The Marshlands of Modern Iraq

In 1988, an estimated 500,000 people lived in the region of land cradled between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers just north of where the two waterways drain into the Persian Gulf. Their traditional way of life was based on subsistence living. They fished for consumption and commerce (60 per cent of fish on Iraq’s market once came from the marshes), raised water buffalo for milk, and used the tall thick reeds of the marshes for constructing homes and making carpets, baskets and other household items.

"Our recent field studies have found a remarkable rate of native species re-establishment - of macroinvertebrates, macrophytes, fish and birds in re-flooded marshes.

"But the future availability of water for restoration is in question because of increasing urban and agricultural demands for water in Iraq, as well as in Turkey, Syria and Iran, suggesting only a portion of the former marshes can be restored, " Professor Richardson observed.

Some Preliminary Indicators of Marsh Rehabilitation Impact on Fishery Biology

Thamer S. Ali, Falah M. Mutlak, and Muna T. Khudair
Dept. Marine Vertebrates, Marine Science Centre, University of Basrah

ABSTRACT

The present study is part of a stock assessment program on marsh fishes, concerned with some preliminary indicators to clarify the impact of rehabilitation on fish biology in the Huwaiza, Basrah and Central Marshes. During the first steps of sampling, 30 species have been recorded, including 7 marine species (river shad, yellow-fin seabream, white fish, anchovy and three mullet species). Most of these species were recorded in Basrah Marsh (27), while 17 species each were recorded in the Huwaiza and Central Marshes. The samples were dominated by Liza abu, Barbus luteus, Carassius auratus, C. carassius and Alburnus sp. The preliminary indicators of reproductive biology, maturation stage and ichthyoplankton abundance appear to be a positive sign for restoring the biological role of the marshes as a spawning and nursery ground. Many larvae of L. abu and carp species were collected particularly during March and April. Although the growth parameters have not been determined, the initial length frequency data of L. abu, B. luteus, C. auratus, Heteropneustus fossilis and Mastacembelus mastacembelus could be extrapolated to lengths approaching the L8 for each species. Cohort analyses by the FiSAT II program revealed that there are different age structures for most fish species. The food habits exhibited similar food component patterns in comparison with studies carried out in the 1980's for L. abu, B. luteus and Cyprinus carpio. This study clarifies the restoration of food availability of different items in this region that give an advantage for feeding specialization

Iraq has been accused of following through with its marsh-
draining project for military and political purposes -- not for
agricultural purposes, as the official line insists. An official
Iraqi document in the possession of an Iraqi engineer who was
captured by resistance forces in the area, provides details about
what is transpiring in the marsh area: "It contained instructions
to 'withdraw all foodstuffs, ban the sale of fish and prohibit
transport to and from the areas.' Mass arrests, assassinations,
poisoning the water and burning villages were also ordered by the
Iraqi regime." Agriculture has nothing to do with what is
actually transpiring.

The Prince of the Marshes
And Other Occupational Hazards of a Year in Iraq

In August 2003, at the age of thirty, Rory Stewart took a taxi from Jordan to Baghdad. A Farsi-speaking British diplomat, he spent the next eleven months negotiating hostage releases, holding elections, and splicing together some semblance of an infrastructure for a population of millions teetering on the brink of civil war. The Prince of the Marshes tells the story of Stewart's year.