Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
abayas
and
niqab
(black traditional Arabic dress with a face veil covering all but the
eyes). They raise their outstretched hands to people in idling cars, begging, sometimes
with small, often dirty children beside them. The water, air, and environment are
highly polluted. However, conditions are more stable and less dangerous; people are
out at night, shopping and visiting. Parks are beginning to be replanted, and public art
of dolphins and water vessels has replaced statues of soldiers pointing guns across the
Shat al Arab at Iran.
Nature Iraq has been helping people through construction of aquaculture. The
first hatchery in the al Chibayish District hatched two and a half million fingerlings to
reintroduce native fish into the marshland and provide income and food. The Marine
Science Center at Basra University is also working on restoring fish to the marshes.
According to Nature Iraq surveys, even if the fish come back in the same amount, peo-
ple in the marshes are now more dependent on the government for jobs (Nature Iraq
2009). Many don't want fishing jobs because there are not enough fish for a decent in-
come. Both Nature Iraq and the AMAR Appeal (www.amarappeal.com) have pro-
vided reverse osmosis units to supply fresh water to people in the south. Nature Iraq
has adopted a new project that reduces technical water quality information down to a
simple description of a specific site's water quality. Development of a simple descrip-
tion of a specific site's water quality, called a Water Quality Index, will help simplify
water quality information. This will help prioritize and formulate remedies for water
quality problems (Nature Iraq 2009).
Korsh Ararat said, “I'm so happy to work with Nature Iraq. I can help my country,
help my people, and develop knowledge” (Stevens 2009). Mohammed al Saffar told
me, “We are fighting for Nature Iraq to accomplish something. We work on our re-
ports. Nature Iraq is developing the Twin Rivers Institute at the American University
in Sulaimaniya, Iraq, to educate Iraqi scientists and government officials.”
Ibrahem Abed, fisheries biologist, said, “Nature Iraq has increased my experience
and knowledge, and helped me achieve my dreams. Now I can help to make some-
thing good for Iraq” (Stevens 2009). When asked if he would like to add anything else,
Abed said, “I would like to thank the American people and Nature Iraq for all they
have given me, given the Iraqi people, and given the marshes” (Steven 2009).
The Dwindling Supply of Water and the Eco-cultural Restoration of the
Mesopotamian Marshes
The story of how the Mesopotamian marshes have become desiccated is a story of na-
tion-states operating without respect to the needs or rights of their neighbors, the well-
intentioned use of American and British engineering technology to build dams, and
the use of dictatorial powers to crush an indigenous people.
The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, which supply much of the water for the Meso-
potamian marshes, have their headwaters in Turkey, Syria, and Iran. Unfortunately,
the proliferation of dams and irrigation schemes along these rivers has disrupted natu-
ral flows and choked off much of the water supply to the marshes. Moreover, while
Iraq has water-sharing agreements with Syria, Turkey, and Iran, the treaties are not ef-
fective, and there is a continuous loss of water quality, water supply, and marshland
