WAN – A series of dam projects implemented consecutively in the Federal Kurdistan Region is disrupting the ecological balance across a wide area, particularly along the Zap–Metîna–Avaşîn line, while the transformation of water resources into a political tool, the decline of agriculture and the depopulation of villages are leaving the region facing a multidimensional and deepening ecological crisis.

 

The Federal Kurdistan Region, consisting of four main cities—Duhok, Hewlêr (Erbil), Silêmanî (Sulaymaniyah) and Helebce (Halabja)—forms the backbone of the region both administratively and economically. However, these cities and their extensive rural surroundings have long been under mounting multi-layered ecological pressure due to prolonged conflict and accelerating infrastructure projects. In particular, years of conflict and dam construction along the Zap, Metîna and Avaşîn line have narrowed natural habitats and inflicted significant damage on the region’s ecological balance.

 

Years of conflict in the Zap, Metîna and Avaşîn areas have moved beyond being merely a military front. As dams increasingly turn into expanding zones of ecological destruction, intensive bombardment, the systematic destruction of forest areas and the displacement of wildlife have caused lasting damage to the ecosystem. In this process, not only vegetation but also the region’s unique fauna has been severely affected. As biodiversity declines, the ecosystem’s capacity for regeneration continues to weaken.

 

Dam-building policies across the region are among the main factors exacerbating this situation. The positioning of the Dukan Dam along the Erbil–Sulaymaniyah line, the Derbendikhan Dam within Sulaymaniyah’s boundaries, and the Duhok Dam in Duhok indicates that these projects affect not only rural but also urban environments. With dams such as Gomaspan and Bestora, the process has spread to wider water basins, multiplying its impact. The highest concentration of dams is in Sulaymaniyah, Erbil and Duhok.

 

The Gomaspon Dam, opened in Erbil on 16 October 2024 by Federal Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and known as the largest in the region, stands 70 metres high and 513 metres long. The Bestora Dam, also in Erbil, has a capacity of 20 million cubic metres and a height of 30 metres.

 

NATURAL WATER FLOW DISRUPTED

 

The dam-building process is not limited to large-scale projects. The increase in small and medium-sized dams is causing fragmented but widespread damage to river systems, disrupting the natural flow regime of water. This leads to the gradual shrinkage of wetlands, changes in groundwater balance and the interruption of water-dependent ecological cycles, significantly weakening the integrity of the ecosystem.

 

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY DECLINES

 

In agriculture, these projects are producing direct and long-term effects. The interruption of alluvial transport disrupts the natural nutrient cycle of soils, reducing productivity, while increasing salinisation further limits production capacity. Although increased irrigation opportunities may appear beneficial in the short term, structural problems such as soil loss, declining output and growing dependence on water are deepening over time.

 

VILLAGES SUBMERGED

 

Dam projects also have demographic consequences as well as environmental and economic ones. Many villages are either completely submerged or evacuated for security and infrastructure reasons. This leads to forced migration of rural populations towards urban centres. While only partially reflected in official records, developments on the ground indicate a much broader process of displacement.

 

WATER SHARING

 

Meanwhile, water resources are increasingly becoming a political tool. Dams are evolving beyond infrastructure projects for energy production or irrigation into strategic elements that affect regional power balances. Tensions between Iraq’s central government and the Federal Kurdistan Region government over water sharing are deepening, particularly as water levels decrease in downstream basins, raising concerns about potential new regional crises.

 

ECOLOGICAL CRISIS

 

With new dam projects such as Mandawa, Pishdar and Taqtaq, the scope of water policies is expanding further, leaving the region facing not a single-dimensional problem but a multidimensional ecological crisis in which factors reinforce one another. This situation carries the potential for deep and lasting consequences for both natural life and human settlements in the long term.

 

ACTIVE DAMS

 

The Dukan Dam in Sulaymaniyah has a total storage capacity of around 7 billion cubic metres, while the Derbendikhan Dam, also in Sulaymaniyah, holds 2 billion cubic metres of water. The Duhok Dam is an earth-fill structure located on the Duhok River. The Gomaspan Dam in Erbil, the region’s largest, stands 70 metres high and 513 metres long. The Bestora Dam in Erbil has a capacity of 20 million cubic metres and a height of 30 metres. The Mandewa Dam in Erbil has a storage capacity of 1 billion cubic metres.

 

NEW DAM PROJECTS

 

The Pishdar (Wave) Dam is among four dams approved for construction in the Kurdistan Region by the Iraqi parliament. The Taqtaq Dam, built on the Zap River, has a capacity to generate 620 megawatts (MW) of energy. Project work is ongoing for dams planned in Erbil, including Sartık, Xêwete, Delke, Berdesur, Sheikhan, Dereluk, Zakho, Dewanê and Germiyan Turecar. Additional projects include the Xinis Dam in Duhok, the Çemirge Dam in Erbil, the Dêgele Dam, the Herawe, Kadirkerem and Avespî dams in Duhok, the Şiwesur, Heşe Zine and Çemê Simore dams in Sulaymaniyah, and the Keşkan and Bêdohê dams within the Germiyan region.

 

MA / Zeynep Durgut