The year 2018 was marked by a severe drought in Iraq, a formerly water-rich country. The water crisis is complex, however, with multiple causes and the potential for future conflicts. A group of young Iraqi activists is trying to raise awareness about the issue.

Held from 6-8 April 2019 at the University of Sulaimani, the forum set out to address some of these challenges in the 21st century and to promote water as a tool for sustainable peace along the Euphrates and Tigris.

What makes this particularly painful for that residents of Khuzestan is that the dams on the Karun are not only used for generating energy and irrigating agricultural land, they are also used to channel water via tunnels to other provinces, notably Isfahan in central Iran, which is politically more power. Many residents in Khuzestan feel that their water is being stolen.

The Iraqi Marshes are located in the lower Mesopotamian basin, in the vast floodplain wetlands created by the Tigris-Euphrates river system.

The primary source of water in the marshlands is the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, with several major tributaries flowing from Iran towards Tigris and Hawizeh. From the head of the Upper Mesopotamian Plain to the Gulf, the rivers meander slowly.

Some researchers claim that in about 5,000-4,000 BC, the marshlands were covered by a lagoonal marine environment, likely having brackish waters

Since the marshes are located at the tail end of the Tigris-Euphrates watershed, water storage and control projects are the main projects impacting on the wetlands.

By 2002, the marshes had shrunk to 1,600km2 or 14% of their size in 1970s. Conditions in 2002 are considered to be the lower limit of the marshlands’ extent

Benefits of marshland are; Flood hazard mitigation, Water purification, and Production and sale of goods such as dairy products from water buffalo, milk etc

Sustainable development in Iraq goes hand in hand with the restoration and preservation of the ecological health of the Iraqi Marshes