THE IRAQ MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT'S EVOLVING ROLE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 000238

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV EPET ECIN KHDP KSCA IZ
SUBJECT: THE IRAQ MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT'S EVOLVING ROLE

REF: 08 BAGHDAD 3565

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Summary
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1. (SBU) The Ministry of Environment (MoEnv) lacks sufficient
training and equipment to execute its main responsibilities
of environmental monitoring and clean up, Minister Narmin
Othman told EMIN on January 22. Demining is presently a
MoEnv responsibility, but the Ministry of Defense continues
to encroach on this mission. A key responsibility for MoEnv
is the survey and clean-up of approximately 110 contaminated
sites, 25 of which were identified in a 166-page 2005 United
Nations Environment Program report (UNEP) as Iraq's most
dangerous "hot spots." MoEnv has allocated funds to clean up
one site per year and claims to have completed clean-up at
three sites (with UNEP assistance) and commenced at a forth.
The MoEnv is responsible for water quality and wildlife
monitoring in the marsh region, while the Ministry of Water
Resources has responsibility to supply the necessary water.
Due to water shortages caused upstream by dam projects in
Turkey and flow diversion in Iran, she does not believe the
marsh can be restored much more than the 40%-50% level that
has already been reached. GOI responsibility for oil spill
response and cleanup in Iraq remains a nebulous topic. MoEnv
has oil spill monitoring responsibility, implying it is up to
the Ministry of Oil (MoO) to perform the actual immediate
response and clean up duties. The Minister admitted GOI's
ongoing negotiations with the Marine Emergency Mutual Aid
Center (MEMAC) were "not going well," and said responsibility
for that specific issue had been taken from MoEnv and handed
over to the Prime Minister's legal advisor. End summary.

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Environment: A Novel Issue in Iraq
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2. (SBU) Minister of Environment Narmin Othman told EMIN on
January 22 that among the Ministry of Environment's (MoEnv)
greatest needs is to build expertise. "Everything linked to
the environment is new in Iraq," she said, underscoring her
ongoing challenge to bring environmental issues to the
attention of both the Government of Iraq (GOI) and its
citizens. Major projects in Iraq now require an
environmental impact statement, some of which are prepared by
the MoEnv and others by private companies. The Minister
claimed she receives daily phone calls from various
organizations throughout Iraq complaining that that the MoEnv
is holding up progress. "I do not care -- I work for Iraq,
not the special interest groups who think they deserve
exceptional treatment."


3. (SBU) The MoEnv lacks proper training and equipment to
execute its main responsibilities of environmental monitoring
and clean up, Othman said, with emphasis on the ministry's
limited capacity to write reports. EMIN, stressing USG
continued commitment to help build GOI capacity, noted that
many of our bilateral environmental issues will now be
addressed through the Strategic Framework Agreement under the
Information and Technology Services Joint Coordination
Committee (JCC). Othman said she had already received a
letter from the GOI appointing her as a member of that JCC.

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MoEnv's Role in Demining, "Hot Spots," Marshes, and Oil Spills
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4. (SBU) Demining is presently a MoEnv responsibility, but
the Ministry of Defense continues to encroach on this
mission. "I think it is a corruption issue -- the MoD wants
all of the money for training and mine clean-up operations
for themselves." According to the Minister, the Ottawa
Qfor themselves." According to the Minister, the Ottawa
Treaty on land mines requires each country's mine action
authority to be overseen by a civilian agency. Iraq has over
25 million mines throughout the country, she said, with the
vast majority in the north (from Saddam's repression of the
Kurds in the 1980s and 1990s) and in the southern provinces
from the Iran-Iraq War and First Gulf War. (Comment: MNF-I
told EconOff that the United Nations Development Program's
Mine Action Team has engaged the Prime Minister's Office
(PMO),MoD, and MoEnv recently on numerous occasions to
negotiate an agreement that would maintain MoEnv
responsibility for this issue. The PMO has not yet made a
decision and the responsibility, for now, remains with MoEnv.
There are many examples of countries that have their
national mine action authority under the Ministry of Defense,
in full accord with the Ottawa Treaty. End comment.)


5. (SBU) A key ongoing issue for MoEnv is the survey and
clean-up of approximately 110 contaminated sites, 25 of which
were identified in a 166-page 2005 United Nations Environment
Program report (UNEP) as Iraq's most dangerous "hot spots."

BAGHDAD 00000238 002 OF 002


The UNEP report also identified 5 locations for priority
attention. MoEnv has allocated funds to clean up one site
per year and claims to have completed clean-up at three sites
(with UNEP assistance) and commenced at a forth. Othman
added, however, that these cleanups are not done very well
and often are not complete. (Comment: The Minister also
claimed depleted uranium (DU) as a particular environmental
threat in Iraq, but continually mischaracterized the danger
as a radiation problem. EmbOff tried to correct this
misconception, noting that DU dust can be dangerous if
inhaled, but DU is not otherwise dangerous as a radiation
threat or ground water contaminant. It did not appear that
the Minister recognized the distinction. End comment.)


6. (SBU) The MoEnv is responsible for water quality and
wildlife monitoring in the marsh region, while the Ministry
of Water Resources has "responsibility for filling the
marshes," she said. MoEnv is fulfilling their water
monitoring responsibilities through an ongoing joint project
with the UNEP, Government of Italy, and Government of Japan.
"I brought peace to the region," she claimed, through her
efforts to inform local stakeholders and build consensus for
united action. "Like the Titanic, we were all going to go
down together if we did not come to an understanding." The
GOI Minister of the Marshlands, she claimed, "is hunting in
the marshes, killing the birds, and wants to introduce new
fish species, whereas I am trying to protect the fish that
are already there." Due to water shortages caused upstream
by dam projects in Turkey and flow diversion in Iran, she
does not believe the marsh can be restored much more than the
40%-50% level that has already been reached. (Comment:
Drought persists throughout the Middle East and water
shortage to the marshes is attributed predominantly to
drought. End comment.). She hopes to make the Iraqi marshes
a National Heritage Site and ensure they do not lose their
hard-won gains. (Comment: The Minister will travel to
Nairobi, Kenya, on February 14th to attend the 25th Session
of the Governing Council of the Global Ministerial Forum.
She will be heading a panel on gender and environment as well
as delivering a brief on the Iraq marshes. End comment.)


7. (SBU) GOI responsibility for oil spill response and
cleanup in Iraq remains a nebulous topic. The Minister said
MoEnv has oil spill monitoring responsibility, implying it
was up to the Ministry of Oil (MoO) to perform the actual
immediate response and clean up duties. She said the
Ministry sent a letter to MoO underscoring the dangers of the
dilapidated state of the large southern export pipeline which
is already many years beyond its design lifetime. "All of
Iraq expired 25 years ago," she quipped, specifically citing
water, sewage, and oil infrastructure. The Minister admitted
GOI's ongoing negotiations with the Marine Emergency Mutual
Aid Center (MEMAC) were "not going well," and said
responsibility for that specific issue had been taken from
MoEnv and handed over to the PM's legal advisor, Dr. Fadel.
(Comment: CAPT Janahi, MEMAC Director, recently confirmed to
EconOff that Iraq had not yet paid its yearly MEMAC
membership dues or arrears (reftel). End comment.)

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Comment
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8. (SBU) MoEnv handles a hodgepodge of issues and has an
uphill battle, as do its counterparts in other developing
countries, convincing other GOI ministries and agencies that
environmental protection and remediation efforts should not
be sacrificed for the sake of economic development. Despite
its shortcomings in financing and technical capability,
Qits shortcomings in financing and technical capability,
however, MoEnv has the lead on several important issues that
are common to the region such as a fragile desert ecosystem.
Developing and implementing the appropriate policies requires
a coordinated interagency effort. We will use the planned
Environment Working Group under the Strategic Framework
Agreement structure to explore ways to bolster MoEnv
capabilities and their position within the GOI.
CROCKER