Iraqi marshes, once a wetland, now a desert-like realm

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
14 Aug 2022 08:04
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The detrimental effects of climate change are posing a threat to wetlands and forcing people to move in Iraq.

Children standing on a boat lying on a dried-up bed of southern Iraq's Chibayish Marshes (Asaad Niazi)

Three years of drought, low rainfall, and diminished water flows along rivers and tributaries originating in neighboring Turkey and Iran have battered Iraq's swamplands.

A citizen's lifestyle has changed due to the increasing drought. Hashem Gassed, for example, is forced to cross 10 kilometers (6 miles) in southern Iraq to feed and cool his buffaloes.

The Hawizeh Marshes, forming a large part of the famous Mesopotamian marshlands, have been drying up and their vegetation yellowing.

"The marshes are our livelihood -- we used to fish here and our livestock could graze and drink," Gassed said.

While southern Iraq's marshlands were listed in 2016 as a UNESCO World Heritage site for their ancient history and biodiversity, the streams that were once grass-covered are dry now.

The wetlands have gone over years of severe drought in the past before being revived by rainy seasons. Between August 2020 and this month, 46% of southern Iraq swamplands, including Hawizeh and Chibayish, suffered from a complete surface water loss, according to the Dutch organization PAX.

The organization said another 41% of marsh areas suffered from decreased water levels and wetness.

The marshes were "one of the poorest regions in Iraq and one of the most affected by the climate change," according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in Iraq, which warned of "unprecedented low water levels." The organization noted the "disastrous impact" on more than 6,000 families who "are losing their buffaloes, their unique living asset."

UNESCO reveals that the swamplands are home to "numerous populations of threatened species" and are a vital stopping point for almost 200 species of migratory water birds.

Ahmed Saleh Neema, an environmental activist, complained there were no more fish, wild boar, or even a subspecies of smooth-coated otter in the marshes.

Like a desert

While the swamplands were irrigated by two tributaries of the Tigris River, their flows had dropped, Neema said, and Iraqi authorities are rationing supplies to cover various other needs.

"The government wants to preserve the largest quantity of water possible," he added, lamenting "unfair water sharing" and "poor (resource) management."

The Hawizeh Marshes on the Iranian side are suffering too, as Iran's state news agency IRNA reported recently that "the wetland is facing water stress and currently about half of its Iranian part has dried up."

Iraqi farms and marshlands' water needs are only half met, he added, since authorities are closely monitoring reserves and attempting to cover a variety of uses, with drinking water being one of the priorities.

In Chibayish, a citizen commented on the effects of drought and said dozens of families had left his hamlet looking for areas where there is water.

"Before, when we used to come to the marshes, there was greenery, water, inner peace," he added.

"Now it's like a desert."