Characium with three species for each one recorded, but genera Geminella have two species, finally the remaining genera have one species identified for each one

Kurdistan Region (KR) of Iraq has suffered from the drought period during the seasons 2007- 2008 and 2008-2009 that affected the human and economic activities of the region. Macro rain- water harvesting (Macro RWH) is one of the te- chniques that can ensure water availability for a region having limited water resources. This te- chnique is based on Soil Conservation Service- Curve Number (SCS-CN) method and the Water- shed Modeling System (WMS) was used to esti- mate the runoff. Rainfall records of Sulaymani- yah area for the period 2002-2012 were studied and an average season was selected (2010-2011). The results of the application of the WMS model showed that about 10.76 million cubic meters could be harvested. The results also showed that the quantity of the harvested runoff was highly affected by rainfall depth, curve number values, antecedent moisture conditions (AMC) and the area of the basins.

Beveled Rim Bowls (BRBs) are the most iconic and well-known vessel type of ancient Southwest Asia. Roughly and carelessly produced, these conical bowls are attested in their thousands at 4th millennium BCE sites from southern Iraq and the Persian Gulf to the highlands of eastern Turkey and Iran. Questions regarding their function and relationship with emergent state institutions have stood at the centre of nearly a century of debates about the nature of early Mesopotamian urbanism and the so-called Uruk Expansion. In this paper we present the results of organic residue analyses of 10 BRBs from the site of Shakhi Kora in the Sirwan/Upper Diyala River Valley in the Kurdistan Region of north-east Iraq. Our analytical results challenge traditional interpretations that see BRBs as containers of cereal-based rations and bread moulds. The presence of meat- and potentially also dairy-based foods in the Shakhi Kora vessels lends support to multi-purpose explanations and points to local processes of appropriation of vessel meaning and function.

The global pandemic Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID‐19) is a contagious disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, it has rapidly resulted in over 20 million confirmed cases and more than three quarter million deaths worldwide in less than 9 months. Due to the rocketed spread of the outbreak, early implementation of restrictions including quarantine, lockdown, isolation, social distancing and community containment was recommended to control the outbreak. Based on, in parallel with other countries, authorities in the Kurdistan Region (KR) of Iraq followed the WHO recommendations on restriction towards the outbreak: including strict measures of quarantine, lockdown and curfew to oppose the spread of the disease. Fortunately, these measures paid off its harvest, as a result of 2 months of measures implementation, COVID-19 confirmed cases crashed to zero for about two weeks and the virus was contained typically across the nationwide lockdown and curfew step. However, premature lifting of measures has put the region under storm of the second spike of the infection resulting in a dramatic increase of new cases. Here, we assessed the KR measures in each step and how they affect the infection rate and the spread of the disease.

The Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), localized in the north and northeast of Iraq, is an autonomous territory recognized in the Iraqi constitution of 2005. Its capital and most populated city, Erbil, is also one of oldest inhabited cities in the world, dated back to around 6000 BC. The KRI’s Parliament was established in Erbil in 1970. In a highly mountainous setting, the KRI hosts colorful biodiversity and a wide range of climate and fertile lands suitable for varied agriculture. Geologically, the Zagros fold and thrust belt, to the north and northeast of the Region, is the most relevant feature. Originating from the collision between the Arabic and Eurasian plates, it gives the subsurface unique structural complexity. The first exploration well in the KRI dates back to 1901, drilled in Chia Surkh in the south of the territory. The well encountered oil shows but was abandoned. Later in 1927, the discovery of Baba Gurgur near Kirkuk was what really ignited the production of oil in northern Iraq. This field, controlled by the Federal Government of Iraq and operated by the Iraq Petroleum Company at that time, was brought onto production in 1934. Over 25 years later, in 1960, the first well was drilled at the Taq Taq field, and the discovery of oil was declared in 1978 following the drilling of a second exploration well. Nonetheless, this field was not appraised until the 1990s. In 2003, the end of the Iraq War triggered the interest of international oil companies (IOCs), which started to arrive in the KRI. In 2005, DNO spudded Tawke-1 in its Tawke license, marking the commencement of the current era in the KRI’s oil industry. The Tawke field started production in 2007, while the previously appraised Taq Taq field started producing in 2008. The Khurmala Dome field, part of the Kirkuk’s complex, was taken over by KAR in 2004 with a remit to revive production and increase it to the 100,000 BOPD mark. As a result, Tawke, Taq Taq, and Khurmala Dome became the three dominant fields in the KRI’s oil production at that time. When it comes to gas, the Khor Mor field started production in newly built facilities in 2008. This initial period of exploration, appraisal, and development in the KRI, up to 2014, has been extensively covered in a work published by David Mackertich and Adnan Samarrai in April 2015. During this time, more than 20 IOCs entered the region, and about 200 wells were drilled. By the end of 2013 the average daily production was 215,000 BOPD, mostly from the three main fields previously mentioned.

In recent years the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) has been a haven for minorities fleeing the turmoil and sectarian violence in the south of Iraq. The KRI offers religious freedoms that are comparatively robust as compared to those of its regional neighbors. Even so, troubling issues related to discrimination and even violence targeting ethnic and religious minorities exist, exacerbated by the KRI’s strained resources and security situation. Such issues must not be disregarded just because of the security situation in Iraq, or because of the KRI’s successes as compared with the wider region. The KRI is home to considerable religious and ethnic diversity. However, the disputed territories now controlled by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) are exceedingly diverse, with populations of Sunni Arabs, Sunni and Shi’a Turkmen, Christians of Assyrian, Chaldean, and Syriac ethnicity, Yezidis, Kaka’i, Shabak, and others. Within the KRI’s official borders, diversity is also increasing, as Zoroastrian leaders convert Kurds, and internally displaced persons (IDPs) pour in, fleeing the fighting against the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). In addition, over the last three years, Kurdish forces have been at the forefront of the fight against ISIS, and have retaken or occupied large swathes of land in the so-called “disputed territories.” Control of these territories is disputed between the KRG, and the federal government of Iraq in Baghdad. Against this backdrop, the KRG must adapt to administering an increasingly diverse population, where previously it represented a more homogenous Sunni-Kurdish majority. A more inclusive administrative approach has presented mixed results. To protect and include minority religions and ethnicities, KRG policy has taken positive steps by introducing protective laws, appointing religious representatives, and attempting to diversify the Peshmerga. Nevertheless, in practice these policies are frequently ineffectual. While the KRI remains far more welcoming and tolerant to minorities than its regional neighbors, minorities complain of systemic biases leveled against them that prevent them from realizing rights or fully participating in society. Rule of law and law enforcement as it applies to non-Sunni Kurds can be arbitrary. Minorities continue to fear growing extremism in the majority population, which they believe could threaten them in the long term. Economic uncertainty, combined with political stagnation and a young Kurdish population, could become a breeding ground for extremism. To ensure religious freedoms do not erode over time, it will be important to strengthen protections and institutions that protect these freedoms. And, given the number of vulnerable communities residing in the KRI, potential causes and vectors for extremism must be monitored and addressed as a matter of urgency. This public report was prepared for the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Cities in the Kurdistan region in Iraq – particularly, the capital city of Hewlair (Erbil) – are facing environmental problems such as water, air and noise pollution. Political instability, ethnic tensions, politically motivated decisions, wars and economic sanctions, consumerism, lack of sufficient funds, and tension between the federal and regional governments due to power and wealth sharing are major contributors to the environmental problems; this paper will depict and analyse these. Although these problems are causing serious health issues for the inhabitants and sometimes death, the authorities are unable to solve them. The paper sheds light on the causes and effects of the environmental problems and also draws conclusions and makes suggestions.

Objective(s): To evaluate blended learning in nursing education at the Kurdistan Region in Iraq. Design: A descriptive study, using evaluation approach, is conducted to evaluate blended learning in nursing education in Iraq from September 26th, 2021 to March 22nd, 2022.The study is carried out at three Colleges of Nursing at the University of Duhok, University of Sulaymania and Hawler Medical University. A convenient, non-probability, sample of (90) undergraduate nursing students is selected. The sample is comprised of (30) student from each college of nursing, Self-report questionnaire is constructed from the literature, for evaluating the blended learning in nursing education at these colleges of nursing. The instrument consists of two parts which they include students’ socio-demographic data and evaluation of blended learning in nursing education. A pilot study is conducted for the determination of the study instrument's content validity and internal consistency reliability. Results: The findings indicate that Colleges of Nursing at the Kurdistan Region in Iraq have experienced fair performance of blended learning relative to its domains in nursing education. Conclusion: It is discovered, in the present study, that the blended learning program application is not influenced by learners’ demographic characteristics of age, gender, grade, family monthly income and residency. Recommendations: The study recommends that the implementation blended learning in nursing education should be seriously monitored for the benefits of the colleges of nursing, instructors and learners, supportive alternatives should be presented to both of the instructors and learners. Keywords: Evaluation, Blended Learning, Nursing Education, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) was formed in 1992 following the first elections held in the Kurdish autonomous region geographically situated in northern Iraq, after the Kurdish uprising against the Baath Regime. Since its inception, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) has been ruled by two major political parties, specifically the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). There is a prevailing, but unsubstantiated impression among the general population, that the impact of these two political parties on the political development in KRI is predominantly negative rather than positive. The authors of this article intend to examine that claim by exploring the role of the two main political parties in the political development of the Kurdistan Region. In searching for an answer to this inquiry, the article starts with a conceptualization of political development and two of its indicators, namely democratization and political participation. Subsequently, a concise overview of the political context of the formation and development of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the political procedures in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) is provided. The authors conducted a questionnaire among KRI’s public university students to determine their perception of the role of two political parties in political development in the KRI. In the final section, the methodology is explained and the results of the survey are analyzed.

BackgroundThe oak tree (Quercus aegilops) comprises ~ 70% of the oak forests in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). Besides its ecological importance as the residence for various endemic and migratory species, Q. aegilops forest also has socio-economic values—for example, as fodder for livestock, building material, medicine, charcoal, and firewood. In the KRI, Q. aegilops has been degrading due to anthropogenic threats (e.g., shifting cultivation, land use/land cover changes, civil war, and inadequate forest management policy) and these threats could increase as climate changes. In the KRI and Iraq as a whole, information on current and potential future geographical distributions of Q. aegilops is minimal or not existent. The objectives of this study were to (i) predict the current and future habitat suitability distributions of the species in relation to environmental variables and future climate change scenarios (Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 2.6 2070 and RCP8.5 2070); and (ii) determine the most important environmental variables controlling the distribution of the species in the KRI. The objectives were achieved by using the MaxEnt (maximum entropy) algorithm, available records of Q. aegilops, and environmental variables.ResultsThe model demonstrated that, under the RCP2.6 2070 and RCP8.5 2070 climate change scenarios, the distribution ranges of Q. aegilops would be reduced by 3.6% (1849.7 km2) and 3.16% (1627.1 km2), respectively. By contrast, the species ranges would expand by 1.5% (777.0 km2) and 1.7% (848.0 km2), respectively. The distribution of the species was mainly controlled by annual precipitation. Under future climate change scenarios, the centroid of the distribution would shift toward higher altitudes.ConclusionsThe results suggest (i) a significant suitable habitat range of the species will be lost in the KRI due to climate change by 2070 and (ii) the preference of the species for cooler areas (high altitude) with high annual precipitation. Conservation actions should focus on the mountainous areas (e.g., by establishment of national parks and protected areas) of the KRI as climate changes. These findings provide useful benchmarking guidance for the future investigation of the ecology of the oak forest, and the categorical current and potential habitat suitability maps can effectively be used to improve biodiversity conservation plans and management actions in the KRI and Iraq as a whole.

Non-state, private schools in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq are considered new educational institutions, only introduced to the Kurdish society after the establishment of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in 1992. Since then, private schools have contributed to providing education, from kindergarten to higher education (Vernez, et al., 2014). This development is continuing despite the wars, political conflicts, and economic problems that have affected the region in the last three decades. This study aims to describe the development of private schools in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and to clarify their functions in the educational system. Accordingly, the research questions, which provide the structure of this study cover two main parts. The first part deals with describing the profiles of private education providers, the types of schools they offer, and the development of the non-state educational sector. The second part investigates the factors affecting the choice of private schools. In both aspects, the functions of private schools for the Kurdish society are discussed. Quantitative and qualitative methods have been adapted to tackle the research questions, and a mixed methods has also been applied. A quantitative method is used to give descriptive data about the increase in the number of private schools, the types of private schools and the factors influencing parents’ choice of private schools. Data have been collected from 103 private schools to describe the increase and types of private schools in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. A questionnaire for parents (n=223) provides insights into the most important factors influencing the choice of private schools over public schools in the KRI. Qualitative methods are used to describe the profiles of private education providers. Data from 10 private education providers’ websites are collected and analysed using document analysis. The results of this study show that private schools are diverse and different from the public schools, especially concerning the language of academic instruction. Some private education providers share common goals, such as providing high-quality education, while some others have specific goals, such as serving a minority group. There are both local and international private education providers. Most private schools are profit-oriented, with only a few schools considered religiously oriented or private public partnership schools. The number of private schools in the region is constantly increasing, reaching 144 schools, enrolling 33,613 students, in 2018. Different factors affect parental choices of private schools. English as a language for instruction has been found to be the most important factor for parents when choosing private schools. This could be explained by considering English as a more global language comparing to Kurdish, as English is used as a tool to be connected with the international world. This study shows that private schools in regions with different conflicts do not necessarily act as an elitist movement for social distinction, as it is often described in the discourse, but rather covering further functions as qualification objectives of the population or compensating language policies. In general, private schools have the qualification function to provide individuals with the knowledge, skills and capacities that are necessary for themselves as well as for developing the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Private schools appear to connect the Kurdish society to the rest of the world by creating global citizens through English as the medium of instruction. In addition, for minorities, private schools sustain an educational system that responds to their religious and cultural needs and expectations.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) was formed in 1992 following the first elections held in the Kurdish autonomous region geographically situated in northern Iraq, after the Kurdish uprising against the Baath Regime. Since its inception, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) has been ruled by two major political parties, specifically the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). There is a prevailing, but unsubstantiated impression among the general population, that the impact of these two political parties on the political development in KRI is predominantly negative rather than positive. The authors of this article intend to examine that claim by exploring the role of the two main political parties in the political development of the Kurdistan Region. In searching for an answer to this inquiry, the article starts with a conceptualization of political development and two of its indicators, namely democratization and political participation. Subsequently, a concise overview of the political context of the formation and development of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the political procedures in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) is provided. The authors conducted a questionnaire among KRI’s public university students to determine their perception of the role of two political parties in political development in the KRI. In the final section, the methodology is explained and the results of the survey are analyzed.

In the past two decades, severe drought has been a recurrent problem in Iraq due in part to climate change. Additionally, the catastrophic drop in the discharge of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and their tributaries has aggravated the drought situation in Iraq, which was formerly one of the most water-rich nations in the Middle East. The Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) also has catastrophic drought conditions. This study analyzed a Landsat time-series dataset from 1998 to 2021 to determine the drought severity status in the KRI. The Modified Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index (MSAVI2) and Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) were used as spectral-based drought indices to evaluate the severity of the drought and study the changes in vegetative cover, water bodies, and precipitation. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and the Spatial Coefficient of Variation (CV) were used as meteorologically based drought indices. According to this study, the study area had precipitation deficits and severe droughts in 2000, 2008, 2012, and 2021. The MSAVI2 results indicated that the vegetative cover decreased by 36.4%, 39.8%, and 46.3% in 2000, 2008, and 2012, respectively. The SPI’s results indicated that the KRI experienced droughts in 1999, 2000, 2008, 2009, 2012, and 2021, while the southeastern part of the KRI was most affected by drought in 2008. In 2012, the KRI’s western and southern parts were also considerably affected by drought. Furthermore, Lake Dukan (LD), which lost 63.9% of its surface area in 1999, experienced the most remarkable shrinkage among water bodies. Analysis of the geographic distribution of the CV of annual precipitation indicated that the northeastern parts, which get much more precipitation, had less spatial rainfall variability and more uniform distribution throughout the year than other areas. Moreover, the southwest parts exhibited a higher fluctuation in annual spatial variation. There was a statistically significant positive correlation between MSAVI2, SPI, NDWI, and agricultural yield-based vegetation cover. The results also revealed that low precipitation rates are always associated with declining crop yields and LD shrinkage. These findings may be concluded to provide policymakers in the KRI with a scientific foundation for agricultural preservation and drought mitigation.

Since the U.S. led invasions of Iraq in 2003, outstanding issues between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the federal Government of Iraq (GoI) have gone through various phases and taken different forms with critical milestones characterizing and shaping an uneasy relationship. This article argues that focusing on the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI)’s changing de facto powers and prerogatives vis-à-vis the federal government is central to understanding the process of state-building in the KRI. The empirical findings of the article illustrate how the KRI’s relationship with the federal Iraq fluctuates depending on the entity’s desire to maintain its political independence, and more importantly, on the level of external support for its status. It further argues not only that the alignment between the KRI and the international community has not led to greater engagement between Erbil and Baghdad, but also when the KRI’s alignment with external community is limited or ceases to exist, the balance of power changes in favour of Baghdad.

This article aims to give an account of the language situation in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), with a focus on the use and position of English within the KRI’s linguistic ecology. As an autonomous region, the KRI tries to navigate its way through a volatile time in a politically instable area. It has to cope with constraints and pressure from the Iraqi government, and from neighboring countries like Turkey and Iran. The KRI’s cultural and language policies, and the development of the linguistic situation, can only be understood against the overall political situation, with its specific historical background. The article contains also a state of the art about English in the KRI, which is only about to emerge as a field, and a series of interviews with educational experts and policy makers, on the linguistic situation.