Consumer Behavior and Water Security in Iraq for the Period 2020–2025

Abstract

 The relationship between water consumption behavior and water security in Iraq extends beyond the service dimension to broader political, economic, social, and security dimensions. Water security in Iraq is no longer solely dependent on the adequacy of available water resources, but is also determined by the nature of water use patterns, the efficiency of water management, and the ability of the state and society to control waste, pollution, and poor distribution. Iraq is among the countries most reliant on water imported from outside its borders, at a time when the effects of population growth, urban expansion, deteriorating infrastructure, the persistence of traditional irrigation methods, and weak public awareness of the value of water are intensifying, in addition to regional pressures resulting from the policies of upstream countries. Therefore, the decline in water security in Iraq over the last decade was not solely due to external factors, but also a direct reflection of internal imbalances in consumption behavior at both the individual and institutional levels. These imbalances are manifested in domestic wastefulness, weak pricing and metering, high losses in the networks, and the agricultural sector's appropriation of the largest share of water without a corresponding efficiency in production or management.