Reuters AlertNet Full site
Homepage | Newsdesk | NGO Latest | Crisis briefings | Country profiles | MediaWatch | Jobs | Alerting | Login

NEWSDESK

IRAQ: Move to revive ailing marshlands
16 Mar 2009 15:23:01 GMT
 Source: IRIN

Background

•  Iraq in turmoil

MORE >>
BAGHDAD, 16 March 2009 (IRIN) - On 12 March the Iraqi government and a number of UN agencies launched a $47 million initiative to remove dykes and canals built by the regime of former President Saddam Hussein so that water can flow back into marshland areas.

The aim is to help the government strengthen services, build better governance systems, and develop agriculture and public services in these areas.

"People living in the marshlands are some of the poorest and most badly provided with basic services," David Shearer, UN deputy special representative of the Secretary-General, said in a statement on 12 March.

Reviving Iraq's marshlands, the largest wetland ecosystem in the Middle East, is an urgent environmental and humanitarian task which will need national, regional and international efforts, a local official who preferred anonymity has said.

The marshlands, with their once rich biodiversity, have been damaged significantly [http:marshlands.unep.or.jp] since the 1970s due to upstream dam construction and drainage operations by Saddam's regime.

Displaced

Other problems include water quality degradation caused by sewage, high levels of salinity, and pollution from pesticides and untreated industrial effluent; many people have been displaced.

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN/World Bank Needs Assessment Initiative for the Reconstruction of Iraq have identified damage to the marshlands and the resultant displacement as a major disaster.

"Billions of dollars are needed to implement projects to maintain livelihoods for the inhabitants [of the marshlands]. Also needed is cooperation by both Turkey and Iran to release [more] water to Iraq," Hamid al-Dhalimi, a member of Basra Provincial Council and head of the Marshlands Committee, said.

"Low water levels mean high levels of salinity and this affects papyrus, reeds, fish, birds and cattle which are essential for the inhabitants' lives… Water levels have reduced to almost half what they were in 2003," he said.

The government has been spending US$50 million a year since 2006 to boost marshland livelihoods, but recent falls in the water level had forced returnees to leave the area once more, he said.

Iraq's Ministry of Marshlands has earmarked $5 million for the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as part of efforts to launch a programme of sustainable agricultural development. "The government of Iraq is helping people to return to abandoned areas of the marshlands," Iraq's state minister for marshlands, Hassan al-Sari said.

However, the new UN/Iraqi initiative may not be enough to tempt people like Radhi Mohammed Khayon, a 44-year-old inhabitant of Basra's marshlands, to stay there.

"I'll wait until June," he said. "If water flows again and work on projects is kicked off then I will stay. If not then we will pack up and find a place near the city."

sm/ar/cb

© IRIN. All rights reserved. More humanitarian news and analysis: http://www.IRINnews.org


AlertNet news is provided by
Email this article       Send comments

Topics

•  Water

MORE >>

Emergencies

•  Iraq in turmoil

MORE >>

NGO latest

•  TV News Footage - ICRC: better access to water needed for war victims
ICRC - Switzerland

•  Fifth World Water Forum: war victims need better access to water and sanitation
ICRC - Switzerland

•  CARE International warns of possible spill-over into Chad
CARE International - UK

•  CARE International warns of possible spill-over into Chad
CARE International - UK

•  Iraqi women in the grip of ‘silent emergency’ despite security gains, warns Oxfam
Oxfam GB - UK

MORE >>

Latest news

•  In Brief: World Water Forum kicks off in Istanbul

•  IRAQ: Move to revive ailing marshlands

•  Minefield survivors from Iraq receive warm welcome in Cyprus

•  Iraqi army besieges Iranian exile camp - residents

•  First Iraqi family departs Jordan for resettlement in Germany

MORE >>

IRIN news

Background information

Briefings
Iraq in turmoil - [Who works where]

Topics
Water
Facts & figures
Iran Turkey Iraq
Statistics graphs
Landmine casualties (2007)
Chart for Landmine casualties
View more stats >>

Related articles

Breaking stories
 In Brief: World Water Forum kicks off in Istanbul (1 minute ago)

IRAQ: Move to revive ailing marshlands (1 minute ago)

AlertNet insight
 Most Britons unaware of African conflicts - Red Cross survey (1 minute ago)

Aid agency news feed
 TV News Footage - ICRC: better access to water needed for war victims (1 minute ago)

Blogs
 Shafeeka's story: hardship and isolation in Iraq (1 minute ago)

Maps
 NAMIBIA Northern Namibia Flood Extent Mapsheet 7 (1 minute ago)


Del.icio.us Del.icio.us  |   Digg Digg  |   NewsVine NewsVine  |   Reddit Reddit   
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-03-16T140442Z_01_ANK23_RTRIDSP_2_ENVIRONMENT-WATER_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/ANK23.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-03-16T140049Z_01_ANK19_RTRIDSP_2_ENVIRONMENT-WATER_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/ANK19.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-03-16T135827Z_01_ANK18_RTRIDSP_2_ENVIRONMENT-WATER_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/ANK18.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-03-13T163402Z_01_AFR15_RTRIDSP_2_UN-WATER_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/AFR15.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-03-13T141045Z_01_DHA019_RTRIDSP_2_BANGLADESH-FIRE_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/DHA019.htm

Turkey's President Abdullah Gul (R) and Prince Albert of Monaco pose for a family photo during the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul March 16, 2009. Government ministers from 120 countries, ...


More pictures | Galleries
Disclaimers |  Copyright |  Privacy |  Contact Us |  Feedback |  About Us |  RSS XML

Last updated:Mon Mar 16 15:23:44 2009