Exclusive Interview with Dr. Zhino Khalid Mohammed, Head of Environmental Science at the University of Sulaimani

 Research highlights that noise pollution regulation in the Kurdistan Region is highly fragmented. While Iraq has enforcement mechanisms on paper, Law No. 8 on the Environment contains no provisions specifically addressing noise pollution. This represents a significant gap, since effective environmental protection requires not only written laws but also a monitored legal system to identify violations and enforce compliance. Without that framework, environmental balance is undermined. 

A recurring challenge is the incomplete and inconsistent enforcement of environmental laws and guidelines in both public and private spaces across the entire ecosystem. 

Among the various environmental legal issues, noise pollution stands out as particularly neglected. No specific guidelines or dedicated legislation exist for it in the Kurdistan Region. The core reason is that noise is invisible it can only be felt through hearing, and even then it is often immeasurable. This invisibility has allowed the environmental impacts of noise to go largely unrecognized. 

For example, in commercial centers, around food areas, on agricultural land, in residential neighborhoods, or near hospitals the law should define and monitor permissible noise levels. Without that framework, it becomes very difficult to identify the problem, let alone find solutions. 

 Every substance has its own vibration frequency. Nothing in nature is completely static. These vibrations carry specific frequencies that pass through surrounding mediums, causing those mediums to move and absorb energy. When vibrations become excessive, they cause structural damage to those mediums. This means that even sounds we cannot hear have direct physical effects. 

Living organisms in our environment relocate due to vibrations present in a given area. Bees are a prime example: when noise pollution increases in an area, bees abandon it. If a bee leaves its location for any reason, it loses the frequency signals needed to find its way back. This is why agricultural researchers monitor bee population decline as a key indicator  when a bee abandons its hive and cannot return, it signals environmental instability in that area, affecting honey markets and many related issues. 

From an ecological perspective, if one day a single bee species disappeared, the entire ecosystem would be affected, because biodiversity is the foundation of environmental balance. Bees, insects, and other organisms we rarely think about are directly impacted in their lives by noise and sound pollution. 

Like any environmental pollutant, noise has measurable health effects; this is well-established globally. Research shows that noise affects water quality, and that has physical effects on the human body. Since approximately 75% of the human body is water, any change in water composition leads to changes in bodily composition. 

The most important point is that the water people drink daily should be pH-neutral neither acidic nor alkaline, to be suitable for daily use. However, in our city's water network, water that is clean at its source often changes quality by the time it reaches homes. One reason is that water storage systems within buildings lack any form of noise protection or sound cancellation, leaving the water exposed to surrounding environmental noise. At the same time, the water travels through distribution networks that pass through high-traffic roads and noisy urban areas, absorbing the impact of that acoustic environment along the way. When water pH drops and becomes acidic as a result, it negatively affects the human body's alkalinity. Over time, if the body continuously consumes acidic water, the body's chemistry changes, the immune system weakens, and susceptibility to disease increases. Researchers studying breast cancer have emphasized the importance of this issue. 

The added sentences fit naturally into the existing flow while clearly introducing both points  the lack of noise protection in building water storage, and the exposure to traffic noise during distribution. Let me know if you'd like any further adjustments. 

The removal of electricity generators had a direct positive impact on quality of life. Previously, noise pollution in residential areas from having as many as six generators around a single home or on main roads was severely disruptive, affecting sleep, mental health, and physical health near hospitals and public spaces. Environmentalists describe this as environmental injustice toward communities. 

Every country has its own specific noise level standards based on its laws and regulations. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) has established a global standard that no country should allow noise levels to exceed a certain threshold. 

These standards are also influenced by the biological characteristics of individuals and the country where they reside, meaning a country can set its own standards based on measurement and translate them into law. 

It is worth noting that future generations may adapt to existing vibration and sound wave levels, having grown up and become accustomed to them. However, someone from a country with lower noise levels who visits would experience the impacts more acutely. Our exposure history shapes our tolerance. 

The 2008 Environmental Law addresses environmental protection only in general terms and makes no mention of noise pollution which in itself represents a major gap. It needs to specify clearer and more detailed measures based on location of residence, distinguishing between day and night hours, as well as addressing daily violations. 

The first and most essential step is awareness, because noise pollution is rarely discussed despite its far-reaching effects on both human health and ecosystems. Following that awareness, every institution should have its own regulations and laws on noise pollution, since ultimately all these efforts are complementary to one another.