From extraction to contamination: Illegal refineries, polluted waters and environmental activism in Iraqi Kurdistan

This research explores the interplay between extractivism, river pollution, and the proliferation of illegal oil refineries in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Positioned within the framework of the Capitalocene, the study highlights how systemic socio-ecological harm is not merely a by-product of economic activity but a fundamental component of the capitalist systems encouraged locally by power constellations and social dialectics. The paper examines the transformation of the Tanjero River, which became a symbol of ecological disaster, driven by the proliferation of illegal oil refineries and the region's deregulated extractive practices. Through fieldwork conducted in 2021 and 2022, including interviews with environmentalists, governmental officials, and community members, this paper argues that the ecological disaster in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq is fundamentally driven by the dynamics of the Capitalocene and extractivism, which find fertile grounds in new frontiers marked by non-governance, fragility of the state and regulatory failures. Recently, however, environmental activists have mobilised to combat pollution and reclaim natural landscapes, highlighting both the destructive impacts of unchecked extractivism and the potential for community-driven resistance and restoration.