ERBIL, September, 2026, University Press Office (UNPO) | Academic representatives from the College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences at the University of Duhok (UoD) participated in a significant meeting in Erbil, on September 16, 2026, dedicated to the “Biodiversity Project in Kurdistan,” an environmental initiative organized by the Kurdistan Foundation.

UoD Academics Contribute Expertise in Biodiversity and Wildlife Conservation

The University of Duhok was represented by Assistant Professor Honar Safar Mahdi, an expert in biodiversity, and Lecturer Ahmed Mohammed Hasan, a specialist in wildlife conservation.

The participation of UOD faculty members reflects the university’s academic contribution to initiatives focused on documenting, understanding, and protecting the Kurdistan Region’s biodiversity.

A Digital Platform for Kurdistan’s Biodiversity

Implemented through the Climate.KRD platform, the Kurdistan-wide project aims to collect, organize, and disseminate essential information about the region’s biodiversity.

As part of the initiative, biodiversity.krd was recently launched as a dedicated trilingual database providing information in Kurdish, English, and scientific terminology. The platform includes species definitions, geographic distributions, conservation statuses, photographic records, and academic sources covering plants and animals across the region.

Three Key Benefits of the Biodiversity Database

During the meeting, participants highlighted three primary benefits of the initiative:

• Preserving Data and Information: Centralizing and organizing biodiversity information will provide an accessible resource for environmental researchers and scientists.
• Raising Public Awareness: The user-friendly platform aims to increase public understanding of the region’s natural environment, environmental challenges, and the importance of protecting local ecosystems.
• Supporting Conservation Efforts: The database will provide a scientific foundation for future conservation planning, including identifying species of particular significance and supporting the continuous monitoring of endangered wildlife.

Advancing the Documentation of Kurdistan’s Flora

In the second part of the meeting, Assistant Lecturer Ibrahim Ziyad Yousif, a specialist in plant taxonomy, also participated alongside other plant specialists.

The discussions focused on initiatives and challenges related to cataloging the Kurdistan Region’s flora and fauna and developing a comprehensive national database.

Participants considered information from international resources such as Plants of the World Online (POWO), alongside extensive scientific literature and local digital archives including Flora of Kurdistan. The initiative seeks to build on the current record of more than 1,500 local plant species and contribute to documenting a broader share of Iraq’s 3,300 known plant varieties.

Strengthening Cooperation for Biodiversity Conservation

The Erbil meeting concluded with productive discussions that established a clearer working methodology for the initiative and emphasized the importance of making environmental information accessible to the public.

The meeting also highlighted the complementary roles of government institutions, academic institutions such as the University of Duhok, and independent researchers in documenting and preserving the region’s biodiversity.

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University Press Office, September 28, 2026
Reported by: Fatima Mahmood Ali, Bilnd Jalal H. Hambi & Sipal Mohammed Taher Yousif