The
Future of the Iraqi Marshlands
UNEP Reveals New Data on Marshlands Recovery and
Progress in Bringing Clean Water to Marsh Arab
Communities
Tokyo, 7 December 2006 – Almost
half the Iraqi Marshlands, considered by some
as the original biblical “Garden of Eden” and
an ecosystem of global importance, has recovered
to its former 1970s extent.
At the same time, up to 22,000 people living in
the area are now getting access to safe drinking
water and approximately 300 Iraqis have been trained
in marshland management techniques and policies.
A series of community led environmental
awareness campaigns have been organized by local
leaders and residents, and an internet-based Marshland
Information Network (MIN) has been set-up.
These are some of the results
from the first phase of a Japanese funded project
that will be presented to a meeting of high-level
Iraqi officials, local community leaders and representatives
of the international donor community in Kyoto,
Japan tomorrow.
The project, “Support for Environmental
Management of the Iraqi Marshlands”, is managed
by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
It is helping the Iraqi people
to restore the marshlands and manage them in a
sustainable manner, as well as providing safe
drinking water and sanitation systems to marshlands
communities lacking access to these basic necessities.
“Working with Iraqi institutions
and local communities, UNEP is now providing safe
drinking water to up to 22,000 people in six pilot
communities (Al-Kirmashiya, Badir Al-Rumaidh,
Al-Masahab, Al-Jeweber, Al-Hadam, and Al-Sewelmat)
by common distribution taps,” says Dr Chizuru
Aoki, UNEP Iraq Project Coordinator.
By the middle of 2006, 23 kilometres
of water distribution pipes and 86 common distribution
taps had been installed. A sanitation system pilot
project is being implemented in the community
of Al-Chibayish where inhabitants are facing health
hazards from discharges of untreated wastewater
to a nearby canal.
“The key to the success of this
project has been the solid cooperation with Ministries
of Environment and Municipalities and Public Works,
southern Governorates, local communities, and
NGOs, and dedication of many Iraqis,” added Per
Bakken, Director of UNEP International Environmental
Technology Centre. UNEP is also supporting wetland
rehabilitation and reconstruction initiatives,
which are being implemented in close cooperation
with the Center for the Restoration of Iraqi Marshlands
of the Ministry of Water.
Resources
The Iraqi Marshlands are one
of the world’s largest wetland ecosystems. By
the time the former Iraqi regime collapsed in
2003, these Marshlands – with their rich biodiversity
and unique cultural heritage – had been almost
entirely destroyed.
Extensive ecological damage
to this area, with the accompanying displacement
of much of the indigenous population, was identified
as one of the country’s major environmental and
humanitarian disasters.
In 2001, UNEP alerted the international
community to the destruction of the Marshlands
when it released satellite images showing that
90 percent of the Marshlands had already been
lost.
As the former regime ended,
people began to open floodgates and break down
embankments that had been built to drain the Marshlands.
Re-flooding has since occurred in some, but not
all, areas.
Satellite images and analysis
revealed by UNEP today show that almost 50 percent
of the total Marshlands area has been re-flooded
with seasonal fluctuations.
Building on the success of the
project’s first phase, a second phase was recently
launched with financial support from the Japanese
and Italian governments.
This next stage of the project
focuses on data collection and analysis of water,
environmental and socio-economic indicators to
support the development of a marshland master
plan, further technical training, awareness raising
and additional clean drinking water provision.
The UNEP marshlands project
is implemented by the Division of Technology,
Industry and Economics (DTIE) International Environmental
Technology Centre (IETC), located in Osaka and
Shiga, Japan.
