Iraq’s 21st-Century Challenges and How They Can Be Addressed

This Talk Reports on Iraq focus on the difficulties and problems arising from its legacy of wars and dictatorship. This is to be expected in a post-conflict country undergoing such a radical transition. Yet, these are quite possibly not the most worrisome factors likely to affect Iraq's future. Often overlooked are the consequences of the cumulative effect of decades of environmental neglect and misguided economic policies. These are now compounded by climate change as well as upstream dam construction on Iraq's two main rivers as well as their tributaries. Some of these policies and their consequences will be discussed and elements of a possible response will be presented.