Applicability of Accounting to Ecosystems in Iraq: A Study of Habbaniyah Lake

The significance of this research lies in the importance of applying accounting to ecosystems in Iraq. Ecosystem accounting provides quantitative and value data and certain calculations of ecosystem. It includes measuring the level and status of ecosystems, as well as the effect of ecosystem functioning and valuating ecosystems assets, the theoretical framework includes the conceptual framework of what ecosystems are, their characteristics, nature of their function and their importance and the definition of the ecosystem accounting and how to apply it. As for the application of the practical side of the research, the study was based on the actual data available that collected from the relevant authorities of the ecosystem of Habbaniyah Lake. As for evaluating the ecosystem benefits and services, the proposals of international organizations interested in applying accounting to ecosystems have been relied upon. The applicability of applying accounting to ecosystems in Iraq has been reached, and the results of quantitative calculations showed that the amount of water storage in the ecosystem is directly proportional to the benefits and services of the ecosystem, and the flexibility to receive water releases that characterizes the ecosystem is inversely proportional to reducing the risk of flooding and that water flows from outside the hydrological cycle are negative. The results of the value calculations used in the research have revealed important information about the ecosystem (Habbaniyah Lake). This is represented in the positive result observed for all years of the study and the quantitative and value calculations of the ecosystem assets under study.