Can militant groups be environmentalists?
The case for engaging with militant groups to protect the environment Competition over scarce natural resources is often a key driver of the tensions that fuel armed conflict in different corners of the world. Yet in the heat of battle, environmental considerations are often relegated to afterthoughts, as smoke from burning buildings clouds the skies [...]
Iraqi Kurdistan’s archaeological hotspots revived, but vulnerable
Political uncertainty, a protracted economic crisis and rapid development pose challenges to heritage conservation in the archaeologically rich Kurdistan Region of Iraq. In late October, University of Tübingen archaeologists working in the Kurdish region of Iraq discovered a cuneiform archive of 93 clay tablets belonging to the Middle Assyrian Empire and dating from 1250 BCE. [...]
Poverty and Lax Laws Threaten Iraqi Wildife
A combination of poverty and loosely applied laws is threatening the survival of rare wildlife in Iraq and Kurdistan, according to animal protection organizations. For years, hunters and smugglers have taken advantage of chaos, unrest, and lack of regulation to illegally hunt and trade rare species. Birds and foxes from the remote mountains of Kurdistan [...]
Businessman Pioneers Emu Farming in Kurdistan
The tall flightless birds who call the warm, red earth of Australia home were brought here by Hassan Ali Rahman three years ago, when he set out to establish the region's first emu farm. GIRDASUR, Kurdistan Region – Hidden among the hills at the end of a dusty dirt road, from afar the farm appears [...]
Kurdistan Kayak Expedition to Raise Awareness About Threats to Rivers
Expedition aims to highlight threats to rivers in the Kurdistan Region and the value of keeping rivers wild, free and clean SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region – “There is a saying: Drink from the river, catch fish from the river and swim in the river,” says Nabil Musa, recalling the river of his childhood, “But we have [...]