1K trees destroyed: Wildfire hits Kurdistan’s al-Sulaymaniyah

Shafaq News – Al-Sulaymaniyah

A massive fire tore through the Doli Dokanian area of Arbat sub-district on Thursday, destroying about 20 dunams of natural land and nearly 1,000 trees, according to the Forest and Environment Police.

The blaze is the latest in a series of wildfires across Kurdistan Region’s al-Sulaymaniyah province, following one in Qardagh that burned 50 dunams of orchards and forests, and another in Sharbazher that consumed nearly 10,000 dunams of woodland.

Over the past six months, more than 9,400 acres have been lost to flames across the province. Some fires were sparked by lightning, including one that scorched over 3,000 acres, but many have been tied to human negligence, such as the July 2020 blaze that wiped out more than 5,000 dunams.

Environment Police in Arbat, backed by Civil Defense units from Sitak, quickly contained the latest fire. Investigators traced the cause to careless fire-setting, leading to one arrest and ongoing legal proceedings.

The destruction adds to Iraq’s broader environmental crisis. More than 60% of the country is desert or actively desertifying. Current figures show 40% of Iraq affected by desertification, 70% of farmland abandoned, and over one million trees lost in just two years, leaving forests at less than 2% of national land cover. Experts estimate reversing the trend would require planting nearly 15 billion trees.

Read more: Green turning grey: Inside Iraq's accelerating desertification

In response, local governments have launched reforestation initiatives. Baghdad recently rolled out its largest tree-planting campaign to date and banned the removal of mature trees along Abu Nuwas Street. In Kirkuk, authorities are expanding urban green space through a citywide greening drive. In Diyala, forestry teams have revived a 20-dunum nursery cultivating 11 endangered, drought-resistant species.