Baghdad-INA
Directorate for the Protection and Improvement of the Environment announced on Saturday that it has activated legal proceedings against environmental violators and polluters, while recording 86 environmental violations along the Tigris River and drainage canals.
Director General of the Central Environment Directorate, Sinan Jaafar, told the Iraqi News Agency (INA) that the environmental sector had been incorporated into the government's program for the first time, leading to the establishment of the National Air Quality Monitoring Center.
"The center has enabled the ministry to obtain accurate air quality readings and identify the main hotspots of open burning and the most polluting emission sources," Jaafar said.
He added that the Environment Ministry's legal mandate is to act as a regulatory authority requiring polluters to undertake remediation measures.
"In cooperation with the Supreme Judicial Council, legal action has been activated against violators. Our field teams have documented 86 environmental violations directly along the river and drainage canals," he said.
Jaafar also urged citizens to report incidents of waste burning or violations affecting water resources through the environmental hotline (911) or the Ain Iraq reporting system.