DIMENSIONS OF DESERTIFICATION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN IRAQ.

Desertification is a major economic, social, and environment problem, desert is among the fragile ecosystem. The cause of desertification both natural and techno-genic (human) activiies.Drouthg, low rainfall, increasing temperature and climate change contribute to the drying out of already arid lands, but these areas also extremely to human activity 10-20% of dry land are already severely degraded and some report trace 70% of soil to human-induced reasons particularly population growth, agricultural technologies, and unsustainable policies. This loss of biodiversity as well as other negative outcomes that affect us all. As a result of human activities and decisions such as overgrazing, the relationship between seven key ecological factors-vegetation, temperature, precipitation, soil moisture, wind erosion and water erosion-become unbalanced. These mutually reinforcing relationships are especially susceptible to instabilities due to feedback effects, and perturbation like unsustainable cultivation practices are only magnified over time, resulting in essentially irreversible effects. The main causes of desertification in Iraq unsustainable agricultural practices through soil and crop management processes. Desertification also decrease in biological productivity of dry land areas which comprise in Iraq 92% of the total surface area, the summer temperature arrive to 52co, increased evaporation 2000-3000 mm, number of sunny days 260 day, lower of cover rainfall 50-150 yearly where the number of rainy days in the north part 70 day and in the south part 40 day, the type of wind northwest raise dust.Iraq is considered as one of the region’s most vulnerable countries to climate changes, and it faces a unique set of environmental degradation and increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, especially sand and dust storms (SDS). This takes an enormous toll on eco-socio—economic life and human development in the region. Iraq is affected by the southern and southeasterly wind, which is a dry wind with occasional gusts of 80 Km/hr, occurs from April to early June and again from late September through November. This wind brings with it violent dust storms that may rise to heights of several thousand meters. From mid-June to mid-September, the “Shiamli” wind blows from the north and northwest. The very dry air permits intensive heating and aggravates desertification. It is particularly these two winds, which generate severe SDS in Iraq.Finally, added the military actions a significant burden of deterioration to the land of Iraq, where affected of; environmentally, economically and socially. The negative effects of desertification reached 92% of the land of Iraq, which affected negatively on biological production of land by amount 70%, lowest vegetation cover caused where migratedfarmers, increased dust storms,Iraq recorded 122 dust storms and 283 dusty days , and sources suggest that within the next ten years Iraq could witness 300 dusty days and dust storms per year, in addition toincreased soil salinity and decreased level of groundwater.