Restoring Iraq’s Wetland Marshes to the Original Eden

Photo retrieved from: www.bbc.co.uk

“A place so beautiful, teeming with water and life, that according to the Christian faith it was the birthplace of mankind.

That was until the 1980s, when Saddam Hussein drained these great wetlands of southern Iraq, destroying them, turning them to desert.

However, since his overthrow, a remarkable effort has begun to restore these Mesopotamian Marshes, among the most important wetland habitat in the world.

One man is leading the way, attempting to rejuvenate the marshes and bring back the diversity of animals and plants that once lived there.

A BBC film crew has followed his progress, revealing how he and his colleagues are succeeding in attracting rare birds back to a land ravaged by persecution and war.

In the 1990′s Saddam Hussein drained the wetlands to punish the indigenous Marsh Arab tribes, who had risen against him in the aftermath of the first Gulf War.

He built a network of canals to channel water from the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers around the marshes, dumping it straight into the Arabian Gulf.

Within a matter of months, the marshes, which had covered 15,000 square kilometres, were reduced to less than 10% of their original size.”

Read more: BBC