By Natasha Hall and Husam Sobhi, for the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.
Whose Water Is It Anyway: How Political Violence and Corruption Has Become Iraq's Existential Challenge
Iraq's Lake Habbaniyah was once a glamorous resort. Surrounded by a hotel, bungalows, and gardens, it drew local and international celebrities for years after it was developed in 1981.
The area was so rich in water that Lake Razzaza (pictured) was built in the 1970s to absorb Lake Habbaniyah's overflow. Now, both lakes are shrinking abruptly.
Yet even as dead fish litter their expanding shores, a web of unlicensed fish farms and newly irrigated farmland are emerging nearby.
Challenging the forces diverting the lakes' water is not merely difficult-it is perilous, even for the Iraqi government.
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