Tigris, Euphrates, and Shatt Al-Arab River System: Historic and Modern Attempts to Manage and Restore Iraq’s Lifeline

In Iraq, the principal rivers are the Tigris, Shatt Al-Arab and Euphrates. From their headwater sources in the mountains of eastern Türkiye, these rivers descend through valleys and gorges and flow into the uplands of Syria and northern and central alluvial plain of Iraq. The Euphrates and Tigris Rivers confluence to form the Shatt Al-Arab river at Al-Qurnah which flows into the Persian Gulf. From sources in the Zagros Mountains other tributaries join the Tigris from the east. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers flow in a southeastern direction through the central plain and discharge into the Mesopotamian Marshes, which include permanent marshes, lakes, and riparian habitat. The rivers and their tributaries drain an area of 879,790 km2 which includes almost the entire area of Iraq as well as land in Syria, Türkiye, Kuwait and Iran. The region has historical importance as part of the Fertile Crescent region and where Mesopotamian civilization first emerged. The post war reconstruction efforts in the Yusifiyah township, an important food production region for Baghdad, illustrate the importance of these water resources. In addition, the advent of soil tunnels by Iraqi insurgents within the riverine corridors will make reconstruction of this resource more complex. The primary objectives of this study are to assess lessons learned, manage, and restore the Tigris, Euphrates, and Shatt Al-Arab river system lifeline in Iraq.

Desiccation versus Re-Flooding: Heavy Metals Mobilization—Part 1

From the restoration point of view, heavy metals distribution and seasonal variation were studied in the re-flooded marshes of the Mesopotamia, southern Iraq. As part of the ecological recovery assessment of these newly inundated marshes, it is important to investigate the extend impact of 13 years of desiccation after five years of inundation on the heavy metals mobilization from the marshland downstream into the Shatt Al-Arab River and examine whether these marshlands retain their role of acting as sink of metals. The result shows significant differences between the re-flooded marshes versus the reference marsh, which indicates that desiccation cased changes in environmental variables and divided the one homogeneous system of the Mesopotamia into separated systems. In addition, the special distribution of heavy metals show that Al-Hawizeh and Al-Hammar marshlands were efficient for metals reduction, especially for Ni, while the Central marshland has the major contribution as source to metals. As a conclusion, the recovery potential of three marshlands is strongly controlled by the hydrological status of the marshland and the degree of the desiccation impact. The environmental status of the semidried marshes, Al-Souda north and Um Al-Niaaj, as well as the completely Abu Zarag dried marsh are exhibiting a positive recovery degree than the other monitored marshes in the Mesopotamia in comparison to the reference marsh.

Mesopotamian Marshlands: Salinization Problem

Salinization becomes a very serious problem affecting the restoration assessment of the newly re-flooded marshes of the Mesopotamian southern Iraq. From mid-1970 to early-1990, the whole marsh area was influenced by water shortage and desiccation processes. Increasing the average salinity level in the re-flooded marshes is acting versus their recovery progress and significantly affecting their aquatic biota. This study will examine the contributions of dams’ construction and desiccation on increasing the salinity level with in the Mesopotamian marshlands overtime. Water discharge and salinity concentration were monitored in the direct water inputs and outlets of the three marshlands from May 2006 to February 2007 on a monthly basis, while salinity and major ions concentrations including “Ca1+, Mg2+, Cl1-, and SO42-” were monitored in 28 re-flooded marshes from March 2005 to August 2008 on a seasonal basis. The study indicate that increasing the salinity level in the Mesopotamian marshlands is due to three reasons: 1) The overtime increasing in the salinity level of their direct water inputs, due to dams’ constructions;2) the increase of the Arab Gulf tide via Shatt Al-Arab river due to the reduction of the water level in the outlets of the Central and Al-Hammar marshlands;and 3) the huge accumulation of salts due to desiccation.

“妇女坐着为搭模斯哭泣”:希伯来宗教与两河流域之地府游

古代两河流域掌管农作物及动物生长之神——"搭模斯"(Tammuz,苏美语为杜穆慈[Dumuzi]),在希伯来圣经里。

Effects of Mesopotamian Marsh (Iraq) desiccation on the cultural knowledge and livelihood of Marsh Arab women

In this study,we evaluate ecological and cultural resiliency in response to desertification of the Mesopotamian Marshes of Southern Iraq.Our research illustrates that the desiccation of the marshes has caused a drastic change in how Marsh Arab women interact with their environment;specifically,in comparison to the predesiccation period,women’s roles are increasingly limited to domestic rather than marsh-dependent activities.With the exception of raising water buffalo and limited horticulture activities,most families today have little opportunity to utilize women’s ability to generate income by applying their traditional ecological knowledge and skills.Furthermore,these women are no longer transmitting their marsh-specific knowledge and skills to the next generation,and these valuable and ancient cultural memories are being lost.Upstream dam construction,drought,and regional climate change is depriving Marsh Arab communities of marsh eco-system services such as potable water,water buffalo forage,fish yields,and reed production.In marsh areas,where enough water remains to sustain ecosystem services(such as in Chibayish and the Iraq Marshlands Na-tional Park),cultural knowledge has been retained and passed on to the next generations.We recommend that programs be implemented to preserve these traditional skills,to develop a market for handicrafts to support women and their families,and to support cultural knowledge.Otherwise,with the passing of the older genera-tion,these remnants of ancient Sumerian knowledge systems and traditional ways of life will soon be forgotten.