Sustainable Development and the future of Iraq

By: Dhea Al.Sarai 18/12/2010 from Erbil

UNESCO in collaboration with Canal France International organized a workshop on Sustainable Development and Environment / Water in Iraq, for a group of young Iraqi journalists.

The workshop held in the ITA Academy in Erbil until December 22, 2010 for a week in which Iraqi journalists have extensive information on the Sustainable Development of Environment / Water in Iraq.

Somewhere the workshop covers all varieties of the press and the media in order to use by Iraqi journalists in their work.

Training staff consists of qualified teachers in the field of sustainable development, Mr. Mukdad  AL.Khateeb,  The Head of Sustainable Development at the University of Baghdad, Florence Awad from Canal France International ,Awad specializes in Media and Sustainable Development ,and finally Support Coordinator of UNESCO Karin Myer.

All lectures in the Workshop dealing with Sustainable Development types and mechanisms of activating it, as well as the role of the Press and Media in the transfer of knowledge to the government and society.

Unfortunately, Iraq did not take any step in the field of Sustainable Development, while all States considers it the Weapon of the future,used to save resources and provide appropriate public environment for future generations that may suffer because of our negligence woes this field.

According to Al.Khateeb, Sustainable Development is “a moral obligation between generations to each other, and the current generation is responsible towards those who followed”.

In fact, everything on Earth threatening to access and consumption, if the community continued to live a random life, with vandalism in the extravagant consumption and non-systematic.

It is possible that one day future generations will not find what keeps them life, if we did not look for solutions.

At this time Iraq is moving rapidly towards the consumption of all resources, and polluting the environment In addition to the decline of public health and low levels of education plus culture.

Environmental Factors  such as desertification, which crawls strongly about green areas in the country and Concrete crawl, indiscriminate expansion of cities, As well as the decline water levels, lead to water scarcity, whether rain or rivers or groundwater.

Iraqi citizen does not know how to benefit from available water resources and provides enough capacity to create a green environment offset a proportion of wasting water.  On the other side the Sustainable Development concerned with Economy, Management and Governance.

But corruption and administrative chaos in the Iraqi government and the institution system of public administration, strongly Contribute to push Iraq towards the Abyss, Stand beneath the monster (known as the Black-determination),The( Black determination) is poverty, as happened to Africa.

However, all what we have said which involved and organized in the crucible of Sustainable Development,and finally the role of The Media and Press embodied in educating people and alert the government.

Even if the task seemed difficult, but the responsibility borne by the Media institutions and Journalists in Iraq.