Read at : Google Alert – desertification
Iraqi students sow seeds for homeland’s regrowth
RAWEA al-Azawy, an Iraqi AusAID student, wants to learn how to counter desertification and terrible sandstorms in her war-ravaged country as part of her masters at the University of Queensland.
“We really suffer with the sandy dune-storms. It’s hard for the elderly and the children to breathe,” says al-Azawy, who is an environmental staffer at Iraq’s agriculture ministry.
She says tanks and other heavy transport seeking off-road safety during the recent war have torn up the fragile vegetation of the Iraqi countryside, worsening the desertification and throwing up twice-weekly sandstorms.
“It’s so hard. It enters all the houses. It’s exactly like the dust storm that hit Brisbane [and Sydney] in September,” she says.
“Once I start my masters, I will try to find the best way to combat this problem and protect the environment for the people of Iraq.”
Her fellow AusAID scholarship winner and agriculture ministry colleague Ali al-Maliki says he was attracted to Australia for its expertise in dryland cropping and pesticide control.
He wants to transfer agricultural technology back to Iraq when he returns home at the end of his UQ masters. Al-Maliki works for the state board of plant protection. He aims to learn more about controlling pesticide use to ensure a quality food chain.
The pair hope to learn ways to identify and counter contaminated drinking water.
“The water is polluted in many areas. It’s not good to drink. A lot of children die. We don’t know the cause,” al-Azawy says.
She and al-Maliki are among 119 Iraqi students who arrived in Australia last year to benefit from high-profile agriculture departments at the University of Adelaide, UQ, the University of Western Australia and Curtin.
UWA Institute of Agriculture director Kadambot Siddique told the HES Australia was a world leader in techniques such as conservation and zero till cropping, which can boost food production and reduce desertification.
Professor Siddique said the Australian agricultural aid program to Iraq followed Labor’s election win in 2007 and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s work with Iraqi counterpart Nouri al-Maliki.
“Mr Rudd recognised if you want stability, people need food. If people are not hungry, they are less likely to become hostile,” he pointed out.
The Iraqi students are part of a new and significantly expanding wave of overseas aid scholarships driven by long-term Australian national interests and directed by Rudd and Foreign Minister Stephen Smith. Mr Rudd announced at last November’s APEC summit plans to rebrand $200 million in existing scholarships as Australia Awards, bringing under one banner awards for 5000 overseas students, sponsored by myriad agencies.
“Just as the Colombo Plan delivered Australian education to the region as a co-ordinated and recognised brand a generation ago, the Australia Awards initiative will enhance the awareness and value placed on Australia’s contemporary scholarship programs,” Mr Rudd said.
