Green Mosul

Mosul is being rebuilt. Not only its walls and its markets, but the spaces between them — the streets where children walked to school, the courtyards where neighbours sat in the cool of the evening, the parks that the city had before the wars, and the trees that grew along the Tigris.

Green Mosul is Mosul Eye’s urban-greening and climate programme. It was launched in April 2021 with support from the Crisis and Support Centre of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, and it has, in the years since, planted more than nine thousand trees across the city, convened a major international forum on climate adaptation at Mosul University, and trained a generation of young Mosuli climate activists.

What the programme does

• Tree planting. More than 9,000 trees planted across the city since 2021 — in schools, residential courtyards, along streets that lost their canopy in the war years, and in the green belts that ring the Old City.
• Urban greening as recovery. The programme works with city authorities, the University of Mosul, and community organisations on a wider strategy of post-war urban greening — understood as stabilisation work as much as environmental work.
• Climate awareness and education. Workshops, seminars, and university programmes that raise climate awareness among Mosuli students, civil servants, and community leaders. Particular emphasis on training young women and men as climate activists.
• Heritage and climate adaptation. A specific focus on the resilience of heritage sites and the surrounding communities to climate impact — working with UNESCO, the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage, and Mosul University on integrating climate resilience into the reconstruction strategy.

The Climate Change International Forum (CCIF 2022)

On 9 May 2022, Green Mosul convened the Climate Change International Forum at the Grand Theatre of Mosul University. The forum brought together scholars, officials, organisations, students, and activists for a half-day programme of six panels on climate action in post-occupation Mosul — conducted in English and Arabic, with a photo exhibition documenting the programme’s first year, a short film, and a 30-minute tour of the rebuilt central library led by its secretary general, Sayf Al Ashaqar.

The five aims of the forum

• Raising climate awareness among communities, universities, and local authorities;
• Creating academic scholarships focused on climate change;
• Introducing the UN Sustainable Development Agenda to a Mosuli audience;
• Empowering young climate activists and supporting green start-ups;
• Raising awareness about climate change impacts on heritage — and the role of cultural heritage in climate adaptation and mitigation.

The six panels

• Panel 1 (English) — Political sciences & climate change: a students’ perspective on shaping climate-related policies.
• Panel 2 (English) — Collaboration at local, national, and international levels for green transition.
• Panel 3 (Arabic) — From challenges to solutions: the key to a green future (renewable energy and water management).
• Panel 4 (Arabic) — Green economy transition: environmental pollution and water security.
• Panel 5 (English) — Building resilience of heritage sites and communities.
• Panel 6 (English) — Innovation and youth as catalysts for change.

Partners and funding

Green Mosul is funded by the Crisis and Support Centre of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, and operates in partnership with the University of Mosul, the Mosul City Authority, and a range of local and international organisations working on heritage, education, and climate.

How to engage

• Plant a tree in Mosul. Green Mosul accepts contributions earmarked for tree planting; the programme purchases, plants, and maintains each tree with local crews. Write to contact@mosul-eye.org to contribute.
• Become a partner. Universities, foundations, and civil-society organisations working on climate, heritage, and urban regeneration are welcome to coordinate with the programme.
• Press and media. Coverage of the programme has appeared in Le Figaro, RAI, AFP, and other outlets; press enquiries to the address above.

The programme’s original online presence at sites.google.com/mosul-eye.org/greenmosul/ documents the CCIF 2022 forum in detail, including the full programme, the press kit, the photo gallery, and the list of beneficiaries.

Hashtags: #CCIF2022 · #GreenMosul2022