Iraqi Marshlands on Slow Mend
The ecological disaster wrought by Saddam Hussein’s policy of drying up ancient marshes along the Tigris and Euphrates (see 08/18/2003 and 05/01/2003 entries) is still severe, reports Science,1,2 but groups are working hard on restoration. It may take many years and will probably never be the same. About 20% has been reflooded, with portions coming back well, but other areas are suffering from salt and contaminated water. Some bird and animal species that relied on these areas have gone extinct. The human toll from Hussein’s ecoterrorism is incalculable. Marsh Arabs and earlier people groups had lived in this rich ecological zone for at least 5000 years, and the rich land supported much of the population of southern Iraq.
Although other factors, such as damming upstream, had contributed to the wetlands diminution for decades, Hussein had deliberately diverted water from the regions as a political move against his enemies, a coup-de-grace that resulted in the loss of 90% of the original marsh habitat. Experts think that a sizeable portion of the area shows hope of restoration, provided the government works quickly and wisely.
1Andrew Lawler, “Reviving Iraq’s Wetlands,” Science, Vol 307, Issue 5713, 1186-1189 , 25 February 2005, [DOI: 10.1126/science.307.5713.1186].
2Richardson et al., “The Restoration Potential of the Mesopotamian Marshes of Iraq,” Science, Vol 307, Issue 5713, 1307-1311 , 25 February 2005, [DOI: 10.1126/science.1105750].
The before-and-after pictures are shocking, looking like the difference between the Everglades and a desert. It wasn’t the Biblical Garden of Eden, but let’s hope most of this paradise can be restored. The lovers of freedom seem to be the ones leading the effort: the authors of the main paper were three Americans, one expatriated Iraqi-American, and one Iraqi national.