02/06/2026
iNNOV8 Environment Week🍀🌲- Day 2
Forests and Green Spaces in the Kurdistan Region: A Governance Challenge Hidden in Plain Sight?
The Kurdistan Region of Iraq has lost more than half of its forest cover over the past several decades. While climate change, illegal logging, military conflict, and urban expansion have all played a role, the deeper problem lies elsewhere.
The challenge is not planting trees. The challenge is sustaining them.
Despite ambitious greening and afforestation initiatives across the Kurdistan Region, environmental efforts continue to prioritize planting over the long-term monitoring, maintenance, water integration, and institutional coordination required for survival.
In this new iNNOV8 policy brief, Noor Omer argues that the Kurdistan Region's forest and green space crisis is fundamentally a governance challenge.
Environmental responsibilities remain fragmented across multiple institutions, accountability mechanisms are weak, dedicated budgets are limited, and success is often measured by the number of saplings planted rather than the number of trees that survive.
🌱 As the paper concludes:
"The Kurdistan Region does not lack the will to green its landscapes. What it lacks is the institutional capacity to ensure what is planted today survives tomorrow."
Drawing on interviews with environmental practitioners, government officials, and historical evidence, the paper examines the roots of forest loss, evaluates current policy responses, and offers practical recommendations to move from symbolic greening toward sustainable environmental governance.
Read the full paper at https://innov8.krd/4524
