Securitization Concept and Its Application to Environmental Problems in the Kurdistan Region: Prospects and Obstacles

Environmental pollution has caused a wide range of problems across the globe. Various studies have focused on worldwide water and environmental issues and their effects on human health and political and social aspects. This article, on the other hand, discusses soil, water, and air pollution as well as the overuse of water resources. This study then discusses these problems as a security issue in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) context. This research adopts a qualitative approach. It reviews the results of previous studies on soil, water, and air pollution in KRI to demonstrate the causes and scale of the problem. It then explores securitization by looking at the main components of the concept and how they can be applied and what needs to be adjusted. Results of the study have shown that pollution is widespread, water is overexploited, and there is a lack of an effective response by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). In addition, in the KRI context, securitization is state-centered, meaning that the country's decision-makers play an important role in securitizing issues. The Kurdistan Regional Government, that is, the securitizing actor, should do more on the speech act, and this should be preceded by substantial political, economic, and psychological changes. Finally, the government must also enforce strict water control to support its water policies.