February 24, 2005

The Economist Writes About Marshes of Southern Iraq

The Economist reports on progress being made in the environmental restoration of Southern Iraq's Marshlands and the economic renewal for its inhabitants. DAI is implementing the three-year Iraq Marshlands Restoration Project (IMRP), funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).The Ma’dan, or Marsh Arabs, had used the area’s 20,000 square kilometers of marshlands to sustain their families and way of life for 5,000 years. By 2003, however, as a result of extensive marsh drainage and the construction of 32 dams under the Saddam Hussein regime, only 10 percent of the marshes remained. Project staff are working with local residents to restore much of the marshland while simultaneously introducing income generating activities such as agriculture, fisheries, and dairy production to the marshdwellers .

DAI project director Peter Reiss highlighted the ongoing marshland rehabilitation successes at the recent annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), held February 17th-21st in Washington, D.C.

Read the full Economist article here. And read a story highlighting the reintroduction of date palms to the marshlands here.