By John Lee.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has launched a campaign to clean the Al-Hawizeh Marsh from plastic waste and pollution:
- Clean-Up Campaign in Al-Hawizeh Marsh: In line with World Water Week and the "Water is Life" campaign, FAO Iraq, in collaboration with the Iraqi government, local authorities, and fishermen, launched a 10-day campaign to clean plastic waste and pollution from Al-Hawizeh Marsh. The campaign targets three main areas: Umm Al-Tous, Al-Zubair, and Al-Husseji (Al-Doub).
- Expected Outcome: The initiative aims to remove approximately 100 cubic meters of plastic waste by the end of the campaign.
- Environmental Importance: The initiative is critical for protecting water resources, wetlands, and the riverine ecosystem, especially considering the severe challenges the marshes face due to climate change, water shortages, heat waves, and drought. These challenges have negatively impacted local ecosystems, buffalo breeders, farmers, and fishermen.
- FAO's Commitment: Dr. Salah El-Hajj Hassan, FAO Representative in Iraq, emphasized FAO's commitment to addressing the negative impacts of climate change and water scarcity in the region. He urged cooperation among stakeholders to protect the marshes and ensure the well-being of future generations.
- Climate Change Impact: Dr. Abdulhakim Al-Waer, FAO Assistant Director-General, highlighted the exacerbating effects of climate change on water scarcity, stressing that extreme weather events, droughts, and floods are putting stress on ecosystems, with negative consequences for agriculture and food security.
- "Water is Life" Campaign: The clean-up campaign is part of the broader "Water is Life" initiative launched by the UN in Iraq, in partnership with the Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources. The year-long awareness campaign aims to educate Iraqi citizens about the critical state of their water resources and encourage water conservation efforts to mitigate the ongoing water crisis.
- Goal of Sustainability: The initiative underscores the importance of water conservation and sustainable management to secure a better future for Iraqis amidst growing environmental challenges.
Full statement from FAO:
In line with the World Water Week, and the "Water is Life" campaign, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Iraq, in cooperation with the Iraqi government, local authorities and fishermen, launched a campaign to clean the Al-Hawizeh Marsh from plastic waste and pollution.
The campaign will last for 10 days to cover 3 main passages: Umm Al-Tous, Al-Zubair and Al-Husseji (Al-Doub). It is expected that the volume of waste that will be removed from Al-Huwaizah Marsh by the end of the campaign will be about 100 cubic meters of plastic waste.
"This initiative is vital to protecting water resources, wetlands and the riverine ecosystem, especially considering the severe water shortage, heat waves and drought that the marshes are exposed to, which are among the negative impact of climate change and water scarcity that this region in southern Iraq is witnessing" said Dr. Salah El-Hajj Hassan, FAO Representative in Iraq.
The marshes have recently witnessed severe heat waves, accompanied by a sudden shortage of water in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, causing severe negative impacts on the ecosystem, buffalo breeders, farmers and fishermen in the marshes.
El-Hajj Hassan stressed that FAO, in cooperation with its national and international partners and donors, is keen to continue working to address the negative impacts of climate change and water scarcity and to confront the challenges facing the marshes, calling on all stakeholders to unite in a spirit of cooperation and determination and to work diligently to protect the marshes, combat climate change, and ensure the well-being of present and future generations who depend on these invaluable resources.
"The impacts of climate change are exacerbating water scarcity and challenging our ability to manage natural resources sustainably. Increasingly frequent and extreme weather events, droughts and floods are putting stress on our ecosystems, with negative consequences for agricultural production and food security," said Dr. Abdulhakim Al-Waer, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for the Near East and North Africa. "On this occasion, we reaffirm FAO's commitment to making every possible effort to address the impacts of climate change on Iraq and the region," he added.
This initiative comes also within the context of the "Water is Life" campaign launched by the United Nations in Iraq recently in partnership with the Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources to address the severe water crisis facing the nation. The year-long awareness campaign "Water is Life" aims to sensitize Iraqi citizens about the critical state of their water resources and foster a sense of responsibility to mitigate this crisis.
Through this campaign, significant progress can be made in water conservation and management, ensuring a sustainable and better future for all Iraqis.
(Source: FAO)
I am a Formulation Chemist and developed mobile frackwater recycling and reuse and RO water desalination units as well as small individual water purification systems for some African villages some years ago.
I am keenly interested in bringing mobile 250,000 gpd desalination units to various parts of the GCC countries in need of large volumes of clean drinking water.
But I have say, after you repeated the words " climate change" multiple times in your article, you rather lost me.
The seas are not rising appreciably, [ NOAA stats] the world cannot afford 50 trillion dollars to try to make the Earth cooler by 1.5 C.
I drive from the forested area of Houston,Texas to the concrete building areas and experience a 15 degree F delta T temperature differential of 15 degrees in 5 miles!