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The Central or Qurna Marshes are a large complex of
wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
in
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
that, along with the Hawizeh and Hammar marshes, make up the
Mesopotamian Marshes The Mesopotamian Marshes, also known as the Iraqi Marshes, are a wetland area located in Southern Iraq and in southwestern Iran. The marshes are primarily located on the floodplains of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers bound by the cities of Basra, ...
of the
Tigris–Euphrates river system The Tigris–Euphrates river system is a large river system in Western Asia which discharges into the Persian Gulf. Its principal rivers are the Tigris and Euphrates along with smaller tributaries. From their sources and upper courses in the mou ...
. Formerly covering an area of around 3000 square kilometres, they were almost completely drained following the
1991 uprisings in Iraq The 1991 Iraqi uprisings were ethnic and religious uprisings in Iraq led by Shi'ites and Kurds against Saddam Hussein. The uprisings lasted from March to April 1991 after a ceasefire following the end of the Gulf War. The mostly uncoordinate ...
and have in recent years been reflooded.


Characteristics

The Central Marshes stretched between
Nasiriyah Nasiriyah ( ar, ٱلنَّاصِرِيَّة; United States Board on Geographic Names, BGN: ''An Nāşirīyah''; also spelled ''Nassiriya'' or ''Nasiriya'') is a city in Iraq. It is on the lower Euphrates River, Euphrates, about south-southeas ...
, Al-'Uzair (Ezra's Tomb) and
Al-Qurnah Al-Qurnah (Kurnah or Qurna, meaning connection/joint in Arabic) is a town in southern Iraq about 74 km northwest of Basra, that lies within the conglomeration of Nahairat. Qurna is located at the confluence point of the Tigris and Euphrates river ...
and were mainly fed by the
Tigris The Tigris () is the easternmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, and empties into the ...
and its distributaries (the Shatt al-Muminah and Majar al-Kabir). They were drained by the (partially artificial) Prosperity Canal, and by the
Glory River The Glory River (Nahar al-Aaz), Glory Canal or Prosperity Canal is a shallow canal in Iraq about two kilometers wide built by Saddam Hussein in 1993 to redirect water flowing from the Tigris river into the Euphrates, near their confluence at the ...
. The Central Marshes were characterised by tall ''qasab'' reeds but included a number of freshwater
lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...
s, of which the largest were the Haur az-Zikri and Umm al-Binni (literally "mother of ''binni''", the latter being a species of
barbel Barbel may refer to: *Barbel (anatomy), a whisker-like organ near the mouth found in some fish (notably catfish, loaches and cyprinids) and turtles *Barbel (fish), a common name for certain species of fish **''Barbus barbus'', a species of cyprinid ...
.)The Physical Characteristics of the Mesopotamian Marshlands
edenagain.org
The marshes support breeding populations of the
Basra reed-warbler The Basra reed warbler (''Acrocephalus griseldis'') is a "warbler" of the genus '' Acrocephalus''. It is an endemic breeder in Southwestern Iran, East and southern Iraq, Kuwait, and Israel in extensive beds of papyrus and reeds. It is easily mis ...
and
marbled teal The marbled duck, or marbled teal (''Marmaronetta angustirostris'') is a medium-sized species of duck from southern Europe, northern Africa, and western and central Asia. The scientific name, ''Marmaronetta angustirostris'', comes from the Greek ...
, along with several other species of non-breeding birds.Central Marshes
birdlife.org
It was feared that the Levant darter (''Anhinga rufa chantrei''), a subspecies of the
African darter The African darter (''Anhinga rufa''), sometimes called the snakebird, is a water bird of sub-Saharan Africa and Iraq. Taxonomy The African darter is a member of the darter family, Anhingidae, and is closely related to American (''Anhinga anhin ...
, and the ''maxwelli'' subspecies of the
smooth-coated otter The smooth-coated otter (''Lutrogale perspicillata'') is an otter species occurring in most of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with a disjunct population in Iraq. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1996 and is thre ...
had disappeared entirely, but small and threatened populations remain of both.Al-Sheikhly, O.F.; and Nader, I.A. (2013).
The Status of the Iraq Smooth-coated Otter Lutrogale perspicillata maxwelli Hayman 1956 and Eurasian Otter Lutra lutra Linnaeus 1758 in Iraq.
' IUCN Otter Spec. Group Bull. 30(1).
It is feared that the
Bunn's short-tailed bandicoot rat Bunn's short-tailed bandicoot rat (''Nesokia bunnii'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in the marshes of southeastern Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, ک ...
(''Nesokia bunnii'', syn. ''Erythronesokia bunnii''), which had only been described from specimens obtained in the Central Marshes, is extinct. The area was formerly populated by the
Marsh Arabs The Marsh Arabs ( ar, عرب الأهوار ''ʻArab al-Ahwār'' "Arabs of the Marshlands"), also referred to as the Maʻdān ( ar, معدان "dweller in the plains") or Shroog (Iraqi ar, شروق, "those from the east")—the latter two often ...
or Ma'dan, who grazed buffalo on the natural vegetation and carried out cultivation of rice.


Draining

By the early 1980s, it was evident that irrigation projects were already affecting water levels in the marshes.Spencer, M
''The Marsh Arabs Revisited
''Saudi Aramco World'', April 1982
In the early 1990s, the government of Iraq undertook a series of major drainage projects, at least partly in retribution for the events of the 1991 uprisings, and to prevent the area being used as a refuge by militias. The flow southwards from the distributary streams of the Tigris was blocked by large embankments and discharged into the Al-Amarah or
Glory Canal The Glory River (Nahar al-Aaz), Glory Canal or Prosperity Canal is a shallow canal in Iraq about two kilometers wide built by Saddam Hussein in 1993 to redirect water flowing from the Tigris river into the Euphrates, near their confluence at the ...
, resulting in the loss of two-thirds of the Central Marshes by as early as 1993. A further canal, the Prosperity Canal, was constructed to prevent any overflow into the marsh from the main channel of the Tigris as it ran southwards from Qalat Saleh.The Physical Characteristics of the Mesopotamian Marshlands
edenagain.org
By the late 1990s, the Central Marsh had become completely desiccated, suffering the most severe damage of the three main areas of wetland. By 2000,
United Nations Environment Programme The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on th ...
estimated that 90% of the marshlands had disappeared.


Reflooding

Following the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, embankments and drainage works were broken open, and the marshes began to reflood. The Central Marshes showed little recovery through 2003, but by early 2004 a patchwork of lakes had appeared in northern areas; there was flooding in southern areas which had previously been dry since the early 1990s.Iraq Marshlands Restoration Program
iraqmarshes.org, p.6
There has been some corresponding recolonisation by the natural marsh vegetation since that time, and return of some species of fish and birds, although recovery of the Central Marshes has been much slower compared to the Huwaizah and Hammar Marshes; the most severely damaged sections of the wetlands have yet to show any signs of regeneration.Missan Governorate Assessment Report
UNHCR The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...
, 2006, p.44
Bunn's short-tailed bandicoot rat Bunn's short-tailed bandicoot rat (''Nesokia bunnii'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in the marshes of southeastern Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, ک ...
is suspected to have become extinct.


References

{{coord, 31, 02, 24, N, 47, 01, 30, E, region:IQ_type:waterbody, display=title Marshes of Iraq Euphrates Environmental issues in Iraq Tigris River Shatt al-Arab basin Ramsar sites in Iraq Mesopotamian Marshes