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Nearly half of Iraqi marshlands restored: UN
A restoration project has revived nearly half Iraq's marshlands, which were
drained by Saddam Hussein to punish the country's restive Shiite Muslim
majority, the United Nations has said.
The project, which is funded by the Japanese and Italian governments, is aimed
at restoring the traditions of the swampy southern region, which may have been
the the Bible's Garden of Eden.
The UN Environment Program, which manages the project, announced in Tokyo
Thursday that satellite data showed close to 50 percent of the marshlands had
been restored.
"Improving the environment and improving the livelihoods of the people living
there can only be a positive development in helping to bring about peace and
security at least in that part of Iraq," said Robert Bisset, the UN agency's
press officer.
An estimated 100,000 people have returned to the marshlands, which at their
height were home to half a million people. The project has brought safe drinking
water to some 22,000 people, according to the UN agency.
Most marsh residents are Shiite Muslims, who form the majority in Iraq but were
marginalized until the US-led invasion overthrew Saddam in 2003.
Shiites were crushed when they rebelled against Saddam in 1991 following the
first Gulf War. Saddam drained the marshland, which in the 1970s had stretched
for some 20,000 square kilometers (7,700 square miles).
The multimillion-dollar restoration project has set up some 23 kilometers (14
miles) of pipes to distribute water to the area, the UN Environment Program
said.
It has also trained 300 Iraqis on how to manage the marshland, it said.
The second phase of the project will include further technical training and
analysis of socioeconomic factors to restore the marshlands more fully.
"We would like to do more activities on the ground," Bisset said, "to provide a
better environment to help more people come back to their region."
For Additional Information:
(may become dated as article ages)
A restoration project has revived nearly half Iraq's marshlands, which were
drained by Saddam Hussein to punish the country's restive Shiite Muslim
majority, the United Nations has said.
The project, which is funded by the Japanese and Italian governments, is aimed
at restoring the traditions of the swampy southern region, which may have been
the the Bible's Garden of Eden.
The UN Environment Program, which manages the project, announced in Tokyo
Thursday that satellite data showed close to 50 percent of the marshlands had
been restored.
"Improving the environment and improving the livelihoods of the people living
there can only be a positive development in helping to bring about peace and
security at least in that part of Iraq," said Robert Bisset, the UN agency's
press officer.
An estimated 100,000 people have returned to the marshlands, which at their
height were home to half a million people. The project has brought safe drinking
water to some 22,000 people, according to the UN agency.
Most marsh residents are Shiite Muslims, who form the majority in Iraq but were
marginalized until the US-led invasion overthrew Saddam in 2003.
Shiites were crushed when they rebelled against Saddam in 1991 following the
first Gulf War. Saddam drained the marshland, which in the 1970s had stretched
for some 20,000 square kilometers (7,700 square miles).
The multimillion-dollar restoration project has set up some 23 kilometers (14
miles) of pipes to distribute water to the area, the UN Environment Program
said.
It has also trained 300 Iraqis on how to manage the marshland, it said.
The second phase of the project will include further technical training and
analysis of socioeconomic factors to restore the marshlands more fully.
"We would like to do more activities on the ground," Bisset said, "to provide a
better environment to help more people come back to their region."
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