Ecosystems provide humans with services that include benefits from food, fresh water, climate regulation, and socio-economic assets. The Mesopotamian marshlands are among the largest wetlands in the Middle East and they provide various benefits. However, ecosystem services of the Marshlands are consistently undervalued in national economic analysis and decision making. This study focusses on the Central Marshes, the first National Park in Iraq, and is the first attempt at valuing a series of ecosystem services from a valuable natural ecosystem in Iraq. We adopted the Toolkit for Ecosystem Services Site-Based Assessment (TESSA) for the determination of biophysical and economic values of services at the site level. Data on key ecosystem services (as determined by 30 interviews with residents of the Marshes) included the trading of fish, harvested plants, water buffalo milk, and fodder were collected across six months in 2014. We valued the ecosystem services within the CM (40,000 ha) over a 6-month period to have a total value of 860,078.23 USD. This estimated total value was the sum of 86,637.25 USD from harvested plants, 551,334.80 USD from trading fish, 167, 303.70 USD from trading water buffalo milk, and 54,804.00 USD from trading fodder. The average income per individual in Iraq in 2014 was 6720 USD (World Bank data - https://data.worldbank.org/country/iraq): thus, the CM provided an average salary for 256 people. Our results provided greater understanding of the ecosystem services contributed by the Central Marshes and has highlighted the crucial role of nature in supporting sustainable well-being for humans living in the area. In addition, the results can be used to enhance local policy, to aid management plans of the National park, and to estimate lost and damage that could result from impact of climate change on the area.
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) finds use in various industries due to its versatility but is not thermostable, serving as a barrier to causing degradation and release of hydrochloric acid (HCl) under heat stress conditions. Lead and organotin compounds have traditionally been used for stabilizer purpose to discourage such degradation but pose serious ecological as well as health risks. As a counter measure, bio-based stabilizers from plant oils have become popular as a green and sustainable alternative. This review looks back at recent developments in plant oil-based stabilizers for PVC, focusing on the mechanisms of stabilization, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness. We review plant oils such as tung oil, castor oil, and soybean oil,
... Show MoreBackground: This study aimed to use the combined mesio-distal crowns widths of maxillary incisors and first molars as predictors to the combined mesio-distal crowns widths of maxillary and mandibular canines and premolars. Materials and methods: The sample included 110 Iraqi Arab subjects with an age ranged between 17-25 years and class I skeletal and dental relations. The crown widths of maxillary teeth and mandibular canines and premolars were measured at the largest mesio-distal dimension on the study casts using digital electronic caliper with 0.01 mm sensitivity. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to determine the relation between the combined mesio-distal crowns widths of maxillary incisors and first molars and the combined
... Show MoreIn this paper, the effect of temperature on the charge transfer rate of dye (N3) in contact with ZnS semiconductors is discussed and studied when electrons move from the excited N3 dye to the conduction band of ZnS based on quantum shift theory. In a heterogeneous system, the energy levels are assumed to be continuous, and the N3-ZnS system is surrounded by a variety of polar solvent media. The transition energy of the N3/ZnS heterojunction was calculated using seven different solvents at room temperature, considering the refractive index and dielectric constant of the solvents and the ZnS semiconductor, respectively. The charge-transport reaction rate was calculated over different te
The study aimed to reveal the role of social capital represented by its dimensions (structural, relational, and cognitive) in strengthening the management of excellence in Azadi Hospital / Duhok. In order to reach the goal of the study, the study variables were highlighted in theory through framing concepts and literary contributions for researchers in this field, In the field, the questionnaire was used as a basic tool to collect data from the individuals in the research sample who were represented by officials and individuals working from administrators and technicians, as (120) forms were distributed to the respondents, and (110) were retrieved from them in a way that is valid for analysis. Several statistical methods have bee
... Show MoreThis study has been carried out in the Station of Poultry Researches which is affiliated to the General Office of Agricultural Researches / Ministry of Agriculture during the period from 01/04/2018 to 14/05/2018 there are 300 one day old chick of type (Ross 308) used in this study, and has been fed on diets which green tea powder (Camellia sinensis) has been added to it with the levels 0.5 , 1 , 1.5 , 2 g/kg as a feed for the treatments T 2 , T 3 , T 4 and T 5 respectively and compared to the control treatment T 1 which is devoid of addition, every treatment included three replicates each one has 20 birds in order to study the effect of adding a various levels of green tea powder (Camellia sinensis) to the diet on the productive performance
... Show MoreThe current study aims to investigate the effect of (SWOM) strategy on acquiring the psychological concepts of educational psychology course and its retention among education college students. To do this, a sample of (57) male and female student were intentionally selected from first grade, Kurdish department / college of education / Ibin Rushd of human sciences. The sample distributed on two classes, whereby the experimental group consisted of (28) student were taught according to the (SWOM) strategy while the control group made up of (29) student were taught based on the tradition method. The two researchers designed a scale included (50) item to measure students' achievement. The experiment lasted for ten weeks, SPSS was used
... Show MoreThe interest in pre-service teacher training has become influential in teaching English as a foreign language, and the purpose of this training course is to prepare qualified teachers to teach effectively through the application of this technique by undergraduate students. This research aims to find out the effect of using the seven principles of good practice as a teaching technique on the fourth stage student-teachers’ performance at the College of Education for Women/University of Baghdad, during the academic year 2017-2018. The sample includes (60) students selected according to the stratified sampling method. The observational checklist used by the department to assess the student teachers’ performance during the practicum perio
... Show MoreThis paper studies the main characteristics of the traditional urban configuration of Arab cities, as an important built heritage, discussing the approach adopted with such configuration at the local level, and examines its ability to preserve the character of the city, as well as, its responsiveness to the recent requirements of its society that constantly change; in order to reach the appropriate procedures to deal with the traditional urban configuration of the Iraqi city to achieve a vital cultural communication with the vernacular built heritage, by dealing with the Form-Moral Values structure. Due to its importance within other traditional Iraqi cities, the research chose Al-Kadhimiya as a case study, so it discusses and compares
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The research aimed to prepare an audit program focusing on the activities of municipal institutions related to the environmental dimension as one of the dimensions of sustainable development, and applying the program for the purpose of preparing an oversight report related to assessing the impact of the activities of municipal institutions on the environmental reality as the main channel through which municipal institutions contribute to achieving the part related to it. Among the requirements of sustainable development, the proposed program was prepared and applied to the institutions affiliated to the Directorate of Mu
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