From Iraq's Marshes to the Venetian Lagoon

There are a few places on earth where you find vast, navigable marshland areas that are very Venice-like. For instance, I used to ride the train to Manhattan every day through the New Jersey Meadowlands. If you squinted, and ignored the massive electrical towers and multi-story blinking oil storage tanks, you'd swear you were in the outer reaches of the northern part of the Venetian lagoon, complete with high reeds, water birds, and even what passes for canals.

And then there are Iraq's wetlands:  an area that, at one time,  covered over 9000 square miles bounded by the Tigres and Euphrates rivers -- easily the largest wetlands area in the Middle East, bigger than Venice's lagoon and Florida's Everglades combined. Inhabited continuously for over 5,000 years, it was, at its peak, home to a half-million Iraqis who lived a life that would have been very familiar to early Venetian lagoon dwellers. Many of these "marsh Arabs" as they are often called, were dependent on aquaculture, moved about in long flat bottomed boats through an intricate maze of shallow channels and canals, and lived in houses strongly reminiscent of the "casoni" that Venetian fisherman constructed of thatched reeds and wattles (and can still be seen in places like Porto Falconera, near Caorle.)

Saddam Hussein put an end to that. The marsh Arabs had supported a Shiite rebellion after the first Gulf War, and Saddam punished them by draining the wetlands, and worse. When it was all over only about 7% of the marsh remained. Only an estimated 40,000 marsh dwellers remained: untolled numbers were murdered outright, the rest scattered to scratch out a living under the harshest circumstances or became refugees and fled to neighboring Iran.

Beyond the ghastly human toll, there was what the United Nations termed "one of the world's biggest environmental disasters". The entire ecosystem, existent for millenia, was virtually wiped out.  A billion migratory birds vanished. Poisons were dropped by helicopter, wiping out fish life.

Here are two USGS satellite maps that show the extent of the devastation. The red areas indicate wetlands. Here is 1972, some 20 years before Saddam's assault. And here, incredibly, is how the area looked in 1997. British Parliamentarian Emma Nicholson described it as "an open air Auschwitz".

But then, in 2003, after Saddam was deposed and the Iraqi army abandoned its positions. Some displaced marsh Arabs destroyed the dams holding back the Tigres and Euphrates, and re-flooded as much as 25% of the original marsh area. Despite this, many environmentalists termed it a hopeless situation, with no chance of ever recovering, no matter what kind of aid and science was trained on it. The salinity of the soil and the presence of toxic elements like selenium made it a lost cause, they argued.

But today comes word of an article in the current issue of the journal Science, which reports that as much as 30% of the former wetlands can be fully restored. The salts in the soil, pollutants, and poisons that were expected to prevent life from returning have largely not a presented a problem. Up to 60% of the wildlife, according to surveys, has come back. Refugee camps are emptying out, and slowly, the area is becoming re-inhabited.

And while this site is called Veniceblog and not Iraqblog, the story of the marsh Arabs has importance and direct relevance for those of us who love Venice and fear for the health of her lagoon. It underscores the incredible natural fragility of wetlands ecosystems. Their enormity and their long history have nothing to do with their durability. Many writers have noted, in fact, that without the large-scale hydraulic engineering projects that Venetians have been undertaking for centuries, the lagoon would have long taken its natural course and become solid land.

It's just another reason to spend some time learning about the steep ecological challenges that Venice's lagoon faces and the debates that rage around how best to protect the city from submersion. In the weeks ahead, I'm going to post a series of in-depth articles on Venice's battle with the sea. Stay tuned.

Comments

[liljiffy]

Excellent article. I never knew...

Look forward to your further entries on this subject.

[Sharon]

The Hackensack Riverkeeper gives tours of the NJ Meadowlands. Bill Sheehan, the riverkeeper, gives eco-cruises that go along a seven-mile stretch of the river. It's a totally amazing view of the Meadowlands (and Sheehan is as expert as he is entertaining). The cruise also goes into Sawmill Creek--a bird sanctuary. Who would believe all this is so close to NYC. Visit www.hackensackriverkeeper.org/ecocruise.html for more info. You'll really think you're in the Venetian lagoons.

[7train]

All you need are the 'bricole'...

[Paul Parma]

There was an article on the Meadowlands a few years back in the National Geographic and of course they brought their immense photographic power to bear (sp?) to the subject. 'Looked like the marshes of my youth in Port Arthur Texas, next to Louisiana. And made me think of Gondolas or at least Venetain lagoon boats.

Not only does the Iraq wetlands story remind me of how fragile nature is, it reminds me of how robust nature is and how life will most probably go on even if we kill ourselves off (possibly by killing earth's wetlands)... we didn't really need you around anyway human.... just tourist mucking it up, thinking they own the place...the metaphors are endless aren't they...
===============================
It's a dichotomy, isn't it? On one hand these ecosystems are like fragile china teacups, on the other hand, they exhibit amazing resiliency. Remember, though, that at best, they think 30% of the Iraqi marshes will ever come back. A miracle, yes. But we lost 70%.

[carol gilley]

I love Austin Parlett so remember me and my lovely HUSBAND are going to go to Europe!!! And...nevermind that lol

[Invertir en oro]

hello, i would like to read more information about this topic because i think that is very interesting.

[gout relief]

Goodluck to your trip. Enjoy!