Low water levels in the Iraqi marshes threaten wildlife

Weather of Arabia - Dozens of buffalo heads died in the marshes in southeastern Iraq due to the low water level in the swamps, which threatens the livelihoods of residents in the region for thousands of years.

The water levels in the swamps have fallen to a third from a peak of 1.35 metres. Raad Habib, head of the Chibayish Ecotourism Organization, said that the salinity of the water has almost doubled, which is just as dangerous as the low water.

Environmental advocates and health officials said more people were at risk of disease as water levels fell.

Iraq launched a campaign to stop the spread of diseases, according to which about 30,000 buffaloes will be vaccinated against brucellosis, enteric poisoning and foot-and-mouth disease, all of which cause buffalo deaths.

The Marsh Arabs live in a flat, wetland of grass near the border with Iran. Two years ago, the Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) included the marshes on its list of World Heritage Sites.

Residents use wooden motorized boats to cross the waterways, and their way of life and distance from Iraqi cities has kept them on the margins of society.

The water shortage is due in part to the declining priority of agriculture by the central government and decades of mismanagement of water resources. Corruption and climate change also played a role. The effect has been devastating for many.

Ahmed Sabah, who owns a herd of 500 buffaloes, said, “The water became scarce, and the boats stopped coming to the area.

He added that they usually slaughter cattle before they die, or they have to burn them after they die, and he indicated that he lost a large number of heads.

Iraq was alarmed when Turkey began storing the waters of the Tigris River behind the Ilisu Dam last month, and the country is already suffering from a drought that has reduced water levels in lakes and rivers, and Baghdad holds Turkey most of the responsibility.

In early June, the government said it was preventing farmers from planting rice and other water-intensive crops in the face of increasing water shortages and diminishing river flows due to drought. However, a few days later, it issued a decision allowing farmers to plant no more than 12,500 square kilometers of rice this season.

The marshes, fed by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, are a vast hunting area on the Gulf and home to various species of birds, both local and migratory between Siberia and Africa.

The marshes covered 9,000 square kilometers in the 1970s, but had shrunk to 760 square kilometers by 2002. By September 2005, about 40 percent of the original area had been restored, and Iraq says it aims to restore 6,000 square kilometers in all.