IS's environmental destruction

     Iraq is dealing with serious environmental pollution due to heavy fighting with ISIS. With fights going on around already unsteady industrial zones, it releasing hazardous chemicals, affecting the soil, air and groundwater. The IS forces have specifically been targeting oil fields in order to pollute the environment there and in return create a most hazardous environment for the Iraqi citizens. Iraq’s Ministry of Environment is already undergoing strategies in order to gain ground on preventing this environmental destruction form spreading. Quataiba al-Jubury, Minister of Enviornment, stated “the ministry will work to fight pollution by adopting techniques for monitoring, control, sensing and the application of effective preventive processes and procedures, combat pollutants that threaten the environment and public health in addition to those related to landmines and explosives planted by terrorists in residential neighborhoods, homes and roads to impede the progress of security forces.” Because they also believe that IS has contaminated the water sources as well, directly or indirectly from the attacks on the oil refineries, Ministry of Environment is also taking measures to test the water to see if it is clean. The World Health Organization has spoken about the increased risk of the environmental hazards from these attacks. Because Iraq’s main industry is oil mining, there is a lot of hazardous potential for this danger to build tremendously. When oil catches on fire it releases plumes pollutant that is hazardous for humans to breathe, not to mention for the ecosystem all around. The polluted water will likely kill many citizens there as it spreads, and there the World Health Organization says that it will not have to proper technology to move fast enough with checking and cleaning all the water sources. Furthermore, relief from UN agencies can only come if the country has requested it, which it has not. Waiting is only going to cause the environmental damage to worsen and be unable to counter. IS has severely hurt Iraq and her people in with these attacks and will only cause more damage. There is no reason for them to stop this environmental destruction until someone stops them.

http://www.isn.ethz.ch/Digital-Library/Articles/Detail/?lng=en&id=189290