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Urban environmental problems in cities

of the Kurdistan region in Iraq
a
M. Khalis Raouf Hassan
a
Faculty of Environmental Studies , York University , 4700 Keele
Street, Toronto, ON, M 3J 1P3, Canada
Published online: 22 Jan 2010.

To cite this article: M. Khalis Raouf Hassan (2010) Urban environmental problems in cities of the
Kurdistan region in Iraq, Local Environment: The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability,
15:1, 59-72, DOI: 10.1080/13549830903406073

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 Local Environment
Vol. 15, No. 1, January 2010, 59 –72

Urban environmental problems in cities of the Kurdistan region

in Iraq
M. Khalis Raouf Hassan

Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON M 3J 1P3,
Canada

Cities in the Kurdistan region in Iraq – particularly, the capital city of Hewlair (Erbil) –
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are facing environmental problems such as water, air and noise pollution. Political
instability, ethnic tensions, politically motivated decisions, wars and economic
sanctions, consumerism, lack of sufficient funds, and tension between the federal and
regional governments due to power and wealth sharing are major contributors to the
environmental problems; this paper will depict and analyse these. Although these
problems are causing serious health issues for the inhabitants and sometimes death,
the authorities are unable to solve them. The paper sheds light on the causes and
effects of the environmental problems and also draws conclusions and makes
suggestions.
Keywords: Kurdistan region; environmental problems; political instability; ethnic
tension

Introduction
Rapid urbanisation and urban development in cities of many developing countries are
causing environmental problems such as water, air, and noise pollution. The water in
most of those cities is polluted (Novotny 2003) as a result of the lack of sewerage
system and sewage treatment plants. This is in turn due to political instability, lack of suffi-
cient funds, or corruption, which jeopardises the public to health risks. In addition, the air is
polluted because of high concentration of particles and gases generated by coal combustion,
vehicles, power plants, and generators (Colls 2002), which cause respiratory diseases and
even deaths. The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that exposure to the
ambient concentration particles in the air causes 500,000 premature deaths each year
(WHO 2005). In most cities of developing countries, indoor and outdoor air pollution is
a health hazard for it damages the respiratory system or causes death. According to the
WHO, 1.6 million die as a result of indoor air pollution (WHO 2005). Hence, urban
dwellers in developing countries, particularly the urban poor, are vulnerable to various
respiratory diseases for their humble houses lack proper ventilation and they cannot afford
clean appliances and fuels. Another environmental problem is the noise pollution associated
with the urban transport, construction and industry. In the recent decades, the number of
automobiles has increased in most Third-World countries, contributing to noise pollution
and having an impact on the public health. This demonstrates the inability of most


Email: mkhassan@yorku.ca

ISSN 1354-9839 print/ISSN 1469-6711 online

# 2010 Taylor & Francis
DOI: 10.1080/13549830903406073
http://www.informaworld.com
 60 M.K.R. Hassan

governments in developing countries to provide modern, efficient, and clean transportation

due to the reasons mentioned earlier. Industrial expansion and increase in the number of
factories and workshops also produce noise. The excessive usage of audio and visual
equipment leads to noise pollution (Cahmers 2004), which is also a health risk. Lack of
noise control regulations and their enforcement further exacerbate noise pollution too.
Like cities in other developing countries, cities in Kurdistan region in Iraq (KRI) are
facing water, air, and noise pollution, which is evident particularly in Hewlair (Erbil in
Kurdish is Hewlair). The water in Hewlair is polluted because of the lack of sewerage
system and wastewater treatment plant up until recently; still 50% of the population has
no access to clean water (Padden 2007). The air is also polluted due to increase in the
number of automobiles, industrialisation, and rudimentary garbage management, which
have a drastic impact on the public health. The city also suffers from the noise arising
from increase in the number of cars used, rapid urbanisation and urban development,
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using sophisticated machinery in construction, increase in the usage of audio and visual
devices, opening computer cafes, building more mosques, and installation of loudspeakers.
Collectively they produce formidable noise, which disturbs the public.
There are several reasons for the current environmental problems in Hewlair, which
include political instability, socio-economic changes, ethnic tensions, rapid urbanisation,
centrality of the planning, and lack of infrastructure planning frameworks. The cited
environmental problems in Hewlair have crucial health consequences. There is, therefore,
an urgent need to study water, air, and noise pollution in Hewlair in order to make it a live-
able city. There is a fundamental call for infrastructure planning in Hewlair in order to
protect the public health and to reduce the risk of epidemics caused by these problems.
This paper, hence, specifically deals with water, air, and noise pollution in Hewlair and
their impact on the public health. It also describes and analyses their roots for reducing
their adverse impact on the public health and draws conclusions and makes suggestions.
The information used in this paper is based on primary and secondary sources. The
primary sources include governmental studies and surveys conducted in the KRI by the
UN organisations. The secondary sources include books, scholarly articles published in
the journals pertaining to the environmental problems, and articles published in the local
press. Online information was used too. The author’s personal knowledge of these problems
are also employed for he lived and worked in Hewlair.

Environmental problems in Hewlair: background

Like other cities in Iraq, Hewlair faces environmental problems that are health hazards
needing urgent attention, these are given below.

Water pollution
Clean water undoubtedly is significant for human health. In Hewlair, 50% of the water is
contaminated because of the non-existence of sewerage and comprehensive drainage
system. Polluted water causes health problems because of water-borne diseases such as
typhoid, cholera, diarrhoeal diseases, hepatitis A and B, leptospirosis, dysentery, and
polio. Hence, consuming water in Hewlair leads to a health risk and can cause death.
Regarding the municipal sewage, industrial wastewater, agricultural runoff, and storm
water and urban runoff pollute the water. The Minister of Public Works addressed this
issue in Paris Conference of March 2004 by stating that 50% of Iraqis do not have
access to clean water (UNEP 2003, Berwari 2004). The same is true of Hewlair, as cited
 Local Environment 61

in Padden (2007). As a result, a majority of households in the city use pit latrines for dis-
posing human waste and wastewater, which pollutes the underground water – one of the
main water sources. The situation in slum areas is much worse for households drain their
wastewater into the open gutters running in narrow alleys. The rusty and old water
mains in these areas also pollute water because of water leakage; furthermore, many dis-
tricts obtain water from the contaminated wells, streams, and river tributaries because the
untreated sewage is discharged into them (UNICEF 2000, Padden 2007). The UNICEF’s
cluster survey in the KRI in 1996 found that 28% of the children were suffering from diar-
rhoea (UNICEF 1996), which reflects the impact of polluted water on the children’s health.
In Hewlair alone, during the early 1990s, over one-third of the water samples were contami-
nated with bacteria (UNICEF 2000). The study revealed that one of the reasons for unfit
water is malfunctioning of the chlorinating system of the city’s water supply. Another
reason is that the municipal is still providing untreated water from the wells to the
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households that are unconnected to the city’s water supply system (Padden 2007). The
water pollution problem is attributed to the Gulf war in 1991 and to the economic sanctions
imposed by the UN on Iraq, as a result of which the urban infrastructure was damaged.
Other sources of water pollution in Hewlair are detergents, industrial wastes discharged
into the water sources, slaughterhouses’ wastes, poultry farms’ wastes, and clinical
wastes, pesticides and chemical fertilisers used in the gardens and urban farms. According
to the WHO standards, the water quality is worse in Badawa squatter settlement, where
around 42,000 poor people live and only 30% of them benefit from the municipal water
supply (World Bank 2004), because 20% of the water leakage and power failure. In
many districts, the water is still directly pumped from wells to the households (Gaznayee
2000). This is due to the authorities’ inability to provide clean water to the people and
protect them from diseases as the central government allocated meagre funds for the Kurdi-
stan Regional Government (KRG) and due to the tense relationship between them and
ethnic sensitivity. Hence, the total number of those infected or died by the polluted water
is still unknown due to the unavailability of reliable data and the possibility of inaccurate
information. However, new information provided by IRIN (2008) shows that two cholera
death cases were confirmed in Hewlair in 2008, which illustrates only a tiny part of the
water pollution’s impact on the public health. Other deaths from typhoid and hepatitis A
and B were also reported, but the actual number is not available, which masks the extent
of the water pollution’s influence on the city dwellers.
Despite the authorities’ knowledge of water pollution in Hewlair, they have not yet
taken enough efforts for improving water quality and to reduce its risks. However,
instead of central government implementing water projects in Hewlair, the Ifraz water treat-
ment plant project is recently executed by the American occupation forces of the Gary York
with the US Army Corps of Engineers in the KRI, located 32 km north of Hewlair, which
provides 50% of the population with the treated water (Padden 2007). Hence, the scope of
impact of the contaminated water on the public is yet unknown because of unavailability of
information and the possibility of unreported death cases or undiagnosed cases related to
the water-borne diseases. This can be attributed to the lack of awareness, political instabil-
ity, power sharing disputes between Baghdad and Hewlair, lack of funding, and corruption
(Mohammed and Rasheed 2008).

Air pollution
The air in Hewlair is polluted by greenhouse emissions produced mainly by the energy use
driven mostly by the fuel used for power plants and generators. Carbon dioxide emissions
 62 M.K.R. Hassan

related to energy, ensuing from natural gas and petroleum, also contribute to air pollution.
Other sources of air pollution include urban transport, industry, power generators, burning
clinical wastes and domestic garbage, and dust storms. Vehicular emission is the principal
source of air pollution. Hydrocarbons (HCs) – for example, Benzene – are generated by
incomplete fuel burning or from unevaporated oil products from cars fuel tanks and/or car-
buretors. It is estimated that 70% – 80% of total HCs are emitted by the urban transport activi-
ties. Diesel is used widely in buses and tracks because it is a cheap fuel; they emit sulphur
dioxide (SO2) and fine particulates, which pollute the air and gets into the respiratory system.
The air in Hewlair was much cleaner before the number of automobiles increased as a result
of economic prosperity. In the KRI, the number of vehicles increased from 120,049 in 1988
to 135,816 in 1993 (Ministry of Planning, Central Statistical Organization 1993) or 13%
increase. This was due to the politically motivated decisions adopted by Saddam, who allo-
cated cars for families who lost their loved ones in the Iraq – Iran war so as to calm their anger
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and for the members of the ruling Ba’ath party and army officers to ensure their allegiance,
thus more vehicles were placed on the streets of Iraqi cities including Hewlair. However,
further increase occurred from 1992 onwards for the Kurds living in Europe began to admit
cars into the region (Al-Bazaz 2002). After the occupation of Iraq in 2003, the number of auto-
mobiles further increased for the new regime abolished the ban imposed by Saddam on car
importation, and in mid-2003, about 800,000 new and used cars were admitted to Iraq, one-
third of which was brought into the KRI, where Hewlair had the lion share. Accordingly,
the number of cars increased in Hewlair from 59,000 in 1991 to 162,273 in 2006 (or 175%
increase). In 2006 alone, the Directorate of Traffic (DOT) registered 1200 cars monthly
(Abdulqadir 2006), 14,400 cars annually or 43,200 cars in the last three years, making the
total number of cars to 205,473 in 2009 (or 27% increase). This percentage shows a
massive increase in number of vehicles in Hewlair due to the political changes and economic
prosperity; this worsens air quality, for over 50% of the imported cars in 2004 were used
(Eltayeb and Qudoos 2004). The rise in the number of vehicles, leaded gas, and lax control
of air quality are polluting the air in the city, which leads to crucial health consequences
(Department of Economic and Social Affairs Commission Sustainable Development 2001).
Of particular importance is the quality of gas; street gas vendors mix the gas with paraffin (a
petroleum bi-product) to reduce the gas quality to offer it for a lower price (Abdulqadir
2006), resulting in air pollution.
Public and informal urban transport also contribute to air pollution for most vehicles are
old and emit huge quantities of fume generated by the leaded gas on the congested routes of
the city centre and in the suburbs. In the mid-1980s, a study on the existence of lead in the
air in Hewlair estimated the highest concentration of lead (1102 mg) and the lowest
(151 mg), and found the highest concentration of lead in the city centre and along the
congested transport corridors (Haque 1987). Accordingly, due to the immense increase in
number of vehicles and power generators, currently the lead concentration should be
much higher because more vehicles exist now than existed in 1980s. Therefore, the
impact of leaded gas on the public health is greater now. Other sources of air pollution
in Hewlair are industries, clinical wastes, burning domestic wastes, power stations and
power generators, undeveloped urban lands, unpaved roads, dust storms, and firewood.
They have an impact on the air quality for they produce fine dust, fume, and smoke, and
many undeveloped lands turned to garbage dump sites. Their direct influence on the
health of the city dwellers is unclear due to the unavailability of information, which
conceals socioeconomic costs of the respiratory diseases caused by air pollution like asthma.
Authorities in Hewlair are aware of the air pollution problems; hence, they have
recently initiated some positive steps for enhancing the air quality. For example, the
 Local Environment 63

DOT requires purchasers of the new cars to buy an old car for dismantling it and reusing its
license plate for the new car; hence, so far it had dismantled 5158 old cars (Abdulqadir
2006). The DOT also decided to dismantle cars manufactured before 1989 and those
were made in 1990s, which generate huge amount of fumes. Other steps include
construction of pedestrian bridges and tunnels for easing traffic flows and for shortening
travel, waiting time, and congestion, which reduces the amount of emissions released into
the air. These measures undoubtedly have improved air quality and reduced traffic jams;
however, more effective measures (for example, efficient garbage management, enhancing
fuel quality, provision of clean public transport, educating people – particularly the
youth – to use bicycles, allocating particular bicycle and bus lanes, and importing battery
electric and hybrid vehicles) and research are needed for further improving the air quality.
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Noise pollution
Noise pollution is a health hazard for undesired or excessive sounds disturb people and
cause health problems. Noise can negatively affect human performance; for example,
improper hearing, reading, and nervousness are serious health problems that hamper
human development. Exposure to the noise above 80 dB may lead to aggressiveness
(Garcia 2001). According to the WHO, some 120 million people globally have hearing
problems (WHO 2001), which has to be dealt with seriously; hence, reducing excessive
noise in the cities should become a priority.
Cities generally are noisy because of cars, industries, and human movements and activi-
ties. Most cities in developing countries are noisy due to the human actions and lack of
effective noise control regulations and reinforcement. Noise pollution in Hewlair is a
serious environmental problem too. Until 1950s the city was much quieter, due to the
slow urbanisation process and modest population growth, existence of lesser vehicles
and fewer power generators, limited construction works and simpler machinery used in
building, and the presence of lesser mosques and loudspeakers. Until recently, neither
audio, video, or cassette shops nor computer cafes existed in Hewlair. Now, they are
found almost in all parts of the city, particularly in the city centre, and they generate exces-
sive noise because of increasing demand on these devices, due to the rapid urbanisation,
economic prosperity, and consumerism. The need for housing, shops, offices, and public
buildings is leading to the citywide urban development and construction operations.
When combined, these generate immense noise in Hewlair.
Urban transport is one of the key sources of noise pollution. In 1957, there was only one
public bus and fewer private cars and taxis than those exist nowadays, for the city was
smaller and walking was the mode of transport. As cited, the number of private cars
increased and informal urban transport has drastically expanded owing to the lack of
efficient and adequate public transit. It is a main contributor to the noise pollution for the
majority of the buses of this sector are old and those who drive buses use horns in the
congested streets and in the vicinity of, and within, the city centre, where the competition
for space between pedestrians, vendors’ carts and the vehicles is intense due to the
congested narrow streets and sidewalks. Noise within these areas is more, particularly
during the hot summer days, for driving and waiting in 45– 50 Celsius irritates the motorists
and inevitably force them to use horns. Hence, in the absence of noise control measures,
noise pollution becomes a real concern for many inhabitants.
The current urban development is also contributing to the noise pollution for it is
ongoing on an unprecedented pace and the use of heavy construction machinery generates
formidable noise in the construction locations. Their impact is immense on the workers, on
 64 M.K.R. Hassan

those living close to these locations, and on the by-passers as well. There were rumours that
some residents had vowed to go on a hunger strike in protest against the noise produced by
the construction equipments (Harminia 2006). Industry also increases noise pollution. It has
been estimated that the industrial noise pollution in developing countries is higher than that
in developed countries (WHO 2001). This could be true because many industrial activities
are practised in workshops located in the congested areas and some even on the sidewalks
owing to the lack of adequate space and random distribution of industries. Another factor is
the design of workshops where industrial activities are practised, for many shops are small
and unsuitable for these types of activities. Since 1970s, noise pollution is on the rise in
Hewlair because of industries brought into the city, causing huge disturbance to those
work in the industrial areas and in their vicinity. To reduce the noise and the mess
caused by industries, the Municipality in association with the Union of Mechanics and
the Planning Department in the General Secretariat for Municipality and Resorts
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(GSMR) planned and implemented two industrial areas for pollutant and non-pollutant
industries in Hewlair in 1977. The first located on the Mukhmour highway in the southwest
and the second on the Shaqlawa highway in the northeast. The relocation decision of
industries was a positive step for enhancing the urban environment; however, both areas
lacked basic services for the municipality was unable to provide them. Currently, they
are surrounded by new residential areas due to the urban expansion and are causing
traffic jams, and noise pollution.
Other sources of noise include excessive use of loudspeakers in social, religious, and pol-
itical gatherings and celebrations. Mosques, possibly, are one of the sources of noise pollution
in Hewlair for the loudspeakers are installed on the top of their minarets used by the Muezzin
five times a day to signify the start of prayers with excessive voice, particularly in the dawn
where their impact is acute and on Fridays. The severity of their impact can possibly be
measured from their numbers. Hewlair had 78 mosques in 1975, which increased probably
to 400 now (2009), owing to the economic prosperity and huge increase in its population.
Those most affected by the noise generated by mosques are children, elderly, and the sick,
because the mosques are being built within the neighbourhoods as a community service.
Since it is a delicate religious issue, discussing and opposing it always creates strong reaction
from the interest groups; hence, the authorities remain passive and ignored their impact.
However, finding alternative means should seriously be sought for reducing their adverse affect.
Advancement in the audio and visual devices, spread of CDs and cassettes shops, and
computer cafes in Hewlair also contribute to the noise pollution. The new developments
like shopping malls, hotels, and restaurants attract customers and cars, and also generate
immense noise. Lack of noise control measures is a problem that has to be addressed, in
order to protect people from excessive noise. Unavailability of information concerning
the impact of noise pollution on the public hides the actual scale of their influence as a
health risk. This is attributed to the little attention being given to the noise pollution and
lack of awareness.

Root causes of environmental problems

The presence of environmental problems in urban areas is linked to numerous factors. The
same can be said of Hewlair and are discussed below.

Political instability and the funds

Iraq is located in west Asia and divided into four regions: the northern region (the KRI
forms almost 90% of it), the central, the western, and the southern region. The modern
 Local Environment 65

state of Iraq was founded in 1921 by the British after the demise of Ottoman Empire in
1918, which had Iraq as one of its provinces for over four centuries. Redrawing the bound-
aries in the Middle East created a number of ethnically and religiously heterogeneous states,
Iraq was one such. In 2005, the population of Iraq was estimated at 27 million, 75– 80% are
Arabs (Muslims Shiites and Sunnis), 15– 20% are Kurds Muslims (mainly Sunnis), and 5%
are other minorities (Cheldeans, Assyrians, Armenians, and Mandaeans). In the late nine-
teenth century, during the Ottoman rule, Arabs and Kurds were struggling for independent
states. The British helped the Arabs in establishing Iraq and did not help the Kurds because
of their own interests and annexed the southern Kurdistan (the present KRI) to Iraq for
political and economic motives (Simon, 1996, McDowall 2000, Abdullah 2003). The
British wanted to strengthen Iraq’s economy with the Kurdish oil, fertile lands, and
ample agricultural products and to create a sectarian balance through them (for the majority
of them are Sunnis) in order to undermine the Shiite majority. From 1919 to 1945, the Kurds
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fought British occupation and the Arab forces to have an independent state, but because the
international politics was not on their side (McDowall 2000), they reduced their demand to
autonomy within Iraq, which did not materialise either. Hence, ethnic tension continued still
between the Arab majority and the Kurdish minority. The Kurds renewed their demand for
the autonomy in 1959 but was rejected by Baghdad, and the ethnic conflict restarted from
1961 through 2003.
The four decades of ethnic conflict turned the KRI to a war zone, giving Baghdad good
pretext for neglecting its cities, which exacerbated their environmental problems. During
the protracted conflict, both groups signed cease fires and accords such as the 11 March
Peace Accord signed in 1970, which led to the Autonomy Law of 1974 that recognised
the Kurdish region as a Kurdistan Autonomy Area (KAA) and Hewlair as its capital.
Upon the Kurds’ rejection, some of the articles of the law led to the resumption of the
conflict in 1975 through 1991(Abdullah 2003), which further complicated the environ-
mental problems in the city for the urban infrastructure was neglected despite the economic
prosperity and the availability of funds (Alnasrawi 1994). Thus, the environmental
problems worsened in spite of the local and regional authorities’ attempts for improving
Hewalair’s infrastructure. For example, in 1977, the GSMR realised the risk of water
pollution and submitted a proposal to Baghdad to get the approval for the installation of
a sewerage system in Hewlair. Baghdad refused the proposal on the ground of shortage
of funds, which did not convince GSMR and it considered the refusal as a blunt ethnic
discrimination and apathy regarding the public health for the oil revenue was already
increased (Alnasrawi 1994). Thus, the ethnic sensitivity and the central government’s
intervention in the local affairs deprived Hewlair from improving its environment. Had
the proposal been endorsed the city would have had clean water for decades and lives of
its inhabitants would have been protected.
Political stability is essential for solving the urban environmental problems. From
1921 until now, the political situation in Iraq is unstable because of continuous political
turmoil. For example, from 1933 to 1968 five coups occurred, and from 1980 to 2003 Iraq
engaged in three wars (Abdullah 2003). These havocs destabilised Iraq still and diverted
the state’s attention from urban issues towards militarisation and hostility, which drained
its financial resources and killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. For example, the war
between Iraq and Iran (1980 – 1988) alone cost US$452.6 billion (Alnasrawi 1994);
$67 billion alone was the cost of damage to the urban infrastructure. The hostilities
also led to massive cuts in the meagre funds invested in the urban infrastructure.
During the second Gulf war in 1991, Iraq’s urban infrastructure and economy was
badly damaged. The latter was disorganised due to the United Nations embargo on the
 66 M.K.R. Hassan

imports and exports of Iraq (Alnasrawi 1994). If only had small portion of this massive cost
of wars been invested in the urban infrastructure the urban environmental problems of all
cities would have been solved or alleviated. The negligence and destruction of the urban infra-
structure caused by the former regime and the occupation cost Iraqis dire still for exacerbation
of the urban environmental problems.
Another significant factor that is worsening the environmental problems in Hewlair is
the stressed relationships between federal and regional governments. Although federalism
and the constitution was democratically adopted by the majority of Iraqis in 2005, blessing
the Kurdish self-rule, the ties between Baghdad and Hewlair remain tense for a number of
reasons: the majority of Arab politicians including the current Prime Minister Al-Maliki
favouring a strong central government with an iron fist, rejecting sharing the oil wealth
and power with the Kurds, and integration of the disputed Kurdish territories under
Baghdad’s control to the KRI (The Economist Print Edition 2009, The Monitor’s Editorial
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Board 2009). The Kurds on their part are rejecting these issues and adhering to the Iraq
constitution. This situation is encouraging Baghdad to reduce funds and delay their delivery
to Hewlair. Thus, the former regime’s policies are being revived and practised by the current
regime. Undoubtedly, the political row is preventing the improvement of the urban
infrastructure and instead increasing ethnic tension, which may dash hopes for enhancing
the urban environment. Other related issues are complicating the environmental problems
in Hewlair and hampering the authorities to provide basic services to the citizens and
corruption on both federal and regional levels (Madigan 2005, Clark 2008, Ryan 2008,
PNA 2009), which has drastic health consequences.

Demographic trends and rapid urbanisation

Rapid urban population growth accelerates urban environmental problems for the
inhabitants of cities consume more food, water, fuel, and produce more wastes. The
wastes generated by the urban population and the noise associated with their activities
are health concerns. Urban population in cities of the KRI has increased in the last
decades. For example, the population of Hewlair was 27,000 in 1947, reached to
40,000 in 1957 (or 32.5% increase), 558,686 in 1987 (or 93% increase), and 1100
million in 2009 (or 50.78% increase). This increase is attributed to the natural increase,
rural – urban migration, forced migration, and international immigration. Rural – urban
migration has increased Hewlair’s population due to the weak rural economy, fluctuation
of the annual rainfall, unemployment, and lack of basic services. Thus, many young vil-
lagers migrated to Hewlair and resettled there. Prolonged ethnic conflict and destruction
of over 4500 villages, for allegedly they were assisting the Kurdish forces (Peshmerge)
(Lawless 1972, McDowall 2000), made the majority of the displaced villagers to resettle
in the city. The ongoing civil war in other regions of Iraq from 2003 caused thousands of
Iraqis to migrate to the KRI. The current stability in the KRI is attracting businesses,
creating jobs, and stimulating international immigration, and thus people from Arab
countries, Asia, Europe, and North America are working there. These demographic
trends have been intensifying the environmental problems in Hewlair for the native
people and migrants are consuming foods and water, using urban transport, and
generating wastes. In the absence of sewerage and sewer system, adequate clean water,
cleaner air, and less noise, the public health remains at risk. Particularly, if the current
urban infrastructure was not upgraded, extended, or renewed, and the federal and regional
relationships were not improved, the situation will certainly worsen and the current
demographic trends continues.
 Local Environment 67

Urban expansion
Physical expansion of cities correlates with the urban population growth and rapid
urbanisation. The same can be said of Hewlair, which has been expanding as a result of
the emergence of new residential, gated communities; shopping malls; and recreational
facilities as well as informal settlements. The expansion is increasing the health risks for
many new developments lack basic services for the reasons already discussed. The urban
expansion in general is contributing to the environmental problems because of urbanisation
and urban population growth, political status, economic prosperity, and the urban
development. The impact of the demographic changes and urbanisation discussed earlier
have been contributing to the urban sprawl that have environmental consequences. Until
1960s, expansion of Hewlair was slow because of low population growth and urbanisation
rates and so was the urban development for there were few local investors and demand for
commercial properties was low too. As to the central government, it lacked adequate funds;
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however, some public buildings like schools and hospital were erected between 1920 and
1950, which contributed to the slow expansion of the city. But further expansion occurred
following the increase in oil revenue in the early 1950s and the establishment of the Iraq
Development Board in 1952. The board endorsed building more schools and health
institutions and housing projects. Hence, new suburbs emerged provided with water,
drainage, paved roads, and power, marking the beginning of expansion of Hewlair and
sustainable urban development due to the availability of funds and stability. The urban
development implemented from 1970 onwards mostly lacked basic services owing
to the rapid expansion and the municipality’s inability to response timely to the
people’s demands because of insufficient funds, ethnic tensions, and political instability.
Accordingly, the scale of adverse environmental impact of the urban expansion gradually
increased with the increase in the rates of urbanisation, and urban population further
degrading the urban environment and amplifying water, air, and noise pollution.
Change in the political status of Hewlair from the provincial capital to the regional
capital of KAA in 1976 caused further expansion necessitating construction of new
public buildings. Other developments included housing projects, headquarters for the
ruling Ba’ath party and the popular army camps, and the expansion of the military
camps. In 1982, the Suleymani University was moved to Hewlair and renamed as Salahddin
University, which necessitated building a housing project named Zanko Village for the
teaching staff. Together, these projects exacerbated the existing environmental problems
by placing more cars on the streets, increasing travel time, digging more pit latrines,
placing extra pressure on the inadequate sewer system, and generating more greenhouse
gas. The scope of impacts of these projects on the public health is unknown owing to
the lack of information as cited.
The ethnic tension between Kurds and Arabs further intensified following the occu-
pation of Kuwait by Iraq in 1990, which brought dramatic political changes to the KRI
and to Hewlair. The Kurdish uprising against Saddam in 5 March 1991, and his counterat-
tack on it in 31 March, turned two million Kurds to refugees in Turkey, in Iran and intern-
ally displaced people within Iraq. Thus, the UN Security Council delineated the KAA as a
NO-Fly-Zone for protecting the Kurds from Saddam’s attacks and it was renamed as KRI,
which administratively stood outside the control of Baghdad. This political development
was a milestone in the modern Kurdish history for in May 1992, the Kurdish political
parties formed the KRG. This situation helped the Kurds to govern their own region, but
caused Saddam to retaliate by cutting all funds from the region, including salaries of all
government employees. Accordingly, basic services in the city deteriorated. During this
 68 M.K.R. Hassan

period, many of the returned refugees and IDPs settled in Hewlair, which further com-
pounded its environmental problems. However, a slight improvement occurred following
the singing of the Oil for Food understanding between Baghdad and the UN in 1996 by
which 13% of the oil revenue was allocated for the KRI. The funds were mainly allocated
for food and medicine and rehabilitation of the destroyed villages. This situation continued
until the occupation of Iraq and Saddam’s downfall in 2003, which brought about new
changes to Hewlair, particularly after reaffirming the Kurdish self-rule and the status of
Hewlair as the capital of the KRI by the new Iraqi regime and the constitution. The consti-
tution also endorsed allocation of 17% of the Kurds’ share from the oil revenue, which is
still not sufficient for providing adequate urban infrastructure and improving it. What are
worsening the situation are the KRG’s initiatives for improving the physical environment
of Hewlair after being neglected by Baghdad for decades as cited, by encouraging local,
regional, and international investors for implementing new developments in the city. In
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fact, the KRG’s efforts have been fruitful for so far many projects have been implemented
(which include housing projects, shopping malls, media city, hotels, amusement park, a
hospital, and expansion of the Erbil Airport), job opportunities created, and economic pros-
perity has been brought. But they, undoubtedly, are contributing to the present urban sprawl
as well as to the environmental problems, for the current infrastructure is still inadequate as
explained and the present urban development surpasses its capacity.
The informal settlements emerged by the urbanisation process in Hewlair is expanding
the city and worsening its environmental problems. The scale of urban expansion is
reflected on the total built-up area covered by the city. For instance, in 1950 Hewlair
covered only 1.28 Km2, which reached to 84 Km2 in 1975 (or 6462.5% increase), and to
112 km2 in 2006 (or 30.9% increase); this illustrates the massive physical expansion of
the city. The scope of the expansion is drastically contributing to the environmental
problems for it requires extension of, and provision for, the new sewer lines, water
mains, digging more pit latrines, building and paving new roads, increasing the travel
time, consuming more fuel and emitting more greenhouse gas, and generating more
wastewater and garbage. Undoubtedly, they collectively have drastic health consequences,
which were explained earlier.

Urban planning
One of the central goals of urban planning is planning for healthy and liveable cities (Hall
2002, Hodge and Gordon 2008) through providing decent housing, clean water, sewerage
system, wastewater treatment plants, efficient and clean urban transport, and hygienic urban
environment. In many developing countries, urban planning unfortunately has failed to
provide these necessities owing to the rapid urbanisation, unclear planning frameworks,
and lack of funds. Therefore, there is a need for effective urban planning, in order to
address these issues and to build healthy cities.
Like other developing countries, Iraq is challenged by numerous environmental
problems mentioned earlier. Longrigg (1953) describes cities of Iraq in 1900 as they
were changed little in centuries and were unplanned. This could be attributed to the
limited urban development because of the small population and slow urbanisation, high
mortality rates, lack of capital, and nonexistent of urban planning. However, in the late
nineteenth and early twentieth century, cities began to change, especially Hewlair, which
– between 1890 and 1914 – doubled in size (Longrigg, 1953). During the British rule, colo-
nial authorities and the newly established Iraqi government directly involved in the urban
development by constructing governmental offices, housing, army camps, schools, and
 Local Environment 69

hospitals in the cities of Iraq, including Hewlair, as mentioned. These initiatives stimulated
local developers to build shops and houses. Local authorities also gave consideration to the
urban environment by cleaning streets and maintaining government offices and building
small public gardens in the city. Nonetheless, neither public nor private investors paid atten-
tion to providing drinkable water and sanitation, which was taking lives of inhabitants.
Instead, they focused their attention on building offices, shops, and hotels, although they
were also needed; however, there are priorities like clean water and sanitation. Hence,
later on this approach or lack of attention to provision of basic services became a norm
practised by consecutive local authorities still for they are more concerned with the land
use planning more than infrastructure planning. This is probably due to the lack of
public pressure on the politicians, planners, and bureaucrats, and to the demand for the
basic services as a result of the undemocratic systems and lack of publicity and awareness.
Nonetheless, realising the high mortality rates due to the polluted water possibly caused the
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authorities in the 1930s to build a water supply system in the city and relatively improved
water quality by using chlorine for water purification.
Rapid urbanisation and increase in oil revenue caused the state in 1952 to solicit the
World Bank’s advice for planning for the Iraq’s economic development. The bank’s
consultants found that the cities have been haphazardly grown, for the municipalities
implemented unplanned urban development (IBRD 1952). As to the urban sanitation, the
consultants recommended installation of sewerage systems in major cities, their recommen-
dation was not executed for the reasons discussed earlier. After more than half a century,
cities in Iraq still lack sewerage system, of course, including Hewlair. This reflects the care-
lessness and mismanagement of the public funds, for Baghdad never implemented such a
vital project relevant to the public health that has socio-economic and environmental
consequences, and costs the country a huge amount of money. The political instability as
explained and mismanagement of the Iraq’s financial resources are to blame.
Planning for all sectors was centralised (United Nations Human Settlements Programme
2003), which still had still adverse effects on cities for it failed to respond to the public needs
such as safe water and sanitation, clean air, and tranquility for it is mainly concerned with
physical planning with limited concern to the socio-economic planning. The same is still in
Hewlair, for it is chiefly concerned with the allocation of land (Al-Heydari, 1983, United
Nations/World Bank 2003, Rassam 2006). Since 1950s, the same conventional planning
approach is still intact, and water and sanitation have been ostensibly discussed among the plan-
ners and the bureaucrats and only mentioned in one or two sentences in the written statement of
the master plans. This highlights that little attention is being given to the infrastructure planning
as a vital section of urban planning that has direct impact on the wellbeing of the community.
Thus, excluding infrastructure planning from the urban planning further exacerbates environ-
mental problems in Hewlair. Lagging of the urban infrastructure behind urban development
has long been criticised by native planners as one of shortcomings of the urban planning in
Iraq (Kemunna 1978), which is important for sustainable urban development. The very issue
has been raised recently in a report prepared by the Habitat highlighting the same concerns.
The report further illuminates that the current infrastructure in Hewlair is unable to respond
to the velocity of the ongoing urban development (Rassam 2006); therefore, the existing
environmental problems are being aggravated, which have crucial health consequences.
The same can be said of transportation planning, which also has not been incorporated in
urban planning for how to reduce the impact of the urban transport on the environment in
regard to the air and noise pollution. Hence, creating stronger links between land uses and
urban transport corridors and intersections is essential for smooth traffic flow for alleviating
air and noise pollution in the city. This also demonstrates the urban planning’s failure to
 70 M.K.R. Hassan

deal effectively with these health hazards that have direct influence on the well-being of the
community in Hewlair.

Conclusion
The analysis of the environmental problems in Hewlair city revealed that the current
demographic trends and rapid urbanisation have led to the drastic expansion of the city,
which in turn has exacerbated water, air, and noise problems. The lack of funds and
exclusion of the infrastructure planning from the urban planning led to the negligence of
these environmental problems, which have direct impact on the public health. Chronic
political instability in Iraq and continuing ethnic tensions between Arab majority and the
Kurdish minority further worsened the environment in Hewlair for the urban infrastructure
in the city had been neglected for decades by the consecutive central governments.
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The militarisation, wars, and the UN economic sanctions on Iraq and Saddam’s embargo on
the KRI crippled the municipality from improving the urban infrastructure in Hewlair. The pol-
itically motivated decisions for allocating cars for members of the public for gaining their alle-
giance increased the number of vehicles in Hewlair. The occupation of Iraq in 2003 and
adopting federalism enabled the Kurds to demand for more power and wealth sharing with
Baghdad, which caused tension between Baghdad and Hewlair and made Baghdad to allocate
meagre funds for the KRG in order to prevent it from enhancing the urban environment in
Hewlair. Practicing this policy indicates that the new regime is repeating the former
regime’s policies and probably is punishing the Kurds. Together, these factors hampered the
KRG and the Hewlair municipality from responding to the current fast urban development,
which is ongoing in the city, and undermining the already insufficient urban infrastructure.
In order to solve or alleviate the health risks caused by the earlier-mentioned urban
environmental problems in Hewlair, the paper makes the following suggestions, which
may prove helpful: Addressing the current environmental problems and dealing with
them urgently; enacting environmental acts and reinforcing them and setting measures
for controlling water, air, and noise pollution; connecting all households to the water
supply system after extending, upgrading or replacing the existing systems particularly
in the inner areas of cities and squatter settlements where the water pollution is more
acute; installing comprehensive sewerage and sewer systems and connecting all house-
holds and factories to them; providing rapid and clean transit proving and encouraging
the public to reduce their dependent on the private cars; limiting the use of private cars
in city centre by imposing fares on those who choose to enter it; enhancing the quality
of fuels currently used and upgrading it to the WHO’s standards; changing the conven-
tional land use planning approaches by integrating socio-economic, urban infrastructure,
urban transport, and environmental planning within urban planning; restraining urban
sprawl by developing the undeveloped lands within the built up areas and adopting
smart growth approach; improving the regional and federal ties by increasing transpar-
ency and constructive dialogue between both governments and allocating adequate
funds for the Hewlair municipality for enabling it to dealing properly with the urban
environmental problems; investing the financial resources of Iraq in the well-being of
the citizens; allotting funds for the researchers in the universities for finding solutions
for the present environmental problems and establishing links between the region’s uni-
versities and overseas universities; promoting environmental awareness regarding both
local and global environment through media, universities, schools, governmental insti-
tutions, and the NGOs; and linking these bodies to the global environmental networks
for exchanging experiences and information.
 Local Environment 71

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