The Mesopotamian marshes are important for economic, social, and biodiversity values and have been home to indigenous human communities for millennia. They are regarded as a legendary site. This multi-authored book contains chapters written by world-renowned experts in their field. Both basic and applied information are made available, making the book a must-have for a wide spectrum of users. For example, an understanding of the natural and the social aspects of the marshes, as described here, is an obvious prerequisite for a pest management plan in this area. Scholars interested in wetlands can use this book as a guide to compare different wetlands areas in Asia. The bibliography section contains valuable references to the marsh areas and research in the field. This book serves as an up-to-date comprehensive source of information on different aspects of the southern marshes of Iraq and is aimed at academic scholars, environmentalists, and decision makers.

The Mesopotamian marshlands are part of the Tigris-Euphrates river system. This report examines the desiccation of the area over the last three decades, which has led to the disappearance of one of the world's greatest wetlands and the largest such ecosystem in southwest Asia. The basin's ecology has been drastically transformed due to the construction of more than thirty large dams, as well as associated drainage schemes. The report considers the devastating impact of these projects upon the area's landscape, hydrology and wildlife, as well as upon the livelihoods of the indigenous people. Recommendations are made which aim to promote basin-wide co-operation and to mitigate the impact of dams in the upper basin. The report finds that a long-term rehabilitation strategy for the restoration of the marshlands should strive for at least partial reflooding of the delta, whilst priority needs to be given to the conservation of remaining transboundary marshes straddling the Iran-Iraq border.

The Wetland Book is a comprehensive resource aimed at supporting the trans- and multidisciplinary research and practice which is inherent to this field. Aware both that wetlands research is on the rise and that researchers and students are often working or learning across several disciplines, The Wetland Book is a readily accessible online and print reference which will be the first port of call on key concepts in wetlands science and management. This easy-to-follow reference will allow multidisciplinary teams and transdisciplinary individuals to look up terms, access further details, read overviews on key issues and navigate to key articles selected by experts.

The Ilisu Dam and its Impact on the Mesopotamian Marshes of Iraq: Implications for the Future Directions of International Water Law provides an overview of the Tigris Euphrates River Basin legal regime and insights into future directions for the law.

First Published in 2005. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Rare and visually stunning images of a lost world. This remarkable collection of photographs, captured by internationally acclaimed photojournalist Tor Eigeland in 1967, offers unprecedented insight into the daily life of the Marsh Arabs of Iraq. These photographs illustrate the beauty of this unique environment—the marshlands between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers—and show a culture that existed practically unchanged for over 2,000 years. Some have even speculated that this place was the site of the original Garden of Eden. Under Saddam Hussein’s rule, vast areas of the marshlands were dammed and drained, causing catastrophic environmental damage and brutally forcing the marshes’ inhabitants to abandon their way of life. Now Tor Eigeland’s photographic journey stands as a monument, a rare record of a lost world and an ancient civilization. These precious photographs celebrate the people and culture of the marshlands and bring us back to a time and place where people lived in harmony with their environment. In the course of his long and distinguished career, Tor Eigeland has been published in such publications as Time-Life Books, Fortune, Newsweek, and Saudi Aramco World, to name but a few. He has collaborated on ten books for the National Geographic Society, and his assignments have taken him to some of the most remote corners of the globe. He now resides in the south of France.