The Tigris and the Euphrates cross a largely arid land and empty into the Persian Gulfthrough the largest natural marshes in southwestern Asia. From time immemorial, theMarshlands were a region in which a community of people made their homes and derivedtheir livelihood and preserved a particular local culture closely linked to themarshes. As recently as 1990, these marshes constituted healthy, ecologically richwetlands, teeming with aquatic life, animals adapted to marshes, and migratory birds.After the Marsh Arabs joined in the revolt against Saddam Hussein in 1991, he undertookto drain the marshes in order to bring these highly independent people under hiscontrol. The former marshes became barren, salt-encrusted land, and the Marsh Arabswere living as refugees in Iran and Iraq. No attempt was made to develop the divertedwater. The destruction was a clear instance of ecocide, but an ecocide adopted as ameans of committing genocide against the Marsh Arabs. After the fall of Saddam, theMarsh Arabs returned to the land and restored the flow of water by simply breachingthe dams, dikes, and canals-with little or no attention to water quality concerns. Todayabout 50% of the marshes have been restored. In this paper, I shall examine thelegal issues relating to the destruction and the restoration of the Iraqi marshes.
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