During the late 90s, Saddam Hussein drained Iraq’s famous marshes in retaliation to the rebelliousness of the tribesmen who lived in them. For many years these poor, mainly fishermen lived in the poorest regions of Basra, doing anything they could to put bread on the table.
With the coming of the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, they were able to once again return to their beloved ancestral-village, hacking away at the dykes that Saddam’s regime had built to block the rivers that replenished the wetlands. Once more the narrow, tar-covered boats preferred by the many generations of fishermen that had gone before plied the waters and all was good again.
Famed Marshes in Iraq Disappearing
Unfortunately, barely a decade later the area is once again unsuitable for the fishermen to ply their trade because the water in the marshes is far saltier than before and this lead to many lean years, prompting many of the locals to once again leave.
Although the partial restoration of the area has previously been hailed as a success, the current reduced water flow from the Tigris and the Euphrates, which feed the marshes, has been reduced from around 75% restored in 2008 to below 50%.
This in itself is not that unusual, as the marches are known to shrink in June and September due to high evaporation, and in 1989 and 2009 the 9,650 square kilometres shrank to almost nothing, but this time it is different.
According to the United Nations, dam construction in Iran and Turkey has reduced the volume of the rivers by up to 60%. Add to this the wasteful irrigation practices in Iraq and the impact of low rainfall and the outlook is not good at all. Environmentalists have actually predicted that the marshes will remain at a fraction of their normal size.
Apart from the fact that the marshes are now very low and the water very salty, or maybe because of it, several of the most prized species of fish such as the gatans, which can weigh up to 10 kilograms per, have completely vanished from the marshes and more fish that are normally only found in the sea are appearing more often in the marshes.
The quality of the drinking water has also been impacted; where residents could once drink straight from the marshes they now have to purchase water from a water treatment plant. Waterborne diseases are on the rise, causing many gastrointestinal and skin problems, which are no small matter seeing that the nearest doctor or medical clinic is many kilometres away.
It is feared that there will be more problems due to the Islamic State’s seizure of much of the middle Euphrates and the recent capture of the dam at Ramadi a year after they took the Fallujah dam. They have previously shown that they are not above using water as a weapon, and this bodes ill for those who live in downstream areas of Iraq.
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