Over 9 million trees cut in Iraqi Kurdistan since 2021: Green party

SULAIMANI,— Officials with the Kurdistan Green Party have raised alarm over the ongoing destruction of forests across Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, urging immediate action from the Presidency of the Kurdistan Region, the President of Iraq, and the Kurdistan Region Parliament.

The party’s figures show more than nine million trees have been felled in the region since 2021.

Malko Baziani, head of the Kurdistan Green Party, shared the new figures during a press conference on Thursday in Sulaimani city, describing what he called harsh campaigns by forces occupying Kurdistan aimed at destroying nature and clearing trees across the region, the outlet Rojnews reported.

Baziani urged government bodies and other involved parties to move quickly to halt the environmental damage taking place in southern Kurdistan.

He said a Turkish firm named Cengiz entered the region in 2021 and has kept cutting down trees there since.

He added that close to nine million trees, among them oak and gall oak species, have been cut and shipped to Turkey.

“We have also filed a legal complaint against the company, but so far we have not received any response from the court,” he said.

Baziani described the situation as an environmental violation, stressing that such matters touch the health and daily life of every resident and should not be framed as a political or partisan dispute.

He further appealed to political parties, environmental groups, representatives from European nations, and religious figures to join in opposing the practice and work to safeguard Kurdistan’s woodlands.

Cutting down the trees, he warned, threatens water supplies, underground water channels, the broader environment, and public health.

He said the destruction of Kurdistan’s forests must end, adding that no individual, government, or group has the right to damage the region’s environment.

The party noted that during its presence in Kurdistan Region territory, the Turkish state has been responsible not only for killings and crimes against humanity but also for serious harm to the region’s natural environment, including tree removal and strikes on residents’ vineyards and gardens.

Turkey illegal logging trees Iraqi Kurdistan Sep 2026 — A Turkish truck reportedly carrying cut trees out of Iraqi Kurdistan Region to Turkey, September 2026. Photo: Screengrab/video/Rojnews/via iKurd.net

Forest looting continues in Badinan

The cutting and removal of forests in the Badinan area of Iraqi Kurdistan by Turkish forces has not stopped.

A fresh convoy hauling felled trees from the mountains near Amedi was seen passing through the town’s center en route to Turkey.

The looting of Badinan’s woodlands has grown worse amid continuing strikes on nature and the environment in the Kurdistan Region’s border districts, with trees being hauled across into Turkey.

Video footages and other evidence gathered by Rojnews shows a new line of trucks carrying cut timber from mountainous border areas near Amedi moving toward Turkey.

The footage indicates the trucks moved openly through the center of Amedi, passing local government offices and officials, before continuing toward the Turkish border.

The destruction of forests in the border regions of Iraqi Kurdistan continues to worsen, with the removal of Badinan’s trees intensifying as shipments head into Turkey.

(With files from Rojnews.news)