Baghdad MPs from Dhi Qar Governorate demanded the government to declare the marshes of southern Iraq a disaster area, and to provide them with a fair share of water.
MP, Hassan al-Asadi said, in a joint press conference today, Monday, that “the marshes of southern Iraq, despite their entry on the World Heritage List in July 2016, the state, both legislative and executive, did not abide by its responsibilities and did not provide its local communities with the infrastructure of schools, health centers and clean drinking water.”
He added, “The situation has reached the extent to which its water share has been violated, at a time when the strategic reserves in the dams of Mosul, Haditha, Dukan and Lake Tharthar were depleted by no less than 20 billion cubic meters in one year, starting from July 2021.”
He added, “The current amount of Al-Hawizeh Marsh does not exceed one cubic meter/second, out of 200 cubic meters/second released from the Kut Dam,” noting: “The water releases from the marshes have decreased to a large degree , and the rate of flooding has decreased to less than 8% of the origin of the stated goal of the marshes in 2005 to recover 5,560 km2.
He continued, “The government deliberately neglected, or even ignored, the recommendation of the fortieth conference of UNESCO to (provide a minimum amount of water for the marshes of southern Iraq within the World Heritage property to sustain the ecosystem) and to involve the local population and relevant civil society organizations in updating and implementing the management plan, and even violated that. The management plan has been shelved and has not been implemented.”
Al-Asadi called on the government to manage drought with an integrated work team, provide subsidized feed for buffaloes that do not find enough water to drink, include the marsh residents in the social protection network and release Article 140 allocations, and the resources of the urgent emergency plan until the water situation of the marshes improves.
Source: National Iraqi News Agency