02 November, 2006
EARTH REPORT ON REBIRTH OF IRAQ'S MARSHES
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Many depend on fishing for a livelihood. |
Once the largest wetland in Southwest Asia, the vast expanse of marshes in Southern Iraq were systematically drained by Saddam Hussein in the early 1990s. The damage was compounded as Iraq’s neighbours dammed the rivers feeding the marshes. Lush wetlands rich in plants, fish and birds were reduced to arid, lifeless desert. When Saddam was toppled in 2003, the Marsh Arabs broke the dykes and dams to allow the waters to flow again. Earth Report travels through the marshes to see if life too is returning.
Transmission schedules (all times GMT) – Eden Reborn will be broadcast on BBC World on Saturday 4 November at 21.30; Sunday 5 November 11.30; Monday 6 November 02.30 (Not Asia Pacific or South Asia). Please note: Broadcasts may vary in different parts of the world. Please check details for your region at BBC World
For further information on the programme: Earth Report
“The restoration of the marshlands is an act of peace… It’s the biggest wetland in the middle east and it has species that are unique to that area. It’s of world importance to stabilize this particular eco-system.”
Monique Barbut, Former Director UNEP DTIE and CEO Global Environment Facility
“The number of birds that have been recorded in this last year is in the thousands. They’re not the million that were there before, but much better than the previous few years... Of the 80 plus winter species, we’ve had about 75 or 76 that are back. That includes some of the rare species that haven’t been seen for over 40 years.”
Prof. Curtis Richardson, Wetland Ecologist, Duke University, North Carolina
“When the regime fell, we ran spontaneously to the dams and broke them without any order from the government. We attacked the main dam and opened it to the marshlands, because we wanted to live, our life depends on fishing.”
Local Fisherman
Satellite photos from the 1970s show clearly the original extent of the marshes. At that time they covered 20,000 square kilometres, making them almost the size of Wales. By 2003, the marshes were reduced to a tenth their original size.
Now, according to the United Nations Environment Programme, 40 percent of the marshes have returned, along with most of the indigenous plants, bird and fish species. But the water is contaminated. After the marshes were drained, they became salt pans. When the dams were broken and the water returned, it became saline. It’s also polluted with agricultural chemicals.
Clean drinking water is a big problem for the inhabitants of the marshes. To start to address the problem, the United Nations Environment Programme has installed six water treatment plants dotted around the marshes.
The birds, the water the plants and the fish are returning. But 15 years ago nearly half a million people lived in the marshes. Experts estimate that today only 10,000 - at most - have returned. Many of these, although proud of their unique culture, are not convinced the marshes offer a viable, long term future.
As one Marsh Arab puts it: “We would love our kids to be in school, we think life in the city is better than life in the marshlands, but what can we do?”
Eden Reborn was produced with the generous support of the United Nations Environment Programme
TVE and its Partners distribute Earth Reportprogrammes for broadcast and educational and campaigning use in countries across Africa, Asia & the Pacific, and Latin America & the Caribbean – to schools, colleges, universities, NGOs, environmental agencies and other ‘multiplier’ organisations.
CONTACTS: For further information about programmes – contact Nick Rance, Earth Report development producer: tel. +44 20 7901 8837; email: nick.rance@tve.org.uk
For further information about the international work to revive the marshlands and supply clean drinking water to local people contact Robert Bisset, UNEP: Tel: +33 1 4437 7613 Robert.Bisset@unep.fr
For tape or DVD orders– contact Dina Junkermann, TVE distribution manager: tel. +44 20 7901 8834; email: dina.junkermann@tve.org.uk
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