Letter to UN Secretary-General over Turkish deforestation in Kurdistan

Letter to UN Secretary-General over Turkish deforestation in Iraqi Kurdistan — Turkish truck carrying cut trees out of Iraqi Kurdistan Region to Turkey, October 2020. Photo: SM

Omar Sindi | Exclusive to iKurd.net

His Excellency Mr.Antonio Guterres
Secretary-General
United Nations
New York, NY 10017
U.S.A.
October 25, 2020

Your Excellency,

Turkey’s invasion and their undercover war with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) into the autonomous region of Kurdistan-Iraq is illegal under international law. At the same time they are doing this, the Turkish forces are committing mass deforestation in this part of the pristine Kurdish area of Iraq. Since the beginning of recorded history, this pristine area has been preserved- it has served as a habitat for many different species of insects, plants, and animals such as mountain goats, wolves, bears, foxes, squirrels, mountain leopards, honey bees, hawks, eagles, the list goes on…

The deforestation being committed by the Turkish state will have a catastrophic effect on the ecosystem for this region and greater environmental effects for the Middle East at large because this area is also a part of contributory water resources to the Tigris-Euphrates basin. These rivers are also sources of drinking water.

This Deforestation act by the Turkish state is against the UN agenda/policy of global reforestation acts. Below is a copy of the introduction of the proposed UN agenda on reforestation policy.

“United Nations strategic plan for forests, 2017-2030

I, Introduction

A. Vision and mission

Forests are among the world’s most productive land-based ecosystems and are essential to life on earth. The United Nations Strategic Plan for Forests 2017-2030 (UNSPF) provides a global framework for actions at all levels to sustainably manage all types of forests and trees outside forests and halt deforestation and forest degradation. The UNSPF also provides a framework for forest-related contributions to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement adopted under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, the United Nations Forest Instrument (UNFI)i, and other international forest-related instruments, processes, commitments and goals.

2. The UNSPF serves as a reference for the forest-related work of the UN systems and for fostering enhanced coherence, collaboration and synergies among UN bodies and partners towards the following vision and mission, as well as a framework to enhance the coherence of and guide and focus the work of the International Arrangement on Forests (IAF) and its components.

Vision:

A world where all types of forests and trees outside forest are sustainably managed, contribute to sustainable development and provide economic, social, environmental and cultural benefits for present and future generations.

Mission:

To promote sustainable forest management and contribution of forests and trees outside forests to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including by strengthening cooperation, coordination, coherence,synergies and political commitment and actions at all levels…”

Your excellency, the deforestations of earth should not be considered a subject matter of one nations against another nation or one state government dominance of another state government; it’s subject matter of the deforestation is a process of causations-Global warming effect, which will have dire economic effect and political implications for generations to come.According many prominents non partisan scientists and scientific communities around the world. As also eloquently described on the United Nations strategic plan for forests, 2017-2030.”

The Middle East faces an acute water table shortage and the Kurdistan mountains and forest area contains many rivers which contribute to the Tigris-Euphrates rivers all the way down to the marshes in Southern Iraq, then into the mouth of the Persian Gulf. The Turkish State tree cutting operation in Kurdistan will have a short term personal benefit to them, but it will have catastrophic effects on the ecosystems along this area, on the population and beyond. Turkey’s aggression and transgressions suffer no backlash from the International community. The

International community needs to admonish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Turkish State, and force them to abide by international law, to respect civil liberties and human rights. Because civil liberties and human rights are the sanctity of life.

I am writing on behalf of the voiceless people, the Kurdish people; particularly the people of this area, who are witnessing the trees of these pristine areas being chopped down by the Turkish forces, and loading them onto logging trucks which are taken into Turkey for industrial processing.

Your excellency, use your good office, the UN Office, to interfere with this unjust act and halt these tree cutting operations in this area by the Turkish state, and their undercover war with the PKK. Because this pristine area has been preserved since antiquity, if this tree cutting operation is to continue, it will prove to be extremely damaging and cause major environmental imbalance. Urge international corporations and companies to stop exporting sophisticated drone technologies to Turkey, because these armed drones are killing innocent Kurdish people, including Children…

Sincerely,

Omar Sindi
United States

Omar Sindi, a senior writer, analyst and columnist for iKurd.net, Washington, United States.

The opinions are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of iKurd.net or its editors.