The geography of Iraq is diverse and falls into five main regions: the desert, Upper Mesopotamia, the northern highlands of Iraq, Lower Mesopotamia, and the alluvial plain extending from around Tikrit to the Persian Gulf.
Uzbekistan is a country in Central Asia, located north of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. With an area of approximately 447,000 square kilometers, Uzbekistan stretches 1,425 km (885 mi) from west to east and 930 km (580 mi) from north to south. It borders Turkmenistan to the southwest, Kazakhstan to the north and Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to the south and east. Uzbekistan also has four small exclaves in Turkmenistan.
Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physics, biology, meteorology, mathematics and geography to the study of the environment, and the solution of environmental problems. Environmental science emerged from the fields of natural history and medicine during the Enlightenment. Today it provides an integrated, quantitative, and interdisciplinary approach to the study of environmental systems.
The Tigris–Euphrates river system is a large river system in Western Asia that flows into the Persian Gulf. Its primary rivers are the Tigris and Euphrates, along with smaller tributaries.
The Gulf War oil spill, or the "Persian Gulf oil spill", was one of the largest oil spills in history, resulting from the Gulf War in 1991. In January 1991, Iraqi forces allegedly began dumping oil into the Persian Gulf to stop a U.S. coalition-led water landing on their shores. Despite quite high initial estimates, the amount of oil spilled was likely about 4,000,000 US barrels. Within the following months of the spill, most clean-up was targeted at recovering oil, and very little clean-up was done on Saudi Arabia’s highly affected beaches. An initial study in 1993 found that the spill will not have long-term environmental consequences, but many studies since 1991 have concluded the opposite, claiming that the spill is responsible for environmental damage to coastline sediments and marine species and ecosystems. Considered an act of environmental terrorism, the spill was a heated political move that had implications for the larger Gulf War and temporarily damaged Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
Major environmental issues in Syria include deforestation, overgrazing, soil erosion, desertification, water pollution from the dumping of raw sewage and wastes from petroleum refining, and inadequate supplies of potable water.
Petroleum extraction in the Niger Delta has led to many environmental issues. The delta covers 20,000 km2 (7,700 sq mi) within wetlands, formed primarily by sediment deposition. Home to 20 million people and 40 different ethnic groups, this floodplain makes up 7.5% of Nigeria's total land mass, and is Africa's largest wetland. The Delta's environment can be broken down into four ecological zones: coastal barrier islands, mangrove swamp forests, freshwater swamps, and lowland rainforests. Fishing and farming are the main sources of livelihoods for majority of her residents.
African environmental problems are problems caused by the direct and indirect human impacts on the natural environment and affect humans and nearly all forms of life in Africa. Issues include deforestation, soil degradation, air pollution, water pollution, coastal erosion, garbage pollution, climate change, Oil spills, Biodiversity loss, and water scarcity. These issues result in environmental conflict and are connected to broader social struggles for democracy and sovereignty. The scarcity of climate adaptation techniques in Africa makes it the least resilient continent to climate change.
Like most former republics of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan experienced rapid economic development which has led to an increasingly negative impact on the environment, including the inefficient usage of natural resources. The government of Azerbaijan has aimed to increase environmental protection and ensure rational utilization of natural resources, and has introduced a number of important laws, legal documents and state programs to improve the ecological situation in the country. However, these precautionary laws have not been as effective as they were meant to be. Transparency has been a consistent issue in Azerbaijan, as NGOs who are given legal authority to collect data from the oil refineries are often blocked or dismissed, and their information is gathered unofficially. Domestic oil producers have often evaded the regulations, and have not prevented oil leaks into the Caspian Sea. In the next 30 years, Azerbaijan will produce more oil than it produced during the 20th century, and currently there is little coordination or environmental precaution in the oil drilling operations. There is also a lack of communication with neighboring countries bordering the Caspian Sea.
The Mesopotamian Marshes, also known as the Iraqi Marshes, are a wetland area located in Southern Iraq and southwestern Iran as well as partially in northern Kuwait. The marshes are primarily located on the floodplains of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers bound by the cities of Basra, Nasiriyah, Amarah and a portion of southwestern Iran and northern Kuwait. Historically the marshlands, mainly composed of the separate but adjacent Central, Hawizeh and Hammar Marshes, used to be the largest wetland ecosystem of Western Eurasia. The unique wetland landscape is home to the Marsh people, who have developed a unique culture tightly coupled to the landscape – harvesting reeds and rice, fishing, and herding water buffalo.
The Mesopotamian Marshes were drained in Iraq and to a smaller degree in Iran between the 1950s and 1990s to clear large areas of the marshes in the Tigris-Euphrates river system. The marshes formerly covered an area of around 20,000 km2 (7,700 sq mi). The main sub-marshes, the Hawizeh, Central, and Hammar marshes, were drained at different times for different reasons.
Study of the environmental impact of war focuses on the modernization of warfare and its increasing effects on the environment. Scorched earth methods have been used for much of recorded history. However, the methods of modern warfare cause far greater devastation on the environment. The progression of warfare from chemical weapons to nuclear weapons has increasingly created stress on ecosystems and the environment. Specific examples of the environmental impact of war include World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War, the Rwandan Civil War, the Kosovo War, the Gulf War, and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Water pollution in the United States is a growing problem that became critical in the 19th century with the development of mechanized agriculture, mining, and manufacturing industrys—although laws and regulations introduced in the late 20th century have improved water quality in many water bodies. Extensive industrialization and rapid urban growth exacerbated water pollution as a lack of regulation allowed for discharges of sewage, toxic chemicals, nutrients, and other pollutants into surface water. According to the US geographical survey, the water area of the United States is approximately 264,837 square miles.
Pollution is an environmental issue in Canada. It has posed health risks to the Canadian population and is an area of concern for Canadian lawmakers. Air, water and soil pollution as well as the associated health effects are prominent points of contention in modern Canadian society.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to environmentalism:
There are a range of environmental issues in Southern Africa, such as climate change, land, water, deforestation, land degradation, and pollution. The Southern Africa region itself, except for South Africa, produces less carbon emissions but is a recipient of climate change impacts characterized by changes in precipitation, extreme weather events and hot temperatures. Through an attempt of keeping up with the developing world and trying to meet the high demands of the growing population, Southern Africa has exhausted its many resources resulting in severe environmental damage. Southern Africa's log, and produce are the cores of their economy, and this region has become dependent on these resources. The continuous depleting and improper treatment of their natural resources have led Southern Africa to the state where they are.
The desert-covered Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the geographically largest country in the Middle East. Moreover, it accounts for 65% of the overall population of the GCC countries and 42% of its GDP. Saudi Arabia does not have a strong history in environmentalism. Thus, as the number of population increases and the industrial activity grows, environmental issues pose a real challenge to the country.
Environmental issues in Yemen are abundant and are divided into the categories of land and water. In the aspect of water, Yemen has limited natural fresh water resources and inadequate supplies of potable water. As for the land, two main issues of Yemen are overgrazing and desertification. Yemen has signed several international agreements: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, and Ozone Layer Protection.
In Iraq, climate change has led to environmental impacts such as increasing temperatures, decreasing precipitation, land degradation, and water scarcity. Climate change poses numerous risks to human health, livelihoods, political stability, and the sustainable development of the nation. The combination of ecological factors, conflict, weak governance, and an impeded capacity to mitigate climate change, has made Iraq uniquely at risk to the negative effects of climate change, with the UN ranking them the 5th most vulnerable country to climate change. Rising temperatures, intensified droughts, declining precipitation, desertification, salinization, and the increasing prevalence of dust storms are challenges Iraq faces due in to the negative impacts of climate change. National and regional political instability and conflict have made it difficult to mitigate the effects of climate change, address transnational water management, and develop sustainably. Climate change has negatively impacted Iraq's population through loss of economic opportunity, food insecurity, water scarcity, and displacement.
