Environmental Assessment of Infrastructure Projects of Water Sector in Baghdad, Iraq

In 1970s the city of Baghdad had a good infrastructure. Education and healthcare systems were widely regarded as the best in the Middle East. Income per capita rose to over US$3600 in the early 1980s. Since that time, successive wars and a repressive, state-dominated economic system have stifled economic growth and development and debilitated basic infrastructure and social services. At the end of the 2003 war, Baghdad's infrastructure was seriously degraded. The majority of the population had limited or inadequate access to essential basic services. Currently, there is an ongoing effort by donor countries, such as the United States (US) (through the US Agency for International Development (USAID)), Japan, the European Union (EU), etc., as well as efforts by multilateral agencies such as the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs), to restore the sector to standards that existed prior to the latest conflict. The present study deals with the evaluation of four projects proposed to improve the deteriorating status of water and wastewater treatment plants. Three methods viz. checklist, strategic environment assessment and cost and benefit analysis are used to evaluate the efficiency of the projects.