Overview: Ecological and Cultural Context for the Restorative Redevelopment of the Iraqi Marshlands - Restorative Redevelopment of Devastated Ecocultural Landscapes - page 113

Overview:Ecological
andCulturalContext
fortheRestorative
Redevelopmentofthe
IraqiMarshlands
Section 2 comprises eight chapters that deal with the ecocultural integrity of wet-
lands and nature reserves and their role in the restorative redevelopment of the Iraqi
marshlands and other landscapes devastated by conflict or natural disasters. Together
these chapters consider the management of large-scale wetland landscapes for peo-
ple and wildlife; the innovative design, development, and management strategies for
preserved or restored wetland parks or nature reserves; and how the most sustain-
able and therefore successful projects marry environmental protection to economic
development. The most important lesson to take away from these chapters is that it is
nonsensical to be concerned with only ecological restoration when dealing with the
complexities involved in the restorative redevelopment of regional, and therefore by
definition ecocultural , landscapes such as the Iraqi marshlands.
When considering ecosystems, chapter 9 by Steve Apfelbaum and James Ludwig
reminds us that wetlands provide many goods and services to humans and that in
order for landscape-scale restoration projects to be successful, a careful understand-
ing of hydrology is essential. Chapter 10 outlines the planning and management
approaches necessary to reconstruct waterfowl communities over large land-
scapes and how critically important it is to work in partnership with agricultural
development.
In terms of the human element in managing or restoring wetlands and nature
reserves, chapter 11 reviews two case studies where visitor centers, UNESCO desig-
nation, petrochemical industry funding, environmental education, public recreation,