{"id":1561,"date":"2005-08-28T14:49:00","date_gmt":"2005-08-28T14:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sustainablog.greenoptions.com\/2005\/08\/28\/iraqi-marshes-recovering\/"},"modified":"2005-08-28T14:49:00","modified_gmt":"2005-08-28T14:49:00","slug":"iraqi-marshes-recovering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/iraqi-marshes-recovering\/","title":{"rendered":"Iraqi Marshes Recovering"},"content":{"rendered":"
Bob at Howling at a Waning Moon has linked to two articles (here<\/a> and here<\/a>) documenting the recovery of marshes in southern Iraq that Saddam Hussein had drained in order to punish “people living there for acts of rebellion.”<\/p>\n The latest United Nations data shows that nearly 40% of the area has been restored to its original condition….<\/p>\n But water itself is only part of the story; people who have moved back to the area also need a secure supply of clean water, sanitation, and a reliable food supply.<\/p>\n Using an $11m donation from Japan, [the United Nations Environmental Program] is working alongside agencies of the current Iraqi government to install these services. “The greatest need is to supply environmentally sound technology for the provision of drinking water,” said Chizuru Aoki.<\/p>\n “One example of that is simply using plants to purify water – planting reeds, for example, which will remove pollutants such as nitrogen and phosphorus compounds from the water as they grow, using them as nutrients.”<\/p>\n That will not work for all pollutants, however. One key issue is that much of the soil is highly saline, and Unep is looking at installing a desalination plant to produce drinkable water.<\/p>\n A full assessment of the local need has yet to be completed; and the UN acknowledges that it will take many years before the area is fully restored to its original condition – if, indeed, that is possible, with dams in Turkey, Syria and Iran reducing the amount of water which flows down the Tigris and Euphrates. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n I won’t get into the war itself — you know where I stand there — but it’s definitely good to see some of the environmental damage of the Hussein years being mitigated. I’d imagine such a large-scale project could become a model for wetland restoration globally…<\/p>\n Technorati tags: Iraq<\/a>, wetlands<\/a>, environment<\/a>, restoration<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Bob at Howling at a Waning Moon has linked to two articles (here and here) documenting the recovery of marshes in southern Iraq that Saddam Hussein had drained in order [ … ]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n