Environmental degradation assessment in arid areas: a case study from Basra Province, southern Iraq

Evaluation of recent land degradation affecting Basra Province, Iraq, resulted in the identification of five prominent environmental degradation processes: desertification, secondary salinization, urbanization, vegetation degradation, and loss of wetlands. This analysis was carried out using '3S' technologies [remote sensing, geographic information system (GIS), and global position system], with the layers extracted and manipulated from available topographic, climatic, and soil maps, as well as satellite image (thematic mapping in 1990 and enhanced thematic mapping in 2003) and field survey data analyses. Rates of conversion were calculated and distribution patterns were mapped with the aid of a GIS. The results revealed that land use changes have affected the wider environment and accelerated land degradation, with severe damage located in southwestern Basra Province representing 28.1 % of the total area. Areas of high to moderate degradation characterize the rest of the south, representing 52.7 % of the total area; while the north of the study region is characterized by very low and low degradation levels accounting for 8.5 and 10.7 %, respectively. Iraq faces serious environmental degradation problems that must be addressed immediately; failure to do so will greatly compound the cost and complexity of later remedial efforts, with environmental degradation beginning even now to pose a major threat to human well-being, especially among the poor.