Community Voices of Makhoul Dam Basin

The area was recently under DAESH occupation and the scars of wars and their legacies are raw and visible throughout the region. The region suffered from great levels of insecurity and displacment. Makhoul Dam may create significant levels of displacement in the near future. 

 Makhoul Dam will transform the economic infrastructure of Salahadeen and Kirkuk, both provinces that will in part be flooded. Our approach has been to assess the damage that the project will create on livelihoods and income generation in the basin and nearby areas as well as the economic opportunities it might produce.  

No comprehensive study has been undertaken to explore the impact of Makhoul Dam on the region's heritage and archaeology. Home to major archaeological sites, including Ashur -  a UNESCO World Heritage Site - the area has significant potential to be a major tourism hub in Iraq and beyond. Understanding the outcomes of Makhoul Dam on the areas archaeology is urgently requried. 

As a farming area, which is watered by the River Tigris, the Makhoul Dam area is an environmentally diverse region of Iraq. The impact on the environment of the creation of a reservoir has not yet been studied or explored. 

Until just recently, the Makhoul Dam region was affected by heavy conflict which destroyed a large section of its infrastructure and uprooted hundreds of thousands of people in the area. The impact of Makhoul Dam will similarly impact social life and the relationships people have forged with eachother. 

Extended families, most living within the same or adjoining households characterise the region. The impact on families and households as a result of displacement and the instability that Makhoul Dam could create will have a lasting impact on the region and its people. 

The project plans to complete four community roundtables to discuss the impact of Makhoul Dam and to listen and record those voices from potentially affected areas. These public forums are designed to act as a way for communities to channel their concerns, and frustrations, in a manner which could be recorded and amplified to key stakeholders. The first community event was organised in al Zab, in Kirkuk, on 9th September 2021 on the topic of archaeology and heritage in the region.

The project has completed mapping 39 of 40 villages in the Makhoul Dam basin region.  To date, over 500 interviews have been conducted in the Makhoul Dam basin region. Both genders have been covered and different stratas of society in both Salahadeen and Kirkuk have been spoken with by researchers. Communities have been keen to participate in data collection and consultations with a view to conveying their voices to decison-makers. 

The future security of the region being covered will depend on the capacity to generate sustainable livelihoods, especially as government incomes and farming cover the majority of gross domestic product. The project's researchers have covered this aspect of data collection to better understand the infratructure of the region, with a view to ensuring that livelihoods are adequately protected. 

The project seeks to utilise Iraqi expertise in better understanding the impact of Makhoul Dam in the fields of archaeology, geography, income-generation, and other key sectors. On 9th September 2021, a one-day conference at the University of Tikrit was organised to this effect which saw the participation of academics from the affected areas. Further expert input is being carried out by a combination of different experts. 

Key stakeholders concerning the Makhoul Dam, including central state agencies and Ministries, are currently being communicated with a view to compiling an assessment of the impact of Makhol Dam. Final outputs will be delivered to those key stakeholders with a view to ensuring adverse effects of the dam are kept to a minimum or avoided altogether. A final report on the social impact of Makhoul Dam will be released towards the end of the project phase, in late 2021. 

Key sectors are explored including the impact of the dam on geography and environment in the region. To date, no such impact assessment has been prepared. Significantly, the Makhoul Dam basin region contains no less than 183 major archaeological sites, including Ashur, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  According to some assessments, parts of Ashur will be flooded once the dam is completed. The project attempts to raise awareness of the possible impact on heritage in the region as it possibly an important source of future income-generation through such things as tourism.