29/4/2005
UN Efforts Will Help Restore Iraqi Marshlands

Some people say that the Garden of Eden existed and place the site in the marshlands of southern Iraq. These fabled wetlands were home to the Marsh Arabs heirs to the 5,000-year-old civilization of the Babylonians and Sumerians. They also sheltered rare and unique species like the Sacred Ibis and African Darter, and were a spawning ground for fisheries. Sadly, they have been massively damaged. In 2001, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) released satellite images showing that 90 per cent of the marshes had been lost to dams on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and a vast drainage operation carried out by Saddam Hussein after the 1991 Persian Gulf War. Further studies released in 2003 showed that an additional 3 per cent, or 325 square kilometres, had gone. Experts feared the entire wetlands could disappear by 2008.

With the collapse of the former Iraqi regime in mid-2003, local residents began opening floodgates and breaching embankments to bring water back and satellite images indicated that by April 2004 around a fifth, or 3,000 square kilometres, had been re-flooded. The challenge now is to restore the environment and provide clean water and sanitation services.

This week it was announced that UN efforts to help restore the marshes have moved a step closer with the identification of six pilot project sites. An $11-million project, funded by the Government of Japan, aims to bring wetland management skills to local people and communities. It will be an important step towards restoring another part of Iraq's heritage.