Land Reclamation in Iraq

Abstract

Reclamation in Iraq was known in 1950s, where the problems salinity and waterlogging are mainly apparent in the middle and south of Iraq. The early interventions in reclamation sectors was simple, not precise, or calibrated properly, hence, salinization and water-logging aggravated. Since the reclamation activities are time and resources consuming, which may last in several years, these are highlighting the fact that most of the beneficiaries could not afford the conducting of this activity. Therefore, Iraqi government take the decision in 1970s to carry out the reclamation and improve the agricultural processes vertically. There are millions of donums were reclaimed along Iraq. There are key steps adopted to conduct the sophisticated reclamation in order to get rid of salinity, lowering water table to acceptable depths, and prevent future salinization. The reclamation is not just an engineering project, the full reclamation are also may include, rural development, capacities building for operators and beneficiaries, educational development, research development, and social development. Keywords: Land reclamation, Salinity, water logging, Iraq.