Iraq – Emergency Tracking - Climate-Induced Displacement – Central and Southern Iraq (1 March-15 March 2022)

DTM has been tracking climate-induced displacement across the central and southern regions of Iraq since June 2018. Environmental degradation, including reduced water flow and increased salinity in important rivers and tributaries, has placed a strain on the agricultural sector, with many families unable to guarantee sufficient and sustainable livelihoods in rural areas. The IOM-DTM tracking of climateinduced displacement aims to provide data on the number and location of vulnerable families forced to migrate by environmental degradation and other factors.

Data collection for this update took place from 1 to 15 March 2022. Data is collected through IOM’s Rapid Assessment and Response Teams (RARTs), who are deployed across Iraq (20% of enumerators are female). IOM’s RARTs collect data through interviews with key informants utilising a large, well-established network of over 9,500 key informants that includes community leaders, mukhtars, local authorities and security forces.

As of 15 March, 3,358 families (20,148 individuals) remain displaced because of water scarcity and other climatic factor across ten governorates. Of these, 2,152 families are intra-district displaced (64%). The displaced families are dispersed across 128 locations, with the majority (74%) being urban locations.

The primary governorate of origin for these displaced families is Thi-Qar (1,542), followed by Missan (733), Qaddisiya (326) and Basrah (246). Al-Shatra district, in Thi-Qar governorate, has 1,374 families displaced by drought. Other districts with significant climate-induced displacement include Al-Maimouna, in Missan Governorate (344 families) and Afaq, in Qadissiya Governorate (306 families)