Wetlands of mass destruction
The restoration of the Mesopotamian marshes of southern Iraq is underway with the release of water in many areas that resulted in the return of native plants and animals comprising rare and endangered species of birds, mammals, and plants. The marshlands in the region are used by coastal fisheries in the Persian Gulf for spawning migration and they also served as nursery grounds for penaeid shrimp and numerous fish species. The re-flooding of the marshes in the Iraq brought number of problems regarding the quality of water and potential release of toxins from soil contaminated with chemicals, mines and military ordinance. The restoration process involved the analysis of water quality, soil chemistry conditions and ecological indicators of plant and algal productivity, and there are plans developed by the Eden Again Project in association with the Iraqi government to try and restore as much as 80% of the marshes in the country.
