The impact of the water policy of neighboring countries on the reality of the Iraqi marshes from the perspective of international law

Shaya, Badour Murad; Mohammed, Osama Sabry

doi:10.63677/jqlap.2025.185006

The impact of the water policy of neighboring countries on the reality of the Iraqi marshes from the perspective of international law

https://doi.org/10.63677/jqlap.2025.185006

Volume 16, Issue: 1 part 1
Winter 2025

Pages 121-140

AL-Qadisiya Journal For Law and Political Sciences

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Badour Murad Shaya

Osama Sabry Mohammed

College of Law - Al-Qadisiyah University

Abstract

Iraq suffers from many challenges that have contributed significantly to the acute shortage of Iraqi water resources, and this shortage has worsened into a real crisis that has left clear negative effects on water security in general, and has been reflected in different periods on the ecosystems that water is an essential element for its sustainability, foremost of which are the marshes lands in southern Iraq, represented by the loss of this region as an important water resource and a tourist and economic site, as well as the environmental effects that resulted from the drought, given the dependence of this region mainly on water The two rivers in meeting their water requirements, which have recently declined due to many obstacles, as the water policy followed by the riparian countries with Iraq is the most prominent, through the implementation of their development plans to exploit the waters of the two rivers, contrary to international rules and agreements that regulated the use of shared river water equitably with the need to respect the interests of all countries bordering these rivers, which caused the gradual decline of large areas of the marshes and a water deficit in these areas, which required studying this problem Explain their legal dimensions from the perspective of the rules of international law.

Keywords

Water policy

Neighboring countries

Iraq Marshes

Legal dimensions

Shared rivers