Sharjah24 – AFP: Jamil al-Juburi, 53, has never left his village in northern Iraq, where his family has worked the land for generations -- but a dam will soon swallow his home, forcing them out.
Tens of thousands of Iraqis are threatened by the Makhoul dam, which the government hopes will be operational on the mighty Tigris in five years.
Once the dam is erected, Juburi's whole region will be under three billion cubic metres (105 billion cubic feet) of water.
In a country highly vulnerable to climate change -- and buffeted by three consecutive years of drought -- authorities have defended the project, which will boost water stores and help prevent shortages.
However, activists decry the impact on more than 30 villages -- home to about 118,000 people -- and the threats to biodiversity and archaeological sites.
- 'Severe threat' -
Iraq already has eight dams, but it complains that construction of the facilities upstream, mainly in neighbouring Turkey, has impacted its river volumes.
Plans for the Makhoul facility can be traced back to 2001, in the twilight of dictator Saddam Hussein's rule.
His downfall in a US-led invasion and chaotic subsequent occupation saw the project shelved for years.
Work finally got underway in 2021, with drilling, soil analysis and a bridge spanning the river.
The study found that 39 villages -- each home to between 200 and 8,000 residents -- risk being submerged.
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