A doctoral thesis research in the Department of Geography - College of Education for Humanities - University of Basra on the environmental degradation of the Shatt al-Arab River Basin and its repercussions on the population in Basra Governorate, southern Iraq.
The thesis of the student Yarab Salman Abdul Razzaq aims to reveal the state of environmental degradation occurring in the Shatt al-Arab River Basin located within Basra Governorate by studying the most important environmental factors contributing to the increase in the volume of degradation, which included the deterioration of the most important climatic elements (temperature, rain, evaporation), the deterioration of water resources, as well as the deterioration of the green cover, and the reflection of the state of deterioration occurring on the lives of the population in the governorate.
The thesis included seven chapters in addition to a field study to monitor the manifestations of deterioration occurring in the governorate. The thesis concluded that there was an increase in the general average temperature by about 2.3 °C during the period 1981-2022 and by about 4.2 °C during the period 1941-1980, while the measurement of hydrological deterioration indicated a decrease in freshwater discharge in the Shatt al-Arab River from 512 m3/s during the period 1977-2008 to 92 m3/s for the period 2010-2023 and an increase in the rate of total dissolved salts from 785.7 mg/L for the water year 1977-1978 to 10346.67 mg/L for the water year 2022-2023 for the study stations, and the green cover witnessed a clear decrease during the period 1980-2022 by about -84% due to dredging. Land, desertification and population growth. The thesis recommended the necessity of reducing the causes of deterioration by investing in the gas associated with oil extraction, paying attention to water resource management and preservation, paying attention to the green cover and expanding its area, reducing migration and horizontal expansion of residential areas, and preserving wetlands (marshes)
