The Department of Geography discusses a masters thesis on climate change and its impact on desertified lands in the districts of Sinjar and AlBaaj
The Department of Geography at the College of Education for Human Sciences, University of Samarra, discussed the master’s thesis entitled: “Climate Change and Its Impact on Desertified Lands in the Districts of Sinjar and Al-Ba’aj”, submitted by the student Basim Ibrahim Abdullah.
The thesis aimed to examine the impact of climate change on the expansion of desertified lands within the study area, which is considered one of the arid and semi-arid regions in northwestern Iraq. The region has witnessed noticeable changes in climatic elements, particularly rising temperatures and fluctuations in rainfall amounts, which have negatively affected vegetation cover, agricultural production, and increased soil erosion and environmental degradation.
The researcher adopted both descriptive and analytical approaches in processing climatic and environmental data. The study also employed modern geographical techniques, including Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and satellite imagery analysis for the period (1994–2024), in addition to using multiple environmental indicators to monitor desertification levels and land cover changes.
The thesis concluded that climate change is a major factor contributing to the worsening of desertification, especially when combined with poorly managed human activities such as overgrazing, random urban expansion, and weak water resource management. These factors have led to soil degradation and the expansion of desertified lands within the study area.
The researcher emphasized the importance of adopting sustainable environmental and developmental strategies to combat desertification through protecting vegetation cover, regulating grazing, rehabilitating degraded lands, and improving water resource management in order to preserve ecological balance and agricultural lands.
