Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani speaks at Sulaymaniyah Environment event

Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq (GOV.KRD) – Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani today spoke at the Sulaymaniyah Environment event, held by the University of Sulaymaniyah, to raise awareness about environmental issues and the Kurdistan Regional Government’s response.

The Deputy Prime Minister highlighted the ninth Cabinet’s plan to address environmental pressures the Kurdistan Region faces, which will lean on partnerships between the public and private sector.

This includes measures to strengthen regional organizations and directorates to craft strategies that are unique to each context and local needs.

Deputy Prime Minister Talabani noted that engaging each member of the society, including academic institutions, activists, civil society organizations, and businesses will help create innovative solutions for a shared problem and share the burden of responsibility when it comes to taking care of the environment.

More specifically, the Deputy Prime Minister outlined the following measures the Kurdistan Regional Government will undertake to address the problem of pollution and accumulated waste in the Tanjaro area of the Sulaymaniyah Governorate:

• The building of waste water treatment plants, which are currently under construction in coordination with the private sector;

• A waste recuperation and recycling plan, which will be implemented by a local company and is estimated to take care of 700 tons of waste;

• The renewal and improvement of regional directorates’ environmental monitoring and evaluation procedures regarding waste-producing companies, to ensure larger polluters contribute their fair share to our environmental responses.