Global Map of Irrigation Areas

Iraq

The area equipped for irrigation is reported to be 3 525 000 ha [IQ01]. The figures refer to 1990. A large part of this area is not irrigated. Because of waterlogging and salinity, the area irrigated in 1993 was about 1 936 000 ha [IQ02] and this had decreased to 1 775 750 ha in 2001 [IQ03]. However, the three Kurdish provinces in the north of the country (Dahoak, Arbil and Sulaimania) are not included in these figures. The largest decrease in irrigated area is to be found in the downstream provinces where agriculture depends completely on irrigation. In the provinces located more upstream of the Tigris River (Salah Eldin, Tameem and Nineweh), where also rainfed agriculture is practised, the irrigated area increased between 1993 and 2001. No official statistics were available for the mountainous, Kurdish northern provinces. Therefore, statistics originating from a land survey in 1992 and provided by the Kurdistan Democratic Party [IQ04] were used for these provinces.

Statistics on the area equipped for irrigation were not available on a province level. Therefore, it was estimated by combining areas computed from digitized land-use maps [IQ05], tactical pilot charts [IQ06] and satellite imagery [IQ07] with province-level statistics of the area actually irrigated in 1993 [IQ02] and 2001 [IQ03]. It was assumed that the area equipped for irrigation was as least as high as the maximum of the area actually irrigated in 1993 and 2001. In order to estimate the area of the irrigated areas not in use, the land-use maps, pilot charts and satellite imagery were used for the downstream provinces of Muthannia, Qadisiya, Najaf, Babil, Baghdad, Thegar, Diala, Misan and Wasit. The estimates for the northern provinces of Dahoak, Arbil and Sulaimania are as reported in the land survey.

The distribution of irrigated area by sub-national units is listed in the table below.

References

[IQ01]: FAO. 1997. Irrigation in the Near East region in figures, p. 105. Rome.
[IQ02]: Arab Organization for Agricultural Development. 1994. Arab agricultural statistics yearbook. Volume No. 14, Table 18. Khartoum.
[IQ03]: Arab Organization for Agricultural Development. 2003. Arab agricultural statistics yearbook 2002. Agricultural Information, Documentation and Statistics Center (available at http://www.aoad.org).
[IQ04]: Kurdistan Democratic Party. 2004. Agriculture in Kurdistan (available at http://www.kdp-ankara.org.tr).
[IQ05]: Universität Tübingen. 1993. Tübinger Atlas des Vorderen Orients, Plate AX04. Tübingen, Germany.
[IQ06]: Humanitarian Information Centre for Iraq. 2004. Tactical pilotage charts at the 1:500.000, (available at http://www.hiciraq.org).
[IQ07]: Earth Satellite Corporation. 2004. Landsat GeoCover (2000/ETM+) Edition Mosaics, Tiles 071-287, 071-288, 071-298, 071-299, 071-300, 071-310 and 071-311. Sioux Falls, USA, USGS (also available at http://glcfapp.umiacs.umd.edu:8080).

Distribution of irrigated area in Iraq by Province.