Tag Archives | marshes

Iraq Asks UNESCO to Save Southern Marshes

This article was originally published by Niqash. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Iraqis are seeking protection from UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee for their southern marshes. But the issue is not just environmental; it’s also about international water politics. When the UNESCO World […]

Iraq Targets 3x Rise in Tourism

By John Lee. Iraq sees an average of about two million tourists a year, but a senior adviser to the Iraqi tourism ministry has told AFP that that number could be tripled to six million. The country hosts millions of Shiite Muslims on pilgrimages to its various holy sites, from Samarra in the north, about 125 […]

Iraqi Engineer Wins Goldman Prize

The 2013 Goldman Environmental Prize has been won by Iraqi engineer Azzam Alwash, for his work on the revival of the Iraqi marshes. Giving up a comfortable living and family life in California, Azzam Alwash returned to war-torn Iraq to lead local communities in restoring the once-lush marshes that were turned to dust bowls during […]

Experts Pressure Govt to Make Marshes a Natural Reserve

By Matthew Gayle. While attending  festival in southern Iraq, Iraqi experts urged the government to declare the Iraqi marshes in that region a national park. The festival was part of a series of activities that the Iraq Nature Organization is developing to lobby the government and international bodies to declare the marches a natural reserve. […]

Video: Iraqi Marshlands Restored by Nature

From Reuters. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Drained by Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in the 1990s, Iraq's southern marshlands are undergoing a remarkable transformation. Saddam's attempt to destroy the wetlands came in response to an uprising by Marsh Arabs after the […]

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US Embassy Commemorates World Wetlands Day

The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad hosted a panel discussion with Iraqi government and civil society leaders on January 31 in commemoration of World Wetlands Day. World Wetlands Day is celebrated around the world to promote public awareness of wetlands’ ecological, economical, and social value and benefits. The program featured remarks by Shaimaa Ubaid Karim of […]

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Iraq's 'Garden of Eden' an Agricultural Disaster Waiting to Happen

According to this report from NIQASH, many believe the original Garden of Eden, as described in both the Koran and Bible, is located in Basra. Increasingly though climate change, water shortages and urban sprawl mean Basra’s farmers are coming to doubt that story. War and conflict have led to the loss of many farms and […]

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$42m Earmarked for Maysan Marshes

The Maysan [Missan] Provincial Council allocated more than $42 million [49 billion Iraqi dinars] for the development of the province’s marshlands for 2011, a local official said on Thursday. “The ministry of state for the marshes’ affairs have allocated the sum of 49.900 billion dinars to set up service projects in the eastern and western […]