Water Use Practice and Water Law in the Kurdistan Region: How can Sustainability be Achieved?

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Abdulrahman, Salam Abdulqadir^{a; ; *}

Affiliations: College of Law and Politics, University of Human Development, Iraq

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author. E-mail: salam.abdulrahman@uhd.edu.iq; salam.abdulrahman@gmail.com.

Abstract: The Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) has more water resources than the rest of Iraq to the point that it can be water sufficient if water resources are well managed, nevertheless these resources are currently facing depletion and they are increasingly polluted. This paper reviews water use practice in KRI and its existing laws on water from the sustainability point of view. It finds that the current practice of water use is devastating to water sustainability and that the laws need further improvement and better enforcement on the ground.

Keywords: Kurdistan Region of Iraq, water, sustainability, law, practice

DOI: 10.3233/EPL-201011

Journal: Environmental Policy and Law, vol. 51, no. 3, pp. 185-195, 2021