The referendum sent shock waves around the world, inspiring Kurds to the possibility of an independent state and alarming governments across the region. But if Erbil went ahead with the vote from a position of strength, the KRG is now in its worst state for years, wracked by internal dissent and with old political wounds freshly opened.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme “ Environment can be used as a kind of weapon of war in that sort of strategy within a conflict to increase the damage to the local population,”. Unfortunately, the environment is frequently a secondary concern for people recovering from war.