VZCZCXRO2259
PP RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #0960/01 0980747
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 080747Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2591
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 0062
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 0152
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0087
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0780

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 000960 
 
AIDAC 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/I, OES/ENRC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EAID SOCI SENV EWWT KGHG IZ
SUBJECT: WHO'S WHO IN MARSHLAND RESTORATION (PART 2 OF 2) 
 
------- 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) Marsh restoration is a nexus of delicate political, 
economic, and cultural issues, spanning three provinces and 
12 Iraqi ministries.  While only a few tens of thousands of 
Iraqis still lived in the marshes area in early 2003, 
estimates are that over 150,000 people have returned, with 
many more willing to come back if additional services such as 
schools and hospitals were available.  Within the Government 
of Iraq (GOI), primary responsibility to formulate policy and 
execute marsh water management projects rests with the 
Ministry of Water Resources Center for the Restoration of the 
Iraqi Marshes.  By far the most active international partners 
in restoration efforts are the Italian Ministry of 
Environment and Territories and an Iraqi nongovernmental 
organization, Nature Iraq.  USG support to Iraq's marsh 
restoration efforts has thus far lacked adequate 
coordination, with no clear overarching policy direction. 
Embassy believes that the South Florida Water Management 
District (SFWMD--lead agency for Everglades restoration) can 
make a unique contribution to Iraq's efforts, based on the 
Iraqi marshland's striking resemblance to the experience of 
the Florida Everglades.  A small technically-focused capacity 
building relationship with the SFWMD could be an inexpensive 
way to provide highly symbolic, yet valuable and effective, 
support to Iraq's marsh restoration efforts.  This cable is 
part two in a two-part series on the Iraqi marshes.  End 
summary. 
 
--------------------------- 
Government of Iraq Entities 
--------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) While numerous ministries are playing a role in GOI 
efforts to restore the marshes, primary responsibility to 
formulate policy and execute marsh water management projects 
rests with the Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR) Center for 
the Restoration of the Iraqi Marshes (CRIM).  Established in 
2003, CRIM is presently led by Director General (DG) Abdul 
Kadhem Lahmood, an engineer who has been with MoWR for over 
28 years, including under Saddam when the ministry was known 
as the Ministry of Irrigation.  (Note:  Kadhem is an 
experienced and capable technocrat who has also served as DG 
of three other MoWR Directorates since 2003; his nomination 
to his current post gives some sense of the importance the 
Ministry places on marsh issues.  End note.)  The Ministry of 
Higher Education and Scientific Research conducts marsh 
research at several universities, most notably, the Marsh 
Research Center in Dhi Qar University.  The Ministry of 
Environment is supposed to play a monitoring role (measuring 
water volume, flow, and quality) as well as managing 
wildlife.  However, it is yet to actively engage in these 
responsibilities.  In the Council of Representatives, the 
Committee on Agriculture, Water, and Marshes oversees 
wetlands issues.  Although there is a Minister of State for 
Marshes, Hassan Al-Sari, the position is largely an honorary 
one. 
 
¶3. (SBU) CRIM DG Kadhem told EconOffs on March 18 that while 
some media reports claim CRIM is an inter-ministerial body, 
it is in fact only a MoWR entity.  He also noted that there 
is a draft law pending before the Council of Ministers to 
constitute an inter-ministerial "Marsh Construction 
Committee" to coordinate overall marsh policy and execution. 
The committee would be led by Minister of State for Marshes 
Hassan Al-Sari, would include 12 ministries, and would have 
QHassan Al-Sari, would include 12 ministries, and would have 
an independent budget and mandate to address housinQpI%M%=9Qfor the future of the marshes, and 
continues to work closely with IMET and the Italian 
Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Dhi Qar to implement 
its marsh plans.  IMET funded NI to perform a feasibility 
study of the marsh region, including designs for an 
integrated system of gates and regulators to control water 
flow into the marshes which now forms the nucleus of GOI 
marsh restoration plans.  Most recently, IMET funded 25 water 
monitoring stations in the marsh region, 12 of which have 
been installed.  NI and the Government of Italy are also 
actively working to establish Iraq's first national park, 
called the Mesopotamian Marshlands National Park, a 1400 
square-kilometer region to support scientific research, 
cultural awareness (including a museum), and restoration of 
biodiversity.  Alwash told EmbOff that the hurdles to these 
efforts lay mostly within the structural disconnect between 
the government in Baghdad and the three provincial 
governments in whose jurisdiction the marshes lie. 
 
------------------------ 
U.S. Assistance Programs 
------------------------ 
 
¶6. (SBU) The USG has also contributed several key components 
to marsh restoration efforts.  CRIM and Nature Iraq depended 
heavily on the 2004-2006 USAID-funded USD 4 million Iraq 
Marshlands Restoration Program, part of the Agriculture 
Reconstruction and Development Program for Iraq (ARDI), as 
the foundation for their current restoration plans.  USAID 
support for this activity ended with completion of the ARDI 
Project in 2006.  Since 2006, however, USG programs related 
to the marshes have been limited and not fully coordinated. 
The Iraq Transition Assistance Office (ITAO) has funded 
numerous major water resource management projects throughout 
Iraq, many of which, directly or indirectly, affect the flow 
of water in the marsh region.  This includes a U.S Army Corps 
of Engineers hydrologic computer model of the 
Tigris-Euphrates river basin, together with a special module 
to model water flow in the marshes which the MoWR has used to 
help define Iraq's marsh restoration goals.  Multi-National 
Force-Iraq as well as the Regional Embassy Office (REO) in 
Basrah and the Dhi Qar and Maysan Provincial Reconstruction 
Teams (PRTs) have also undertaken numerous projects in the 
marsh region, most of them relatively small and focused on 
economic recovery. 
 
¶7. (SBU) REO Basrah helped arrange an Iraqi-led marshlands 
conference in Basrah in January, 2009, focused on integrating 
provincial and national marsh restoration efforts, with 
particular emphasis on economic development.  With thin 
participation from the national level, however, conference 
results appeared to underscore rather than bridge the 
national-provincial divide.  (Note:  Provincial attendee's 
frustration with what they perceived to be a lack of 
national-level interest oddly did not equally extend to 
Qnational-level interest oddly did not equally extend to 
Basrah Governorate's clear lack of initiative in developing 
Basrah's own marsh areas.  End note.) 
 
------------------------------------------ 
Marshlands Recovering, Residents Returning 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶8. (SBU) Iraqis living in the marsh region required no 
direction from local or federal authorities when, in spring 
2003, they "voted with their hands," in the words of Alwash, 
and broke levees to re-flood small areas of the marshes. 
While only a few tens of thousands of Iraqis still lived in 
the areas immediately bordering the marshes at the time, NI 
estimates that over 150,000 people have returned, with many 
more willing to come back if additional services such as 
schools and hospitals were available.  EmbOffs visited each 
of the 3 marshes in November 2008 and witnessed a robust 
marsh with hundreds of homes sprung up along road sides; 
herds of water buffalo grazing in deep marsh water; reed beds 
over 12 feet tall; and abundant waterfowl, including 
predators feeding on small fish.  Even marsh areas re-flooded 
 
BAGHDAD 00000960  002 OF 003 
 
 
assistance through imagery analysis under its Iraq Marshland 
Observation System (IMOS) program. (Note: UNEP's analysis is 
based on imagery provided through NASA's Rapid Response 
Project. End note.)  The Canadian International Development 
Agency also sponsored a 2 million USD program in 2004-07, 
called the Canada-Iraq Marsh Initiative, to assist Iraq in 
developing a national-scale marsh management program. 
 
¶5. (SBU) NI (run by Iraqi-born U.S. citizen Azzam Alwash) 
launched its "Eden Again" project in 2003 in hopes of 
creating a common vision for the future of the marshes, and 
continues to work closely with IMET and the Italian 
Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Dhi Qar to implement 
its marsh plans.  IMET funded NI to perform a feasibility 
study of the marsh region, including designs for an 
integrated system of gates and regulators to control water 
flow into the marshes which now forms the nucleus of GOI 
marsh restoration plans.  Most recently, IMET funded 25 water 
monitoring stations in the marsh region, 12 of which have 
been installed.  NI and the Government of Italy are also 
actively working to establish Iraq's first national park, 
called the Mesopotamian Marshlands National Park, a 1400 
square-kilometer region to support scientific research, 
cultural awareness (including a museum), and restoration of 
biodiversity.  Alwash told EmbOff that the hurdles to these 
efforts lay mostly within the structural disconnect between 
the government in Baghdad and the three provincial 
governments in whose jurisdiction the marshes lie. 
 
------------------------ 
U.S. Assistance Programs 
------------------------ 
 
¶6. (SBU) The USG has also contributed several key components 
to marsh restoration efforts.  CRIM and Nature Iraq depended 
heavily on the 2004-2006 USAID-funded USD 4 million Iraq 
Marshlands Restoration Program, part of the Agriculture 
Reconstruction and Development Program for Iraq (ARDI), as 
the foundation for their current restoration plans.  USAID 
support for this activity ended with completion of the ARDI 
Project in 2006.  Since 2006, however, USG programs related 
to the marshes have been limited and not fully coordinated. 
The Iraq Transition Assistance Office (ITAO) has funded 
numerous major water resource management projects throughout 
Iraq, many of which, directly or indirectly, affect the flow 
of water in the marsh region.  This includes a U.S Army Corps 
of Engineers hydrologic computer model of the 
Tigris-Euphrates river basin, together with a special module 
to model water flow in the marshes which the MoWR has used to 
help define Iraq's marsh restoration goals.  Multi-National 
Force-Iraq as well as the Regional Embassy Office (REO) in 
Basrah and the Dhi Qar and Maysan Provincial Reconstruction 
Teams (PRTs) have also undertaken numerous projects in the 
marsh region, most of them relatively small and focused on 
economic recovery. 
 
¶7. (SBU) REO Basrah helped arrange an Iraqi-led marshlands 
conference in Basrah in January, 2009, focused on integrating 
provincial and national marsh restoration efforts, with 
particular emphasis on economic development.  With thin 
participation from the national level, however, conference 
results appeared to underscore rather than bridge the 
national-provincial divide.  (Note:  Provincial attendee's 
frustration with what they perceived to be a lack of 
national-level interest oddly did not equally extend to 
Qnational-level interest oddly did not equally extend to 
Basrah Governorate's clear lack of initiative in developing 
Basrah's own marsh areas.  End note.) 
 
------------------------------------------ 
Marshlands Recovering, Residents Returning 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶8. (SBU) Iraqis living in the marsh region required no 
direction from local or federal authorities when, in spring 
2003, they "voted with their hands," in the words of Alwash, 
and broke levees to re-flood small areas of the marshes. 
While only a few tens of thousands of Iraqis still lived in 
the areas immediately bordering the marshes at the time, NI 
estimates that over 150,000 people have returned, with many 
more willing to come back if additional services such as 
schools and hospitals were available.  EmbOffs visited each 
of the 3 marshes in November 2008 and witnessed a robust 
marsh with hundreds of homes sprung up along road sides; 
herds of water buffalo grazing in deep marsh water; reed beds 
over 12 feet tall; and abundant waterfowl, including 
predators feeding on small fish.  Even marsh areas re-flooded 
 
BAGHDAD 00000960  003 OF 003 
 
 
as late as May 2007 appeared healthy, showing a remarkable 
ability to quickly rebound.  Notably, the Hawizeh marsh, 
which has never been fully dried out, appeared healthy but 
showed no signs of human activity, present or past.  CRIM DG 
Kadhem said that this is due to the lack of services 
available in that region along the Iranian border. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
Next Steps: Florida Everglades / Iraq Marsh Cooperation 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Marsh restoration is a nexus of delicate political, 
economic, and cultural issues, spanning three provinces and 
12 GOI ministries.  With improving security, marsh issues are 
also receiving a burgeoning amount of press attention.  USG 
support to Iraq's marsh restoration efforts has thus far 
lacked adequate coordination, with no clear overarching 
policy direction.  We recommend that the Department promote 
an interagency effort to consider what contribution the USG 
could best make and how such assistance fits within the 
framework of overall USG engagement directly with Iraq and in 
the context of regional and global environmental policy.  In 
this context, Embassy believes that the South Florida Water 
Management District (SFWMD--lead agency for Everglades 
restoration) can make a unique contribution to Iraq's 
efforts, based on the Iraqi marshland's striking resemblance 
to the experience of the Florida Everglades.  Like Iraq's 
marshlands, the Everglades was a sheet-flow wetlands system 
that a misdirected land reclamation scheme largely destroyed. 
 SFWMD works closely with the USACE in the Everglades, an 
organization with significant experience with Iraq's water 
management issues.  A small technically-focused capacity 
building relationship with the SFWMD to assist the GOI with 
water quality management and biodiversity in wetlands 
recovery could be an inexpensive way to provide highly 
symbolic, yet valuable and effective, support to Iraq's marsh 
restoration efforts.  Such modest U.S. support would 
emphasize the GOI's leadership on this issue, exemplified by 
CRIM's success thus far in building consensus and 
constructing a technically sound plan for marsh water 
management. 
BUTENIS