The Renaturation of the Iraqi Marshlands

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Ravaged land: Before war broke out between Iran and Iraq and the marshes were drained in the 1980s, groves of date palms flourished in southern Iraq. Where 30 million trees once stood there are now only about eight million.
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After the fall of Saddam, the inhabitants of the marsh regions began to open the floodgates of the artificial dams on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. But it will still take a long time to restore the ecological balance of the dried landscape.
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lake for fishing
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New life – the reflooding of the drained swamp landscape began in December 2003.
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Only two years ago, this was a dry steppe zone.
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Lush vegetation
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Fishermen
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The small islands in the water offer the fishermen a dry place to unload their catch for transport.
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The fish business has been booming
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The residents put the water from the flooded areas to multiple uses – including as drinking water.
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Papyrus reeds
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floor mats, walls and roofs
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traditional guesthouse ("mudif")
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Shiite religious tradition
In the years 2003, 2004 and 2006, Ikhlas Abbis traveled through the marshlands of southern Iraq. He took photographs of the process of development taking place in the swamps, which were drained under Saddam Hussein in the 1980s and reflooded after his overthrow.

Autor: Johanna PermLink: 22.8.09

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