The Wetland (Mesopotamian Marshes) of Iraq Biodiversity and Wildlife

• published: 13 Nov 2014
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The Mesopotamian Marshes or Iraqi Marshes are a wetland area located in southern Iraq and partially in southwestern Iran and Kuwait. Historically the marshlands, mainly composed of the separate but adjacent Central, Hawizeh and Hammar Marshes, used to be the largest wetland ecosystem of Western Eurasia. It is a rare aquatic landscape in the desert, providing habitat for the Marsh Arabs and important populations of wildlife. Draining of portions of the marshes began in the 1950s and continued through the 1970s to reclaim land for agriculture and oil exploration. However, in the late 1980s and 1990s, during the presidency of Saddam Hussein, this work was expanded and accelerated to evict Shia Muslims from the marshes. Before 2003, the marshes were drained to 10% of their original size. After the fall of Hussein's regime in 2003, the marshes have partially recovered but drought along with upstream dam construction and operation in Turkey, Syria and Iran have hindered the process. The marshes are home to 40 species of bird and several species of fish plus demarcating a range limit for a number of avifauna species. The marshes were once home to millions of birds and the stopover for millions of other migratory birds, including flamingos, pelicans and herons as they traveled from Siberia to Africa. At risk are 40% to 60% of the world's marbled teal population that live in the marshes, along with 90% of the world's population of Basra Reed-warbler. Also at risk are the Sacred Ibis and African darter. A subspecies of the Hooded crow known as the Mesopotamian crow is found in this part of southern Iraq. Seven species are now extinct from the marshes, including the Indian Crested Porcupine, the bandicoot rat and the marsh gray wolf. The draining of the marshes caused a significant decline in bioproductivity; following the Multi-National Force overthrow of the Saddam Hussein regime, water flow to the marshes was restored and the ecosystem has begun to recover. The fate of the two species of otter (the Eurasian otter and the smooth-coated otter) which were historically present in the marshes on either side of the border remains unknown. After the 1991 Gulf War, Shia Muslims in southern Iraq rebelled against Saddam Hussein who in turned crushed the rebellion and further accelerated the draining of the Central and Hammar marshes in order to evict Shias that have taken refuge in the marshes. With the exception of the Nasiriyah Drainage Pump Station, the 565 km (351 mi) Third River was completed in 1992 and two other canals were constructed south and nearly parallel to it. One, the Mother of Battles canal, was constructed to divert the flow of the Euphrates south below the Hammar Marsh. Second, the 240 km Loyalty to Leader Canal also known as the Basrah Sweetwater Canal, which originates in the lower Euphrates region, collected water from the terminus of the Gharraf River and diverted it under the Euphrates, away from the Central Marshes and below the Hammar Marshes towards Basrah. The Glory River was also constructed to divert water from the Tigris's southern-flowing distributaries east and parallel along the Tigris until they reached the Euphrates near its confluence with the Tigris at Qurna. By the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the marshes had lost 90% of their size from the previous decades. The Central and Hammar Marshes were nearly drained and only 35% of the Hawizeh Marshes remained. After the invasion, locals destroyed dikes. The combined efforts of the Iraq government, United Nations, U.S. agencies and record precipitation in Turkey helped begin a restoration of the marshes. As of late 2006, 58% of the original marshes had been reinundated. The Nasiriyah Drainage Pump Station was completed in 2009, affording the Third River to be used for agricultural drainage. However, recent drought and continued upstream dam construction and operation in Turkey, Syria and Iran have reduced the marshes to around 30% of their original size by 2009.