Environmental Legislation Guides in Kurdistan Region – Iraq

It is known that the existence of environmental institutions for environmental protection is not enough unless they are empowered or have some sort of independence in applying environment rules. Without having power, government institutions will fail to execute their duties.
Environmental pollution is the forefront issue throughout the worlds ‘countries and considered to be a modern problem. Kurdistan Region faces multiple environmental problems especially in environmental laws and how they are executed.
Despite the fact that Kurdistan Region in particular and Iraq in general legislate many laws, instructions, decisions and regulations that conserve and protect the environment that is considered valid and executable until now, there is a sort of mixing and confusion among them when they are reviewed by
stake holders and citizens as many of them have multiple source of legislation in one hand and are dated back to the seventies and eighties on the other hand.
Therefore, Nature Iraq organization found that it is their duty to contribute in the making of the legal guide particularly for all environmental laws in Kurdistan Region – Iraq, with the aim to collect the environmental
laws, instructions and regulations into one booklet with the goal of raising awareness standards for citizens and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) through familiarizing with their rights and duties towards the environment and then, facilitating the execution of environmental laws by the stakeholders.
The guide consists of three important elements to the environment (Soil, Water and Air) and also the living elements (plants and animals) and will be distributed to all related environmental governmental institutions and CSOs in Kurdistan Region in three languages (Kurdish, Arabic and English).
Nature Iraq organization started to translate, print, and publish the legal guide under (Iraq Waterkeeper Environmental Law and Advocacy Project) funded by the European Union.

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