(Note: This is a long message! Please reply to Stuart Leiderman <[log in to unmask]>.)
dear Forced Migration Group:
I am pleased to send you my complete course of study for the restoration of
Iraq's marshlands that I will be giving soon as an on-line course through the
University of Vermont. anyone is welcomed to register for it by going to the
website http://learn.uvm.edu and following the simple instructions.
for those who cannot affort the cost of tuition to earn three college credits
(approx. US$2800), I still encourage them to write me directly
<[log in to unmask]> to arrange for independent study towards
qualification as an "electronic intern".
almost all the reading materials are on the internet and I have recently
checked them for accuracy and their current working status. I have also
compiled all the readings in disk format and can supply them to students,
researchers and media on request.
thank you for forwarding this to your mailing lists, Infoterra and to others
who can make use of the material. a poster and course description are attached
in Word format and a text version is appended below. [LIST MOD.'S NOTE:
ATTACHMENTS ARE NOT CIRCULATED ON THE FM LIST. PLEASE CONTACT THE AUTHOR
DIRECTLY FOR THESE.]
'best,
Stuart Leiderman
[log in to unmask]
603.776.0055
- - - - - - -
ENV195 [92701] "IRAQ: RESTORING THE MARSHLANDS"
Instructor: Stuart Leiderman 603.776.0055 [log in to unmask]
Fall Term, September 3 to December 6, 2004
Continuing Education, University of Vermont, Burlington
800. 639-3210 http://www.uvm.edu/~learn/
PART I: THE PAST: 3000 B.C. - 2002
Preconceptions; Speeches in Parliament;
Human and Environmental Dimensions; Demise?
PART II: THE PRESENT: 2003-2004
Ten Years' War, Five Years More; Re-entry, Reassessment;
Early Revival? Work to Do; Whose Marshes?
PART III: CAST OF CHARACTERS
United States; Iraq; United Nations;
Non-governmental Organizations and Academia; Business and Industry
PART IV: RESTORATION TOOLBOX
Conservation; Ecological Restoration; Wetlands;
Wetlands Restoration; Wadi Gaza Nature Park
PART V: THE FLORIDA CONNECTION
The Everglades; Marshlands Congressional Hearing
Ghosts of the Marshes; What Is Education For?
INTRODUCTION:
Throughout the 1990's, the regime of Saddam Hussein committed genocide and
ecocide against the people and environment of Mesopotamia -- the vast
marshlands between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Southern Iraq. The
government did this through a secret "Plan for the Marshes" to drain away its
life-giving water and attack, kill and scatter its half-million inhabitants who
were predominantly Shi'a Moslem and perceived to be a threat to the ruling
Ba'athists who were predominantly Sunni Moslem. Today, the former regime is
gone and the country is occupied by other forces, but Mesopotamia is still a
depopulated wasteland.
A new plan for the marshes is urgently needed to restore the environment and
permit the return of refugees and others who might settle there and resume
their distinctive way of life. For restoration models, the degraded Florida
Everglades is comparable in size, but that project has become extremely
politicized and there is little progress to report despite the promise of
commitment of billions of dollars. And while the Everglades is principally a
wildland -- birds, reptiles, panthers, grass, reeds and trees -- Mesopotamia is
a homeland whose pastoral and fishing communities, until recently, provided
large amounts of food and fiber for all of Iraq.
The task of restoring Mesopotamia is just beginning. It will require the
confidence, courage, willingness, resources and know-how of teachers, students,
scientists, engineers, doctors, humanitarians, environmentalists, journalists
and businesses from all over the world. Already, major participants include
Iraq's Ministries of Environment and Water Resources, the University of Basrah,
the U.S. Agency for International Development [USAID], the U.N. Environment
Programme [UNEP], Iraq Foundation, AMAR Appeal, al-Khoei Foundation, Bird Life
International, Wetlands International and the International Union for the
Conservation of Nature. For success, their work must be assertive,
coordinated, ethical and cost-effective. It must include native Iraqis,
especially marsh refugees, and preserve the continuity of indigenous marsh
culture. It must be able to resist the counter pressures of Big Oil,
agribusiness, urbanization and Western-style development. In the instructor's
opinion, the job is too big for experts alone. Nevertheless, there is a need
for a "Jacques Cousteau (or Jane Goodall) of the Marshes"
who could come from anywhere on Earth -- even from a college campus -- to
champion the cause of the marshlands, the surviving refugees and a new
generation of a half-million Mesopotamians.
The instructor has studied, written, lectured and organized programs about
Southern Iraq for more than ten years. He has extensive files and contacts
accessible to students, and is working on the creation of a Center for Southern
Iraq Restoration Studies at Basrah University, located between the marshes and
the Persian Gulf in Iraq's second-largest city. He believes the greatest
possible participation is necessary for restoring and protecting Mesopotamia's
marshlands. A recent article is posted on the web at
<http://www.carnegiecouncil.org/viewMedia.php/prmTemplateID/8/prmID/4458>
PLAN OF THE COURSE
For the fall session, the course is divided into five major parts (The Past,
The Present, Cast of Characters, Restoration Toolbox, The Florida Connection)
that, in turn, are divided into five sub-topics each. This makes for two
subtopics per week. A research/writing assignment on the material covered is
due the Monday following completion of each major part. 5-10 double-spaced
pages for each paper will be sufficient.
Each major part is introduced and a brief introduction is given for each
subtopic, then a discussion assignment and reading list of articles, speeches,
reports, interviews and other documentation that pertain to the plight and of
the marshlands of Southern Iraq and the efforts to restore them. Most will be
found on the internet by following the hyperlinks. The remainder will be posted
on the course site and/or e-mailed to students in advance.
This course is unsynchronized, meaning that the course site is always open and
students may post their answers and comments at any time of the day or night.
The "string" of group discussion for each subtopic simply accumulates in its
own file on the course site and can be revisited at any time. For a
satisfactory grade, students are expected to log onto the course site at least
twice for each subtopic discussion -- once to post their initial comments and
once to respond to comments of other students. The instructor will join the
discussion from time to time to clarify or add points of view, probe the group
on what they are learning and suggest how their research may lead to direct
involvement in the actual ongoing restoration effort.
GOALS
Students will learn about and appreciate the plight of the marshlands and
become familiar with the needs and plans for their restoration. They will
become aware of the diversity of individuals and organizations needed to
accomplish region-sized ecological restoration, refugee resettlement and
wetlands management.
OBJECTIVES
The course aims to help internationalize the effort to restore and reinhabit
the marshlands of southern Iraq. It also aims to increase the resources and
support available for the job. Thus, students who satisfactorily complete the
course will be considered qualified to be "electronic interns" for Iraqi and
other environmental and humanitarian agencies and organizations. Their work
could range from research to education, fundraising to day-to-day
correspondence with refugees, scientists, engineers and other professionals.
HYPOTHESIS
An online course of study can offer students a way to learn about the
marshlands of Southern Iraq and develop opportunities to become involved in the
restoration effort as, for example, an "online intern" for an organization,
agency, community or individual directly involved in some aspect of the
restoration effort.
CALENDAR
Fri-Sun, Sep 3-5: Orientation to the Online Course
Mon, Sep 6: Labor Day
Tue, Sep 7: I-1 Preconceptions
Thu, Sep 9: I-2 Emma Nicholson's Speeches, U.K. Parliament
Mon, Sep 13: I-3 Human and Environmental Dimensions
Wed, Sep 15: I-4 Human and Environmental Dimensions (cont'd)
Thu-Fri, Sep 16-17: Rosh Hashonah
Tue, Sep 21: I-5 Demise?
Thu, Sep 23: II-1 Ten Years' War, Five Years More
Sat, Sep 25: Yom Kippur
Mon, Sep 27: Research/Writing Assignment Due for Part I
Tue, Sep 28: II-2 Re-entry, Reassessment
Thu, Sep 30: II-3 Early Revival?
Tue, Oct 5: II-4 Work to Do
Thu, Oct 7: II-5 Whose Marshes?
Fri, Oct 8: University of Vermont Fall Recess
Mon, Oct 11: Research/Writing Assignment Due for Part II
Tue, Oct 12: III-1 United States
Thu, Oct 14: III-2 Iraq
Tues, Oct 19: III-3 United Nations
Thu. Oct 21: III-4 Non-governmental Organizations and Academia
Tues, Oct 26: III-5 Business and Industry
Thu, Oct 28: IV-1 Conservation
Mon, Nov 1: Research/Writing Assignment Due for Part III
Tue, Nov 2: Election Day
Wed, Nov 3: IV-2: Ecological Restoration
Fri, Nov 5: IV-3: Wetlands
Tue, Nov 9: IV-4: Wetlands Restoration
Thu, Nov 11: IV-5: Wadi Gaza Nature Park
Mon, Nov 15: Research/Writing Assignment Due for Part IV
Tue, Nov 16: V-1: The Everglades 1
Thu. Nov 18: V-2: The Everglades 2
Tue, Nov 23: V-3: Marshlands Congressional Hearing
Wed-Fri, Nov 24-26: Thanksgiving Recess
Tue, Nov 30: V-4: Ghosts of the Marshes
Thu, Dec 2: V-5: What is Education For?
Mon Dec 6: Research/Writing Assignment Due for Part V
PART I. THE PAST: 3000 B.C. - 2002
While it might seem strange to compress the past five thousand years into a
single era, it could be argued that this particular kind of catastrophe in
Southern Iraq -- strangling by thirst -- is something that has never happened
before. Indeed, the multiple crossroads of this crisis may never have happened
in such a combination -- Sunni versus Shi'a, oil versus water, rural versus
urban, tribal versus corporate, irrigated versus dryland agriculture, vengeful
engineering versus sustainable stewardship, and a host of other antagonisms.
Scientists and refugees alike have witnessed the almost-complete disappearance
of this vast watery region; there does not seem to be much time for Iraqis and
the world-at-large to develop and cooperate on a strategy for its rescue and
rejuvenation.
I-1 Preconceptions (Tuesday, September 7):
In times of crisis, one's preconceptions can be incendiary -- they can act as a
fire-retardant or as an arsonist=s accelerant. For many years, especially
during the crisis in the marshlands of Southern Iraq following the Persian Gulf
War, numerous writers, journalists, politicians and others have referred to
this region in ancient and Biblical terms such as "Babylonia" and "Garden of
Eden" and its most recent refugees as "exiles from Eden". These terms
invariably trigger certain kind of preconceptions in the minds of readers and
listeners around the world, much the same way that the term "Holy Land"
triggers preconceptions about Israel and the Palestinian Territory.
Preconceptions, however, can obscure reality and one's ability to think
critically and solve problems; they can also imprison entire regions and
cultures to a time in the past such that neither the land or the people could
survive in today's world.
Southern Iraq and the Holy Land are not the only cases that come to mind;
another is Haiti, whose triumphant slave revolt against France in 1804 seems to
have left the new country chained to two additional centuries of home-grown
despots B one wonders about the preconcept "once a slave, always a slave".
Looking back thousands of years from a vantage point in the Middle East, it
could be said that the Garden of Eden was the ancient core of the Fertile
Crescent, a band of early civilization that spread northwesterly along the
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, then westward to the Mediterranean and then
southward along the eastern seacoast toward the Sinai Peninsula. But this
once-fertile core was made into a barren wasteland, almost completely deprived
of water, extensively laced with toxic chemicals, land mines and depleted
uranium. Thousands of feet below this troubled land are amounts of petroleum
of gigantic, Biblical proportion. What are the operative preconceptions here?
Whose will prevail?
For Online Discussion:
Before you go to the references, briefly present your preconceptions of the
land and people of the marshlands of Southern Iraq. Speak from personal
experience and from what you've already learned from school, travels, friends,
news reports, etc. Then, go to the references and:
a) try to come to terms with the power of preconceptions, for example, the ones
that attract or repel people from certain places, controversies and problems,
or others that obscure, exaggerate, twist or fantasize about the real world,
b) see whether the references about the marshlands reinforce or refute your
preconceptions about that place and those people, and
c) think about how preconceptions might affect the fate of the marshes.
References:
I-1a [audio] World Vision. 2004. Guest Diaries: Dr. Sheri Fink: Marsh Arabs.
August 1. [mp3 file; let the whole file download before playing]
http://www.worldvision.org/worldvision/radio.nsf/stable/wvradiostory_080104_sherifinkmarsharabs
I-1b [audio] Southern California Public Radio. 2003. AirTalk: Restoring the
AGarden of Eden@ in Iraq. KPCC89.3FM. August 12.
http://www.kpcc.org/programs/airtalk/listings/2003/08/airtalk_20030811.shtml
I-1c Preconceptions Meet Reality 2003-2004
http://hyl.edu.hel.fi/~preconception/index.html,
http://hyl.edu.hel.fi/~preconception/sivut03/info.html
I-1d Poems About Preconceptions
http://www.fantasticpoems.com/Poetry-Trails/About-Preconceptions.html
I-1e Poems of Lewis Carroll
http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/carrol01.html
I-1f Spencer, Michael. 1982. The Marsh Arabs Revisited. Saudi Aramco World.
March/April, v33no2.
http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/198202/the.marsh.arabs.revisited.htm
I-1g laputanlogic.com. 2004. Marsh Arabs. January 27.
http://www.laputanlogic.com/story/2004/01/24-0001.html
I-1h laputanlogic.com. 2004. Marsh Arabs (Part II). January 28.
http://www.laputanlogic.com/story/2004/01/28-0002.html
I-1i FreeRepublic.com 2003. commentary on Pearce, Fred. 2003. Saddam
Drained the Garden of Eden: Reclaiming an Iraqi Eden: Saddam Hussein turned a
thriving marshland into a poisoned desert. Can it be restored? Boston Globe.
April 1.
http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/887208/posts
I-1j Martin, Glen. 2003. A dream of restoring Iraq's great marshes: Wetlands
destroyed by Hussein could thrive again. San Francisco Chronicle. April 7.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/04/07/MN293104.DTL&type=science
I-1k Ellis, Richard. 1967. Serifa (reed Building) Mudhif. Bryn Mawr College.
http://www.brynmawr.edu/Acads/Cities/wld/00145/00145im.jpg
I-1l Ellis, Richard. 1967. Mudhif (interior view). Bryn Mawr College.
http://www.brynmawr.edu/Acads/Cities/wld/00145/00145jm.jpg
I-1m Bachmann, Anna Sophia. 2004. In the house of the closed doors. July 8
http://peacework.blogspot.com/2004/07/here-is-my-poem-about-house-I-am.html
I-2 Emma Nicholson=s Speeches in British Parliament (Thursday, September 9):
Baroness Emma Nicholson of Winterbourne was a member of the British Parliament
during the early 1990's -- now member of the European Parliament -- and one of
the first Western-government representatives to visit Southern Iraq and nearby
Iranian refugee camps after the end of the Persian Gulf War in 1991. She
gathered stories of horrific persecution by Saddam Hussein's regime on the
people of the marsh region, and used the word "genocide" to denote the Iraqi
government's intention eliminate this historically-indigenous culture of
approximately half a million. Her oratorical and writing skills and field
organizing experience has earned her a place at the table of those who are
currently most involved in the marsh region.
To provide humanitarian relief to tens of thousands of refugees and displaced
Iraqis, Nicholson established a charitable organization named "AMAR Appeal"
whose acronym represents "Assisting Marsh Arab Refugees". AMAR is still in
existence and its staff was one of the first among non-governmental
organizations to return to Southern Iraq after last year's re-invasion. AMAR
has an annual budget of approximately $3 million and offers refugees and
returning Marsh Inhabitants a variety of medical and social services.
For Online Discussion:
Read Nicholson's speeches silently. What effects do her words have on you?
Then read the speeches out loud, preferably to someone else. Is there a
difference? How does Nicholson combine facts with emotion? Do you believe
her? Are you inspired? Have you heard someone recently give a speech about a
humanitarian or environmental subject? Do you think you could write and give
one? What would the subject be?
References:
Emma Nicholson, Member of European Parliament [website]:
I-2a http://www.emmanicholson.org.uk/ and
I-2b http://www.emmanicholson.org.uk/the_marsh_arabs.html
Speeches of Baroness Emma Nicholson, Member of Parliament
I-2c
http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm199192/cmhansrd/1991-12-12/Debate-17.html
I-2d
http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm199192/cmhansrd/1991-12-12/Debate-18.html
I-2e
http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm199293/cmhansrd/1992-09-25/Debate-4.html
I-2f
http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm199293/cmhansrd/1993-04-02/Debate-1.html
I-2g
http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm199394/cmhansrd/1993-11-19/Debate-4.html
I-2h
http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/ld199798/ldhansrd/vo971202/text/71202-11.htm
I-3 & 4 Human and Environmental Dimensions (Monday, Wednesday, September 13,
15):
Three years after the end of the Persian Gulf War, AMAR Appeal commissioned
British professor and scientist Edward Maltby to prepare AAn Environmental and
Ecological Study of the Marshlands of Mesopotamia@ [1994] that reviewed in
great detail the geological and hydrological history of the region, the flora
and fauna of the ecosystem, the livelihoods they supported, the recent
engineering works and their consequences that severely distorted and depleted
the marshlands, and several scenarios that could affect the fate of the marshes
for the better or for the worse. That 200+ page, single-spaced report was
relatively technical and had a limited circulation among people who were deeply
concerned about the marshlands and who wanted to have a compendium of sorts
upon which to build their own projects leading towards restoration.
In 2000 and 2001, AMAR hosted two major conferences on the subject of the
marshlands, inviting several specialists to present papers that then became a
book for the more general reading public, "The Iraqi Marshlands: A Human and
Environmental Study". It was co-sponsored by IUCN [International Union for the
Conservation of Nature, also known as The World Conservation Union], ODA
[Overseas Development Administration, UK], The Red Crescent Society of Kuwait,
The US Department of State and WWF [World Wildlife Fund International, Geneva].
There are 16 major papers plus a report based on a survey questionnaire
covering 400 marsh refugee households in two Iranian camps.
In 2003, Baroness Emma Nicholson of AMAR Appeal moderated a Brookings
Institution forum, "The Iraqi Marshlands: Can They Be Saved?"
http://www.brookings.edu/com/events/20030507marsh.htm
For Online Discussion:
Skim the book once for a general feeling of the intensity of the crisis that
existed in Southern Iraq after ten years of extremely aggressive humanitarian
and environmental persecution. Discuss what information seems to match or
reinforce your preconceptions of the situation there and what seems to refute
them or add significantly to your understanding of what life was like at that
time, approximately 10-11 years from 1991-2001. Then, go back through the book
and pick out ten categories or elements of natural and human life in the region
that will have to be restored or repaired, for example, the availability of
water, reeds, certain animal species, housing, boats, etc. Discuss how easy or
difficult you think it would be to bring things back to "normal." Don't wallow
in the tragedy of it all; instead, start thinking positively.
References:
I-3and4a Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund. 1994. The 1994 Draft Declaration of
Principles on Human Rights and the Environment.
http://fletcher.tufts.edu/multi/www/1994-decl.html
I-3and4b Clarke, Peter and Shawn Magee, eds. 2001. The Iraqi Marshlands: A
Human and Environmental Study. AMAR Appeal. 256pp.
http://www.reliefweb.int/library/documents/2001/amar-irq-30nov.pdf
I-3and4c Brookings Institution. 2003. Transcript to forum "The Iraqi
Marshlands: Can They Be Saved? Assessing the Human and Ecological Damage". May
7.
http://www.brookings.edu/comm/events/20030507.pdf
I-5 Demise? (Tuesday, September 21):
The United Nations Environment Programme=s [UNEP] report, "The Mesopotamian
Marshlands: Demise of an Ecosystem" appeared in 2001, ten years into Iraq's
ecocide and genocide against Southern Iraq. It is both startling and timid:
startling because of the way it uses Earth satellite imagery to portray the
disappearance of the wetlands, but timid in the way it skirts the culpability
of the Iraq government and puts the situation in a passive kind of language,
"The demise of the Mesopotamian marshlands is part and parcel of an underlying
hydrologic catchment problem: growing demands on the dwindling water supplies
of the Tigris-Euphrates basin." [p. viiii]
The writing and compilation of imagery comparing views taken over approximately
30 years was done by Hassan Partow, a relatively young Iraqi scientist working
with UNEP's mapping unit in Geneva, Switzerland. He has continued to be of
extraordinary help to the circle of individuals, organizations and agencies
beginning to cooperate on restoration efforts. Most recent, Partow produced a
set of images showing the return of surface water to scattered portions of the
marshlands during the middle of 2003, after Iraqi armed forces abandoned the
network of dams and canals that criss-cross the South. In some cases, Iraqi
government irrigation officials themselves open the water gates after troops
fled northward.
For Online Discussion:
Read the UNEP report and discuss the parts that are most easily-understood and
that make the most lasting impression on you. Then discuss the parts that are
the most difficult to understand and what might be done to make them more
easily understood. What parts do you believe will be most critical to keep in
mind for a conceivable restoration projects? [example hint B on page 16,
"Water-buffalos play a pivotal role in Marsh Arab existence, whose standing in
their social and economic life has been compared with that of the camel to
Bedouin Arabs."]
References:
I-5a Partow, Hassan. 2001. The Mesopotamian Marshlands: Demise of an
Ecosystem. United Nations Environment Program, Geneva, Switzerland.
http://www.grid.unep.ch/activities/sustainable/tigris/mesopotamia.pdf
U.S. Geological Survey. 2001. Earthshots: Satellite Images of Environmental
Change: Iraq-Kuwait: 1972, 1990, 1991, 1997.
I-5b http://edc.usgs.gov/earthshots/slow/Iraq/Iraq
I-5c http://edc.usgs.gov/earthshots/slow/Iraq/Iraqtext
Research/Writing Assignment for Part I (Due Monday, September 27):
Create a general test of knowledge about the marshlands of Southern Iraq,
including the crisis of the past 10-15 years. It should have a minimum of 10
questions and one map. Give the test to at least 20 people from a variety of
backgrounds and experiences, e.g. student, office worker, scientist, retired
person, soldier, clerk, etc. Prepare an answer sheet, including your sources
of information, and give a copy to everyone who takes the test. Then,
tabulate, analyze and discuss the answers and the combined results. E-mail to
the instructor by the beginning of next week.
- - - - - - -
PART II. THE PRESENT: 2003 - 2004
In 2003, the crisis of the marshes may have reached a kind of breakpoint. The
results of Iraqi government attacks on the region -- bombing, burning,
extensive drainage and desiccation -- had been photographically documented from
space for ten years. Then, in 2001, the evidence and implications were
officially recognized by the United Nations Environment Programme as an
ecological catastrophe of global significance. For the next two years, this
high-altitude alarm sunk into world consciousness while Iraq continued to
prohibit observers into the marshes. A few humanitarian aid workers were
helping several thousand marsh refugees in Iranian relief camps. Some
Americans had gone illegally to Iraq and were working in the vicinity of
Basrah; they reported extensively on the disastrous social and health effects
of international trade sanctions against the Saddam Hussein regime. Instead of
bringing down the tyrant, the sanctions were killing thousands of innocent
people through poverty, malnutrition and illness. In America, members of the
Iraq Foundation persuaded the Department of State to include their concern for
the marshes in the government's broad support to Iraqi opposition groups. The
Department gave the Foundation approximately $200,000 to assemble a scientific
panel to consider the feasibility of marsh restoration. That report was
released early in 2003. Although the recommendations were lukewarm, the report
triggered a pulse of media coverage about the plight of the marshes that
preceded the re-invasion of Iraq and lasted for several months.
II-1 Ten Years= War, Five Years More (Thursday, September 23):
Early in 2003, writers and broadcasters seem to have re-discovered the alarming
evidence about the marshes disclosed by the United Nations Environment Program.
A sense of urgency is expressed because of the possible irreversible
deterioration taking place. For news purposes, the stories seem to be caught
between two themes: one that is already memorializing the marshes and the
people who used to live there, and one that detects a certain kind of idealism
that the region could indeed be restored. In an incidental way, these themes
tie into the controversy of continued searches for weapons of mass destruction.
If the search doesn=t continue, and inspection teams leave Iraq altogether,
there will also be no new on-the-ground information about the plight of the
marshes. This means deterioration there will continue. On the other hand, if
inspections continue and the U.S. and allies actually re-invade Iraq after
being away for more than ten years, there is a possibility that the marshes
will receive the attention they need to recover. Knowing what we do now,
namely that plans for re-invading Iraq were developing quite some time before
2003, it is conceivable that this intention was signaled to the Iraq Foundation
in discussions about the marsh restoration feasibility study. In effect, the
money would also be a way to acquire the support of Iraq-related
environmentalists when the U.S. went back to war.
For Online Discussion:
In news writing and broadcasting, the language used is critical to framing the
subject and influencing the readers', listeners' and viewers' perception and
motivation. How does the choice of adjectives about people, places and things
in the story of the marshes affect your impressions and understanding of what
happened there, what is happening now and what could happen in the future?
Assuming you are searching for specific clues that might be useful in the
restoration process, what specific ones seem to help or hinder your effort?
References:
II-1a [audio] National Public Radio. 2004. New hope for Iraq's Marsh Arabs.
Morning Edition. January 21.
http://www.npr.org/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=3&prgDate=21-Jan-2004
II-1b McCarthy, Rory. 2003. Saddam's troublesome marsh dwellers left high and
dry by drainage. The Guardian. January 6.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,869151,00.html
II-1c Spindle, Bill. 2003. Exile wants to return life to marsh Hussein
drained: Hussein reduced "Garden of Eden" on Tigris and Euphrates to
salt-encrusted wasteland. Wall Street Journal, January 27. reprinted at
http://www.iraqfoundation.org/projects/edenagain/2003/ajan/27_exile.html
II-1d McGeough, Paul. 2003. The last of the Marsh Arabs. theage.com.au.
February 27. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/02/26/1046064103640.html
II-1e United Nations Environment Programme. 2003. "Garden of Eden" in Southern
Iraq likely to disappear completely in five years unless urgent action taken.
March 22.
http://www.grid.unep.ch/activities/sustainable/tigris/2003_march.php
II-1f Hirsch, Tim. 2003. Iraq marshes vanishing. BBC News. March 22.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2875311.stm
II-1g United States Embassy Islamabad. 2003. Text: UNEP calls for action plan
to save Iraqi marshlands: Tells World Water Forum marshlands disappearing at
alarming rate. March 25
http://usembassy.state.gov/posts/pk1/wwwh03032511.html
II-2 Re-entry, Reassessment (Tuesday, September 28):
By spring of 2003, the war had started, and American and British troops were
fighting in the southern part of the country over dry deserts that were once
fertile marshlands. News articles began to speculate on the opportunity to
restore the region before ecological deterioration became permanent. There was
a feeling of a race against time. United Nations agencies began to weigh in on
the subject, as well as American government officials and representatives of
international non-governmental organizations. Writers continued to emphasize
the region's ancient history and the debt of Western civilization to the
culture developed by ancestors of today=s people of the marshes.
For Online Discussion:
How effective do you think it is to talk about the marshes in Biblical terms
such as "Eden" and "Cradle of Civilization"? To whom does this appeal?
Americans? Europeans? Africans? Asians? Does it recall how stories of the
plundering of the Holy Land by Turks, Arabs, Egyptians and Persians plunder the
Holy Land by Turks, Arabs, Egyptians and Persians helped generate the waves of
Crusades during the Middle Ages? What other examples come to mind?
References:
II-2a Spotts, Peter N. 2003. Watering Eden. Christian Science
Monitor/csmonitor.com. March 27.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0327/p14s01-sten.html
II-2b Anonymous. 2003. The environment: The spoils of war. The
Economist/Economist.com. March 27.
http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=1666489
II-2c Whipple, Dan. 2003. Blue Planet: Paradise lost B again. March 29.
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20030327-065227-6183r
II-2d Lasso. Maria Ampara. 2003. Eden in the line of fire. Inter Press
Service. April 3. http://ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=17293
II-2e Baragona, Steve. 2003. Will Mesopotamian marshes completely disappear?
Voice of America/VOAnews.com. April 4.
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectid=63FEDC91-213C-4D9E-BA3AB9BEFE21CD55&title+Will%20Mesopotamian%20Marshes%20Disappear%3F&db=current
II-2f Anonymous. 2003. Mythical Garden of Eden now a wasteland. Sify News.
April 12. http://headlines.sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=13006461
II-2g Holtey, Athena. 2003. "Almost gone...but not forgotten: An Iraqi kayaker
remembers his homeland as a paddler's paradise." TopKayaker.Net. April 12.
http://www.sit-on-topkayaking.com/Articles/NatureIssues/Iraq.html
II-2h United Nations Environment Programme. 2003. Desk Study on the
Environment in Iraq. April 24.
http://postconflict.unep.ch/publications/Iraq_DS.pdf
II-3 Early Revival? (Thursday, September 30):
By late spring, the American military had passed over the former marshlands and
were occupying Baghdad. The fate of the marshes seemed to be an open subject.
There was evidence that, in a few places, Iraqi engineers had opened a few
flood-gates to the marshes and that some residents had broken through
embankments in order to get fresh water flowing again. Some people began to
experience a life in the marshes that had abruptly stopped more than ten years
earlier; meanwhile, the news media began to wonder whether the marshes could
recover by simply bringing the water back or whether a more complicated and
experimental management strategy was going to be required.
For Online Discussion:
Put yourself in the sandals of a marsh refugee who has been living in a camp in
Iran for more than ten years and who has just learned that your home region has
just been "liberated" by the Americans. What are your considerations,
requirements, needs for information, assurance and assistance for deciding
whether to leave the camp and go home?
References:
II-3a MacAskill, Ewen. 2003. Marsh Arabs ambivalent about returning to their
lost paradise. The Guardian. April 26.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,943945.00.html
II-3b Zavis, Alexandra. 2003. Paradise lost in southern Iraq: Many scholars
say this was Garden of Eden. The Charlotte Observer. April 30.
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/5748478.htm
II-3c Molavi, Afshin 2003. Iraq=s Eden: Reviving the legendary marshes.
news.nationalgeographic.com May 1.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/05/0501_030501_arabmarshes.html
II-3d Dixon, Robyn. 2003. After the war: Back into the rhythm of the
fisherman=s life: The Iraqi regime, to slow U.S. forces, flooded marshes
drained in 1991. With the return of water came those whose living depended on
it. Los Angeles Times. May 5. abridged version reprinted in St. Augustine
Record. May 13. http://staugustinerecord.com/stories/051303/ira_1532302.shtml
II-3e Schifferes, Steve. 2003. US pledges aid for Iraq marshes. BBC News. May
8. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3009249.stm
II-3f Center for Cooperative Research. 2003. Iraqi Oil and Gas Reserves, Oil
Industry. May 12, 2003.
http://64.235.244.165/oil/countries/iraq.html
II-4 Work to Do (Tuesday, October 5):
By mid-2003, visitors to the marsh region have discovered more in two or three
months than anyone has learned in the more than ten previous years, perhaps
even twenty. There are numerous questions about the future of the marshes:
Will they recover by natural forces alone? If not, who will do the work? Will
returning refugees have places to live and work? Will they get in the way? Is
there a preferred step-by-step restoration plan? Can, and should, all the
marshes be restored or only a portion? Who will decide the future of the
region? There is an obvious and serious void here: the absence of a
pre-existing grass-roots (or reed-roots) movement or interest group former
marsh inhabitants. Furthermore, there are very few, if any, individuals from
the marshes who have articulated a vision of the future that others could
support. The situation is of a scattered people who at one time collectively
adapted to conditions in the marshes but who did not have an institutional
identity or a recognized inalienable right to exist within Southern Iraq and
among the world community of nations as "people of the marshes." In this way,
they shared the plight and vulnerability of millions of other indigenous people
on all continents.
For Online Discussion:
As you read these articles, are you optimistic or pessimistic about the future
of the marshes? Could you see yourself becoming involved? What role do you
think you could play? What assignment would you like to have? Would it be
predominantly ecological or humanitarian? What capabilities do you already
have for the work? What else would you do to prepare yourself?
References:
II-4a Basu, Paroma. 2003. Paradise regained? A plan to restore Iraq's wetland
graveyard. The Village Voice. May 21-27.
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0321/basu.php
II-4b El-Awady, Aisha. 2003. Mesopotamian marshlands: Going down the drain?
IslamOnline.net. May 22.
http://www.islamonline.net/English/Science/2003/05/article10.shtml
II-4c Rosenblum, Mort. 2003. Saddam's reign brings ecological ruin. Portsmouth
Herald. May 25.
http://www.seacoastonline.com/2003news/05252003/world/30628.htm
II-4d United Nations Environment Programme. 2003. Water returns to the
desiccated Mesopotamian marshlands. May 28.
http://www.grid.unep.ch/activities/sustainable/tigris/2003_may.php
II-4e Evans, Robert. 2003. Iraq's dried-out marshlands reviving, UN says.
Reuters News Service. May 30.
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/20985/story.htm
II-4f United Nations Office of the Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, Lower
South. 2003. United Nations Inter-Agency Assessment of Vulnerable Groups: Part
I: Marsh Arabs. June 30.
http://www.reliefweb.int/library/documents/2003/ohci-irq-30jun.pdf
II-5 Whose Marshes? (Thursday, October 7):
By the end of 2003, the war had passed by the marshes; most of the conflict was
taking place near Baghdad. The South was under the military control of British
troops but the development future of the region was under the control of the
United States. It was primarily up to Congress to determine how much money
would be spent for which projects; oddly, funds requested for restoring the
marshes were completely refused, leaving only $4 million from the Department of
State's Agency for International Development earmarked in an ad hoc fashion to
a single private contractor for preliminary studies. Some remaining survivors
of the former marshes were beginning to speak out, and an office for marsh
restoration had been created by the new Iraq ministries of water resources and
environment, but in the absence of restoration funds, no actual work was going
to take place.
For Online Discussion:
After studying a year's worth of documents about the marshes, what can you say
about the cast of characters -- the writers, the former marsh inhabitants, the
scientists, the government officials, organizational representatives and
others. How many of each are there? Is their power and influence commensurate
to their numbers? Can you imagine a way to coordinate them into a single
restoration project?
References:
II-5a Randerson, James. 2003. Iraqi=s reclaim their ancient wetlands.
NewScientist.com. October 1.
http://www.newscientist.com/news/print.jsp?id=ns99994217 and
II-5b Return of the Marshes [map]
http://www.newscientist.com/misc/popup_ns.jsp?id=ns99994217F1
II-5c Associated Press. 2003. Restoring "Garden of Eden" a priority for Bush
but not lawmakers.
II-5d PlanetSave.com. October 16.
http://planetsave.com/ViewStory.asp?ID=4396 and
II-5e photo by Julie Jacobson. Fisherman on Tigris, Qurnah, April 28, 2003.
http://photoarchive.ap.org/apdbs/Intl_Photos/views/mini/6747/6747947.jpg
II-5f United Nations Environment Programme. 2003. Environment in Iraq: UNEP
Progress Report. Oct 20.
http://postconflict.unep.ch/publications/Iraq_PR.pdf
II-5g Ryu, Alisha. 2003. Iraq/Wetlands. Voice of America.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/iraq/2003/10/iraq-031030-30e68673.htm
II-5h Caroline Hawley. 2003. New hope for Iraq=s Marsh Arabs. BBC News.
November 5. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3244571.stm
II-5i Komarow, Steven. 2003. Marsh Arabs long for return of wetlands. USA
Today. November 25.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2003-11-25-marsh-arabs-usat_x.htm and
II-5j flash graphic
http://www.usatoday.com/news/graphics/iraq_marshlands/flash.htm
II-5k Stannard, Matthew B. 2003. Life flows to dying wetlands: Postwar water
aids Iraq=s Marsh Arabs. San Francisco Chronicle. December 28. reprinted in
mindfully.org.
http://www.mindfully.org/Water/2003/Iraq-Wetland-Restoration28dec03.htm
II-5l Coalition Provisional Authority. 2004. Iraqi Marsh Arabs Discuss Future
of Wetlands. March 22.
http://www.iraqcoalition.org/pressreleases/20040322_marsh_arabs.html
II-5m Twair, Pat. 2004. Reviving Eden. Saudi Aramco World. May/June.
http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200403/reviving.eden.htm
Research/Writing Assignment for Part II (Due Monday, October 11):
> From a minimum of 30 references about the plight of the marshes published
in 2004, choose three distinctive themes contained in them, and assess the
relative strengths and weaknesses of the information relative to what you might
need for a restoration project. For example, if you choose the marsh refugees
as one theme, were they just talked about as people who used to live there, or
were they also identified as people who deserve to have a stake in restoring
the marshes? Were they described as people who came from the general marsh
region, or were they identified as members of specific tribes from particular
locations who might have valuable knowledge about how to restore those
locations? Said another way, for each theme, what critical information was
provided and what was missing? Does this give you some hints why people can be
relatively well-informed about urgent environmental and humanitarian crises but
at the same time not be able to do much about solving them?
- - - - - - -
PART III. CAST OF CHARACTERS
As in any gripping drama, the story of the marshes has a formidable cast of
characters. You will recognize protagonists, antagonists, innocent and
not-so-innocent multitudes, leaders, followers, opportunists, zealots,
ambivalents, armchair generals, observers, analysts, pundits and panderers. In
addition, because the marshlands occupied one of the world's great geographical
and cultural crossroads for thousands of years, the characters have hailed from
all corners of the globe. And, because of gigantic deposits of crude oil and
gas a thousands of feet below the surface, some characters have a narrow but
insatiable appetite for that buried treasure -- they care not a wit for the
plight of the people and places above.
To restore the marshes, the outlines of its past are important, but the shape
of its future is absolutely essential. Looked at in this way, while the cast
requires some old characters, especially those who remember when and how the
water used to flow through Mesopotamia, it also needs a constant supply of new
characters; it may take generations to repair the damage of a single
devastating decade. Likely, they will not all come from Iraq nor even from the
Middle East. Indeed, in this drama, all the world=s the stage.
III-1 United States (Tuesday, October 12):
By virtue of its military occupation of Iraq, its considerable spending power,
and its monopoly on coordination of reconstruction work, the United States
Government has the potential to make or break the future of the marshlands. But
to date, very little actual restoration has occurred, while ecological
deterioration continues except in a few locations where water has minimally
returned. The White House, Department of State including the Agency for
International Development, Congress and an inner circle of consultants and
contractors have exhibited a discernible ambivalence towards the marshes and
its former inhabitants, and they have discouraged efforts to internationalize
the restoration effort. Only a small amount of money has been allotted, mainly
for preliminary studies. Despite wide public interest in and fascination with
the history of the marshlands and sympathy for its demise, the Government has
produced no comprehensive strategy, has no regularly-occurring public meetings,
and has made no significant effort to inform, inspire and tap into the
considerable technical capabilities of American universities and engineering
firms similar to the way it has promoted reconstruction of Iraq=s energy, water
and transportation infrastructure. Overall, there seems to be a distinct bias
towards urban and agricultural development of the land the marshes once
occupied, rather than an intention to restore the marshes to their full extent
as a functioning wetlands region of global importance. For reference, relevant
U.S. Government websites are:
Coalition Provisional Authority: http://www.iraqcoalition.org
Embassy of the United States, Baghdad, Iraq: http://iraq.usembassy.gov
Multi-National Corps-Iraq and Multi-National Force-Iraq:
http://www.mnf-iraq.com
For Online Discussion:
How would you make use of the capabilities of the U.S. Government and American
society to restore the marshes of Southern Iraq? What obstacles would you
expect? How would you overcome them?
References:
III-1a [audio] Here-and-Now. 2003. Restoring Iraq's marshland. April 8.
http://www.here-now.org/shows/2003/04/20030408.asp
III-1b United States Agency for International Development. 2003. Iraq
reconstruction: Environmental protection and natural resource management. March
21.
http://www.state.gov/g/oes/rls/fs/2003/19225.htm
III-1c United States Agency for International Development. 2003. Remarks by
Andrew S. Natsios, Administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development.
May 7. http://www.usaid.gov/press/speeches/2003/sp030507.html
III-1d Fuller, Jim. 2003. Natsios says Iraqis must have a part in marshland
restoration: USAID head calls damaged marshlands an issue that will not go
away. International Information Programs, United States Department of State.
May 8.
http://usinfo.state.gov/mena/Archive/2004/Feb/05-220724.html
III-1e United States Agency for International Development. 2003. Strategies
for Assisting the Marsh Dwellers and Restoring the Marshlands in Southern Iraq:
Interim Status Report. September. [personal copy on webct site]
III-1f Coalition Provisional Authority. 2004. CPA South: Achievements and
Progress. May 31.
http://www.cpa-iraq.org/regions/CPA_South.doc
III-2 Iraq (Thursday, October 14):
In mid-2003, administrative specialists from the United States re-formed the
executive branch of the transitional government of Iraq. This included
creating a Ministry of Environment, and also a Ministry of Water Resources from
the former Ministry of Irrigation. These two ministries established a Center
for Marshlands Restoration, located outside Baghdad, that has a small staff and
budget and minimal planning and implementation capabilities for doing actual
restoration of the marshes. To date, the Center does not have a website, has
not published a restoration plan or strategy, and it is not clear whether and
how foreign countries, companies, academic institutions or individuals can join
the overall restoration effort. A website of the Ministry of Water Resources
that contained several papers and plans advocating marshlands restoration no
longer appears on the internet. While the marshlands is principally occupied
by Shi'a Moslems, the current head of the Ministry of Water Resources is
Kurdish.
For Online Discussion:
Imagine you were an Iraqi government official who wanted to start a campaign to
restore the marshes. How would you go about it? What willingness, know-how
and resources would you have to gather? Would you do it as an exclusive Iraqi
program or would you try to internationalize the effort? Explain your
reasoning.
References:
III-2a Iraq Ministry of Water Resources. 2003. [website]
[personal copy on webct site].
III-2b Iraq Press. 2003. Program to revive southern marshes launched. June 16.
http://www.iraqpress.org/english.asp?fname=ipenglish%5C2003-06-16%5C01.htm
III-2c Coalition Provisional Authority. 2004. Ministry of Water Resources:
Progress and Priorities
http://www.iraqcoalition.org/pressreleases/20040511_water_progress.html
III-2d Coalition Provisional Authority. undated. IX. Improve Water Resources
Management
http://www.iraqcoalition.org/ES/water.html
III-2e United Nations-Iraq. 2004. Ministry of Water Resources.
http://www.uniraq.org/documents/MoWR.doc
III-2f United Nations-Iraq. 2004. Ministry of Environment
http://www.uniraq.org/documents/MoEnvironment.doc
III-2g Iraq Ministry of Environment. 2004. Iraqi Reconstruction and
Development Priorities: Cross-Cutting Themes: Human Rights, Gender,
Environment. February.
http://www.uniraq.org/documents/Environment.HTM
III-2h Coalition Provisional Authority. 2004. Iraq's Ministry of Environment
Takes Final Step Toward Sovereignty. May 26
http://www.iraqcoalition.org/pressreleases/20040526_environment.html
III-2I Iraq Ministry of Science and Technology. 2004. "Reconstruction of
Laboratory, Ponds, Hatchery for Marshes' Fish Production". Proposal to
International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq, Meetings in Doha, Qatar,
May 25-26.
http://www.uniraq.org/projects/p120_fishproduction.doc
III-2j United States Army Corps of Engineers. 2003. The Marsh Arabs: Ancient
way of life being restored. photos by Hassan Janabi
http://www.hq.usace.army.mil/cepa/pubs/nov03/story17.htm
III-2k United States Army Corps of Engineers. 2003. Iraqi Ministry of Water
Resources is similar to Corps. November.
http://www.hq.usace.army.mil/cepa/pubs/nov03/story23.htm
III-2l Durbak, Ivan. 2003. Engineers speaks on his assignment in Iraq as
interim minister of irrigation. December 14. The Ukrainian Weekly.
http://www.ukrweekly.com/Archive/2003/500308.shtml
III-3 United Nations (Tuesday, October 19):
Concern for the fate of the marshes of Southern Iraq has been expressed
primarily through numerous reports and meetings of the U.N. Environment
Programme [UNEP], specifically its mapping and post-conflict assessment staff
in Geneva, Switzerland. Beginning in early 2003, UNEP has held regular
roundtable meetings on environmental and health conditions in Iraq, including
the marshlands. Meeting participants have come from a variety of enthusiastic
U.N. agencies and international NGO's who have been working in Iraq and Iran
throughout the period between the 1991 Gulf War and last year's re-invasion.
UNEP staff have repeatedly expressed their sense of urgency for ecological
restoration of the marshes, but they have neither the power nor the funds to
initiate projects. So far, the United Nations has been in a stand-by mode
while the United States largely determines the course and pace of events in
Iraq. The recent announcement of a US$11 million grant from the Japanese
government to UNEP within the framework of the UN Iraq Trust Fund may be the
first sign of response to substantially internationalize work in the
marshlands.
For Online Discussion:
How would you position the United Nations as a major player in the restoration
of the marshes? Would you work more closely with people at the governmental,
academic, citizens organization or corporate sector? Or in some combination?
Explain your reasoning.
References:
III-3a United Nations Environment Programme. 2003. Meeting Summary, Iraq and
the Environment: Roundtable Meeting and Mesopotamian Marshlands Forum. May 23.
[personal copy on webct site]
III-3b United Nations Environment Programme. 2003. Experts urge international
cooperation on rehabilitating Mesopotamian Marshlands. May 28.
http://www.grid.unep.ch/activities/sustainable/tigris/pressrelease_2003.php
III-3c United Nations Environment Programme. 2003. Meeting Summary, Fourth
UNEP Roundtable Meeting on the Environment in Iraq. August 29.
[personal copy on webct site]
III-3d United Nations Environment Programme. 2003. Fourth Roundtable on the
Environment in Iraq [UNEP slide presentation]. August 29.
[personal copy on webct site]
III-3e United Nations Environment Programme. 2003. Meeting Summary, Fifth UNEP
Roundtable Meeting on the Environment in Iraq. October 20.
[personal copy on webct site]
III-3f United Nations Environment Programme. 2003. Meeting Summary, Sixth UNEP
Roundtable Meeting on the Environment in Iraq. November 21.
[personal copy on webct site]
III-3g United Nations Environment Programme. 2004. UNEP Launches Project to
Restore Iraqi Marshlands. July 23.
http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=402&ArticleID=4572&l=en
III-3h United Nations/World Bank. 2003. Joint Iraq Needs Assessment. October
http://lnweb18.worldbank.org/mna/mena.nsf/Attachments/Iraq+Joint+Needs+Assessment/$File/Joint+Needs+Assessment.pdf
III-3i Salih, Waleed. 2003. Integrated Water Resources Management in the New
Iraq. Donor Conference, Madrid, Spain. October 23-24
[personal copy on webct site]
III-4 Non-Governmental Organizations and Academia (Thursday, Oct 21):
For more than ten years, two women-led organizations, AMAR Appeal [U.K.] and
Iraq Foundation [U.S.] have conducted major environmental research and
humanitarian aid programs in Iraq that include the marshes and the thousands of
refugees who fled the region to Iran and other parts of the world. Their
annual operating budgets -- in the few-million dollar range -- come from a
variety of contributions, grants and contracts. Of note, Iraq Foundation's
"Eden Again" project received approximately $200,000 from the U.S. Department
of State to assemble an international technical panel to deliberate on the
feasibility of marshlands restoration. Their report was issued just before
American and British troops re-invaded Iraq early in 2003.
In addition to humanitarian aid organizations, wildlife and nature
organizations such as Birdlife International, Wetlands International and the
office of the Ramsar Convention on wetlands protection, have given a high
priority to the restoration of the marshlands. They recognize the intrinsic
and historical value of the marshes as habitat for endangered and threatened
species and as stopover locations for millions of migratory birds who traverse
Asia, Europe and Africa.
For Online Discussion:
What if any kind of new organization would you create to specifically address
the task of ecological restoration of the marshes? Who would comprise its
membership? Where would its money come from? Who would do the actual work of
restoration?
References:
III-4a The AMAR International Charitable Foundation. 2004. The Marsh Arabs and
the Marshlands. http://www.amarappeal.com/marsh_arabs.php
III-4b Iraq Foundation. 2003. The "Eden Again" Project: A new project
sponsored by the Iraq Foundation.
http://www.iraqfoundation.org/projects/edenagain/
III-4c Iraq Foundation. 2003. Building a Scientific Basis for Restoration of
the Mesopotamian Marshlands. May.
http://www.iraqfoundation.org/projects/edenagain/2003/dmay/5_report.html
http://www.iraqfoundation.org/projects/edenagain/2003/dmay/report.doc
III-4d Dannheiser, Ralph. 2003. Much of Iraq's devastated marshlands can be
restored, scientists say: "Eden Again" project outlines action plan.
International Information Programs, United States Department of State. April
30.
http://usembassy.state.gov/islamabad/wwwh03050107.html
III-4e Eden Again. 2003. Restoration of the Mesopotamian Marshlands.
http://www.edenagain.org
III4f Eden Again. 2004. Restoration of the Mesopotamian Marshlands
[newsletter]. July.
http://www.edenagain.org/publications/pdfs/newslet0704.html
III-4g Gray, Denis D. 2003. Resurrecting Eden. National Wildlife Federation.
February/March 2004.
http://www.nwf.org/nationalwildlife/article.cfm?articleid=883&issueid=66
III-4h Furlow, Bryant. 2003. Eden Again. UCDavisOnline. Fall.
http://www-ucdmag.ucdavis.edu/fall03/feature_3.html
III-4i BirdLife International. 2003. BirdLife to assess environmental impact
of war in Iraq. April 29.
http://www.birdlife.org.uk/news/news/2003/04/iraq_survey.html
III-4j Ornithomedia.com. 2004. Faire revivre les marais irakiens [Reviving the
marshes of Iraq]. February 7.
http://www.ornithomedia.com/magazine/mag_art107_1.htm
III-4k Maltby, Edward. 2003. Opportunities for Marshland Restoration [slide
show]. May 23.
[personal copy on webct site].
III-4l Earthbeat. 2003. Mesopotamian Marshlands [with audio]. March 29.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/earth/stories/s817672.htm
III-4m Ahmed, Hamid K. 2003. The Marshes of Southern Iraq and the Marsh Arabs:
Genocide and Ecocide. November 13.
http://www.public.iastate.edu/~mariposa/hamid2.htm
III-4n Iraqi American Chamber of Commerce & Industry. 2003. Think Tanks:
Middle East Resources. October 2.
http://www.i-acci.org/articles/publish/printer_19.shtml
III-4o Iraqi American Chamber of Commerce & Industry. 2003. Think Tanks: U.S.
Resources. October 2. http://www.i-acci.org/articles/publish/printer_20.shtml
III-5 Business and Industry (Tuesday, October 26):
The typical wetlands restoration requires a wide range of planning, design,
construction and monitoring performed by scientists and engineers, materials
specialists, semi-skilled and ordinary laborers working in combination at
various times during the project. If the wetland is also a homeland, as is the
case with southern Iraq, then the project must also include social scientists,
community organizers, land surveyors, housing contractors and others
responsible for the smooth return and resettlement of refugees and the recovery
of their lost livelihoods.
A relatively small number of huge multi-purpose engineering design and
construction firms have received contracts from the U.S. Government to work in
post-war Iraq on infrastructure repair, health and social services, agriculture
development, government administration and public education. But to date, only
one company has been authorized and minimally funded to address the needs of
the marshes and the people who used to live there. Clearly, for such a vast
area, a fully-developed restoration plan could make use of hundreds of
companies from Iraq and overseas and thousands of workers from among Iraq's
refugee population.
The presence and effects of powerful oil companies already working in southern
Iraq or hoping to work there soon must also be factored into the fate of the
marshes; in the instructor's opinion, their influence on the course of events
cannot be underestimated. Worldwide, oil exploration, extraction, refining and
transporting have severely damaged ecosystems, uprooted and even killed
indigenous people and contributed very little to the their economies and
well-being. Hypothetically, profits from careful oil development in and around
the marshlands could pay for restoration. But for now, the chances for harmony
between life on water and life on oil in southern Iraq seems as remote as the
possibility of life on Mars.
For Online Discussion:
Beginning now, what kinds of commercial activities and opportunities can you
imagine could be developed around a project for restoring the marshlands of
southern Iraq? What kind of work would you personally prefer to do and why?
How would you go about launching such a commercial venture?
References:
III-5a Development Alternatives Inc. 2003. DAI leads Marshlands restoration
program. December. http://www.dai.com/dai_news/iraq_marshlands.htm
III-5b Iraqi American Chamber of Commerce & Industry. 2003. Doing Business in
Iraq.
http://www.i-acci.org/articles/publish/printer_191.shtml
III-5c United States Geological Survey. 2003. Mesopotamian Foredeep Basin:
Total Petroleum Systems.
http://energy.cr.usgs.gov/WEcont/regions/reg2/p2/P2024.pdf
III-5d Platts. 2003. Platts Guide to Iraq's Oil Industry.
http://plattsweb1.platts.com/features/Iraq/index.shtml
III-5e Judicial Watch. 2003. Cheney energy task force documents feature map of
Iraqi oilfields. July 17. http://www.judicialwatch.org/071703.b_PR.shtml
III-5f Al-Gailani, Mohammad. 2003. Assessing Iraq's Oil Potential. Geotimes.
October. http://www.geotimes.org/oct03/feature_oil.html
Research/Writing Assignment for Part III (Due Monday, November 1):
> From your readings and any other sources of information you find, create a
directory of environmental, cultural and economic organizations, agencies,
governments, schools, individuals, print and broadcast media, businesses and
other groups institutions that could have a role to play in the restoration of
the marshlands and the return of people to the region. Briefly describe what
those roles could be and rank their potential as low, medium or high.
- - - - - - -
PART IV. RESTORATION TOOLBOX
Ecological restoration is the deliberate attempt to heal the wounds of forests,
watersheds, prairies, mountains, wetlands, coastal zones and other land and
water features that have suffered from natural and man-made disasters, wars,
toxic contamination, extinction of species, economic hardships and
exploitation, or combinations of these. The goal is to return damaged
ecosystems to their Aformer selves@, as closely as possible, in terms of
structure, function, aesthetics, vitality, biological diversity, productivity
and persistence.
Ecological restoration is recognized as a both a legitimate scientific
profession and also an artistic and interpretive skill. It is practiced at the
relatively small scale of a city park and on the much larger scale of entire
landscapes and bioregions. Restoration specialists can offer no guarantee of
successful outcomes -- one could say that its current state of development is
comparable to the early years of heart transplantation in the medical
profession. But that does not mean that the challenge of restoration should
be, or will be, avoided. Indeed, more and more restoration efforts are
required every year to counteract the ecological destruction that seem to be
never-ending.
IV-1 Conservation (Thursday, October 28):
Conservation is fundamentally a moral imperative and a social ethic that
imposes considerable and immutable responsibilities on humankind. The age-old
practice of natural resource conservation comes from realizing -- and accepting --
that the Earth is a solitary, finite and interconnected planetary system upon
which we depend that has precise regulatory processes and flows that perpetuate
life but are vulnerable to the depletion, diversion, contamination and
extinction of its resources. Thus, we are compelled to care for Nature as if it
were our own life. Not doing so impoverishes us and everyone who comes
afterwards.
The wonder of Mesopotamia and the lasting impression it has made on the world
is due primarily to its longevity that, in turn, permitted the development of
agriculture, cities, trade routes, literature, common law, and the other
attributes of civilization that we take for granted today. This longevity was
made possible by water, soil, plant and animal conservation practices that the
inhabitants discovered, learned and taught each other over hundreds of
generations B a span of time beyond ordinary comprehension. In a practical
sense, their conservation ethic also enabled them to manage annual floods,
withstand periodic droughts, and adapt to climate change and a
steadily-receding coastline that turned their watery surroundings from saline
to fresh. The reward for all this was that they were able to remain "in place"
as a distinct people for thousands of years; said another way, they were able
to avoid becoming environmental refugees.
For Online Discussion:
Imagine that you wanted to organize an "Adopt-a-Marsh" program to help save a
small portion of the marshlands in southern Iraq. How would you go about it?
What would your first year of activities look like? How would you know if you
were succeeding? Refer to AThe Conservation Project Manual@ of BP and Birdlife
International for guidance.
References:
IV-1a [audio] Living on Earth. 2003. Restoring Iraq=s Garden of Eden. March
28.
http://www.loe.org/ETS/organizations.php3?action=printContentItem&orgid=33&typeID=17&itemID=145
IV-1b Bibby, C.J. and C. Alder (eds). 2003. The Conservation Project Manual.
BP Conservation Programme, Cambridge, UK.
http://conservation.bp.com/pdfs/projectmanual/ConservationProjectManual.pdf
IV-2 Ecological Restoration (Wednesday, November 3):
While the practice of conservation may be primarily concerned about saving
what's left in an ecosystem, ecological restoration is concerned about
reintroducing or replacing what's missing in the way of a system's historical
structure and function. In a way, it is the art of "reading between the lines"
of environmental disaster stories and then doing something to make the hidden
texts reappear.
Ecological restoration has become a bonafide scientific profession with an
international society, a peer-reviewed journal, periodic meetings and
conferences, a distinctive technical vocabulary and perhaps thousands of
projects going on throughout the world at any one time. Because of the large
numbers of variables in the typical restoration project, some of them beyond
the control of the people involved, the outcomes are often unpredictable. For
that reason, restoration workers must have an open mind, good powers of
observation and an experimental attitude. On the other hand, it is well-known
that Nature has considerable restorative forces and may need little more than
the re-supply of one or two major missing elements -- such as water or sunlight --
to begin recovery. For example, in some desiccated portions of the former
marshlands of southern Iraq, reed beds have begun to grow again after residents
opened check dams or breached embankments that were holding water back for ten
years or more.
The most difficult restoration projects may be those where ecosystems suffer
some kind of irreversible or nearly-irreversible damage. Examples of
biological damage of this kind include the extinction of one or more original
plant or animal species, or the invasion of new species previously unknown to
the region. Examples of physical damage include the sudden covering of land
with deep layers of hot, impenetrable lava from a volcanic eruption on the
Caribbean island of Montserrat and the spillage of huge amounts of petroleum
from the oil fields of the Niger River delta. An example of chemical damage is
the severe salinization of marsh beds caused by the accumulation of salts as
the Iraqi government drained and dried the marshes in the 1990's.
For Online Discussion:
Based on your readings up to now and other information you have gathered, what
differences can you find between the concepts, activities, goals and objectives
of the current Iraq marshlands restoration project and the typical project
described in documents of the Society for Ecological Restoration? How would
you recognize the difference between a restoration project and a development
project?
References:
IV-2a Windhager, Steve. undated. The philosophy of ecological restoration:
Reconnecting nature and ourselves.
http://www.dmg.gov/resto-pres/wed-02-windhager.pdf
IV-2b Society for Ecological Restoration International. 2003. Environmental
Policies of the Society for Ecological Restoration.
http://www.ser.org/content/environmental_policies.asp (and in WebCT file)
IV-2c Clewell, Andre, John Rieger and John Munro. 2000. Guidelines for
Developing and
Managing Ecological Restoration Projects. Society for Ecological Restoration
International. http://www.ser.org/content/guidelines_ecological_restoration.asp
IV-2d Society for Ecological Restoration. 2002. The SER Primer on Ecological
Restoration International.
http://www.ser.org/content/ecological_restoration_primer.asp
IV-3 Wetlands (Friday, November 5):
On an area basis, wetlands are among the most fertile and abundantly-productive
ecosystems. They are often found as permanent features where springs and
streams, rivers and lakes and rivers and seas meet. In the latter, wetlands
particularly shelter and promote the growth of wildlife, especially migratory
fish, that require a variety of aquatic habitats during their life-cycle --
fresh water, brackish and salt. Wetlands also form temporarily or seasonally
along watercourses or coastlines during floods and heavy storms.
Human populations have successfully established themselves in wetlands regions,
although living conditions there can be precarious. When the early Virginia
colonists settled at the mouth of the James River around 1607, they quickly
succumbed to malaria and other wetlands-borne diseases. Had they established
themselves a few miles upstream, above the slowly-flowing marshes at the mouth
of the river, their chances for survival may have been better. Once
established, however, history has shown that marshlands can nurture whole
civilizations, for example those of the Nile delta and of the land between the
Tigris and Euphrates rivers. There is much to learn from these inhabitants;
their legends and lifeways ought to be recognized and respected as testaments
to human adaptability and ingenuity.
For Online Discussion:
Educational material such as the "Discover Wetlands" curriculum from Washington
State included in these readings, is intended for students who may live near
wetlands but who likely don't actually live in them or directly depend upon
them for food, clothing and shelter. Its purpose is to impart understanding,
instill respect about wetlands and teach restraint against destroying wetlands.
How much different would a curriculum have to be for refugee children returning
to the deep marshes of southern Iraq? Would they need to be educated about
wetlands? What could we teach them to their health, longevity and quality of
life?
References:
IV-3a Lewis, Barry. 1995. Wetlands are more than mere swamps. In Environmental
Associates' publication Know Your Environment. reprinted by National Academy of
Sciences. http://www.acnatsci.org/education/kye/nr/wetlands_short.html
IV-3b Lippy, Karen et al. 1995. Discover Wetlands: A Curriculum Guide.
Washington State Dept. of Ecology. Pub. No. 88-16.
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/pubs/8816b.pdf and
IV-3c http://www.ecy.wa.gov/pubs/8816c.pdf
IV-3d Ramsar Convention. 2003. The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.
http://www.ramsar.org
IV-3e Ramsar Convention. 2002. Welcome to: A Directory of Wetlands of
International Importance. 7th edition.
http://www.wetlands.org/RDB/Directory.html
IV-4 Wetlands Restoration (Tuesday, November 9):
In the United States, the clamor for wetlands restoration, especially San
Francisco's "Save the Bay" campaign during the early 1960's helped launch the
nation's environmental movement. Concern for wetlands restoration surged again
in the recent years as one Presidential administration after another let
developers rampantly fill in wetlands along the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific
coasts and permit cities and towns to sprawl across the remaining marshes,
flood plains and aquifers of the country's interior. The damage? Billions of
dollars of homes, businesses and municipal facilities now in peril of floods
and storms, lifetime volumes of precious groundwater drained away or seriously
contaminated, and a whole generation of leaders slipping back into "Me First"
and "Flat Earth" mentality.
Now, virtually every state's environmental agency is in damage-control mode.
Some wetlands have been restored to a greater or lesser degree, but overall
there is plenty of evidence that Americans still don=t recognize, respect and
value their wetlands. A few examples:
--The country's largest and most-expensive wetlands restoration project, the
Florida Everglades, is thickly mired in politics under a thin veneer of
southern environmentalism. This has been going on for 20 years or more.
--After a recent trip to Iraq, Louisiana's Governor asserted that her own
state's rapidly-disappearing coastal wetlands deserved equal attention as a war
zone of a different kind.
BA federal program that permits developers to destroy wetlands if they
re-create similar landscapes elsewhere has failed to stem the loss of wetlands
nationwide. A devil's advocate report by the National Academy of Sciences
tries to blunt this criticism using technical and obtuse language, but is not
very convincing. In part, it states, "The significance of these results is not
that equivalency among reference and newly managed environments is not reached
or that mitigation efforts should not be done. These results demonstrate that
1) ecological equivalency may not be reached within a few months or for several
years or even decades, depending on the attribute that is of interest; 2) the
ecosystem does not move smoothly to an equilibrium or at the same rate for all
components; and 3) some components, including ones identified as important in
permits currently being issued, may never reach equivalency with the natural
reference wetland. An obvious conclusion...is that the generally observed
5-year limit on monitoring is insufficient when evaluating whether a site has
achieved parity with a reference system."
Under these circumstances, it may be fair to ask, "What can America offer the
marsh-lost people of southern Iraq?" Knowing our record of success, would we
really be their first choice?
For Online Discussion:
What arguments would you present and what incentives would you offer Iraq to
persuade it to restore the wetlands to their former extent and function instead
of letting them deteriorate further or be "reallocated" to dryland farming,
urbanization and oilfield development?
References:
IV-4a Save the Bay. 2003. Welcome to Save the Bay!
http://www.savesfbay.org/aboutus/history.cfm
IV-4b New York Times Editorial. 2003. Politics and the Everglades. August 17.
reprinted by The Everglades Foundation.
http://www.saveoureverglades.org/news/editorials/editorials_politics.html
IV-4c Blanco, Kathleen Babineaux. 2004. Louisiana's Wetlands [letter to the
editor] New York Times, February 23. reprinted by America=s Wetland Campaign to
Save Coastal Louisiana.
http://www.americaswetland.com/article.cfm?id=109&cateid=3&pageid=3&cid=18
IV-4d Schoch, Deborah. 2001. Report Finds Deep Flaws in Wetlands Program:
Researchers say plan that lets developers who destroy marshes re-create them
elsewhere has failed to stem the loss of such ecosystems. Los Angeles Times.
reprinted in Common Dreams NewsCenter.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines01/0627-02.htm
IV-4e Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology. 2001. Outcomes of Wetland
Restoration and Creation, chapter 2 in Compensating for Wetland Losses Under
the Clean Water Act. National Academy of Sciences. pages22-45.
http://www.nap.edu/books/0309074320/html22.html to ...html45.html
IV-4f Maryland Department of the Environment. undated. The Wetlands
Restoration Guidebook. Nontidal Wetlands Division. 9pp.
http://www.mde.state.md.us/assets/document/restore.pdf
IV-4g United States Department of Agriculture. 2000. Wetlands Reserve Program:
Restoring America's Wetlands. Natural Resources Conservation Service. PA-1659.
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/wrp/WRPpub.pdf
IV-4h Brookhaven National Laboratory. undated. Technology Fact Sheet: Peconic
River Remedial Alternatives: Wetlands Restoration/Constructed Wetlands.
http://www.bnl.gov/erd/peconic/factsheet/wetlands.pdf
IV-5 Wadi Gaza Nature Park (Thursday, November 11):
While the fate of Iraq's marshlands hangs in the balance of war and peace,
there is an unusual case of wetlands restoration in another conflicted
environment right in the Middle East. In mid-2001, the U. S. Agency for
International Development contributed more than $3 million to the U.N.
Development Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People [UNDP/PAPP] to
reclaim and develop Wadi Gaza, a small but significant marshland created by
streams that flow out of the Israeli hills toward the Mediterranean Sea.
According to a USAID news release in July 2002, "Determined to halt further
ecological deterioration, before the damage becomes irreversible -- while also
giving an economic boost to thousands of unemployed Palestinians living nearby --
USAID and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) have joined forces.
With the blessings of the Palestinian Ministry of Environmental Affairs and the
Gazan people, USAID and UNDP are supporting a new vision for Wadi Gaza." There
is no evidence, however, that USAID has introduced Iraqi wetland scientists and
students to this small but intriguing project.
For Online Discussion:
In the management plan for Wadi Gaza published by MedWetCoast, how is the
sequence of research and restoration steps put together? What similarities or
differences would there be in a much larger project such as in southern Iraq?
In the Wadi Gaza plan, what activities or steps appeal to you the most? Can
you see yourself working on a project like that? Do you feel "ready to go"? If
not, what kind of additional education and training do you think you need?
References:
IV-5a United States Agency for International Development. 2002. Opening of the
New Wadi Gaza Nature Park Information Center. February 28.
http://www.usaid.gov/wbg/headline_19.htm
IV-5b United States Agency for International Development. 2002. Saving the
Wetlands of Wadi Gaza [photographs]. June.
http://www.usaid.gov/wbg/story_0.htm
IV-5c United States Agency for International Development. 2002. Saving the
Wetlands of Wadi Gaza. July. http://www.usaid.gov/wbg/spotlight_0.htm
IV-5d United States Agency for International Development. 2003. Ambassador
Chamberlain visists Wadi Gaza Nature Park. September 18.
http://www.usaid.gov/wbg/headline_126.htm
IV-5e MedWetCoast. 2002. MedWetCoast report: Management plan report: Wadi Gaza
nature reserve management plan.
http://www.medwetcoast.com/article.php3?id_article=164
IV-5f MedWetCoast. 2002. Management Plan -- Wadi Gaza
http://www.medwetcoast.com/IMG/wadigazamp_03-2003.zip
Research/Writing Assignment for Part IV (Due Monday, November 15):
Suggest a sequence of at least twenty steps for restoring the marshes of
southern Iraq and describe what you would try to accomplish each step of the
way. On the positive side, take into account a) the thousands of refugees who
need immediate work and places to resettle, b) the national and international
sympathy for the plight of the marshes, and c) the array of organizations,
agencies and international institutions ready and willing to provide expertise,
funds and assistance. On the negative side, take into account a) the fact that
the region is still a war zone, b) that it is almost entirely dried out, c)
that it has been considerably depopulated for the past 10-15 years, and d) that
it is likely heavily-polluted with environmental poisons, land mines, depleted
uranium and other wastes of war. How much do you think you could accomplish
in ten years? In twenty years?
- - - - - - -
PART V -- THE FLORIDA CONNECTION
The expansive Ariver of grass@ known as the Florida Everglades was once a
life-giving hydrological feature in North America, comparable in size and
function to the Mesopotamian marshlands of southern Iraq. Where, in Middle
Eastern legend, Mesopotamia held the Garden of Eden, Juan Ponce de Leon
searched the Everglades in the early 1500's for the Fountain of Youth he
suspected was within. Mesopotamia and the Everglades both were the significant
homelands of indigenous tribes and the habitat of diverse aquatic and
semi-aquatic plants and animals.
Under the domination of Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi marshlands became a manmade
ecological catastrophe in less than ten years. It took longer, and more than
tyranny, for the Everglades to reach it's own emergency status. That began in
the 1880's, then accelerated after the 1940's, caused by a succession of
American Presidents, Florida State Governors, their respective Congress and
State Legislature and a varieties of agencies who shared the deliberate goal to
eliminate the natives, drain the marshes and permit virtually unlimited
agriculture, housing, commercial development and cities to spread across the
land. At the center of the Everglade's historic demise has been the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, the same agency now charged with repairing the damaged
Everglades and also, for the moment, with determining the fate of Iraq=s
marshes.
V-1 The Everglades 1 (Tuesday, November 16):
The Everglades ecosystem is a national and global treasure. Public pressure
has secured National Park status for approximately the southern third of the
wetlands, while the remainder is in lesser government protection or held as
private or municipal property. Agricultural development and urbanization has
destroyed approximately half of Everglades' original extent. Still, there is a
large water-holding capacity that is both an asset and a liability. It is an
asset because it provides conveniently-drawn irrigation water for sugar cane
and other crops extensively grown on land drained and converted to
plantation-style agriculture, and drinking water to cities that sprawl along
both the southeastern and southwestern Florida coasts. To deliver the water,
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ["the Corps"] designed, built and maintains a
network of canals and diversions. At the same time, Everglades water is a
liability because, in rainy seasons, water flow from the Everglades threatens
those same low-lying farms and cities that have encroached into the wetlands.
Thus, the Corps also created a drainage network to intercept and accelerate the
flow of water directly into Florida Bay. This simultaneous dependence upon and
wastage of Everglades' water -- mediated by 1,000 miles of canals, 720 miles of
levees and several hundred water control structures -- has come at the ultimate
destruction of these wetlands.
After at least twenty years of obvious failure at managing Everglades' water
resources -- in the Corps' words, "unintended adverse effects on the unique and
diverse environment that constitutes south Florida ecosystems, including the
Everglades and Florida Bay" -- citizens forced Congress to pass a National
Water Resources Development Act in 2000 that directed the Corps to develop a
Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan to "restore, protect and preserve the
water resources of central and southern Florida, including the Everglades." The
estimated cost is almost $8,000,000,000 over approximately thirty years. On
close examination of the Act, however, the goals are not directly ecological,
but economic and social: regain lost storage capacity, restore more natural
hydropatterns, improve timing and quantities of fresh water deliveries to
estuaries and restore water quality conditions. This overwhelming emphasis on
continued use of the Everglades to subsidize excessive water use by Big Sugar,
Big Farming and Big Cities, has become a serious point of contention.
For Online Discussion:
What can you discern are the similarities and differences between the way the
National Park Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers look at the
Everglades and interpret their respective responsibilities toward these
wetlands? Give specific examples.
References:
V-1a Florida International University. 2004. Everglades Information Network:
A collaborative project of Florida International University Libraries and
numerous other libraries and information providers. http://everglades.fiu.edu
V-1b Florida International University. 2004. Everglades Digital Library.
http://everglades.fiu.edu/library
V-1c Everglades University. 2004. The Everglades University Advantage.
http://www.evergladescollege.edu
V-1d United States National Park Service. 2001. Everglades National Park
Strategic Plan, 2001-2005. http://www.nps.gov/ever/current/strategicplan.pdf
V-1e _____. 2003. The Everglades Ecosystem: Everglades National Park.
http://www.nps.gov/ever/eco
V-1f _____. 2000. Restoration Efforts: Everglades National Park: Evolution of
Ecosystem Restoration Efforts.
http://www.nps.gov/ever/eco/restore.htm
V-1g United States Army Corps of Engineers. 2004. Rescuing an endangered
ecosystem: the journey to restore America's Everglades.
http://www.evergladesplan.org
_____. Undated. The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP)
V-1h http://www.evergladesplan.org/about/landing_about.cfm
V-1i http://www.evergladesplan.org/about/rest_plan.cfm
V-1j http://www.evergladesplan.org/about/rest_plan_01.cfm
V-1k http://www.evergladesplan.org/about/rest_plan_02.cfm
V-1l http://www.evergladesplan.org/about/rest_plan_03.cfm
V-2 The Everglades 2 (Thursday, November 18):
After Congress passed landmark legislation in 2000, Florida followed with its
own "Everglades Forever Act" to reverse years of destruction of land, water and
wildlife. The intentions of both laws were to replenish Everglades' water and
reduce pollution -- especially excessive phosphorus -- going into it from sugar
cane plantations and other farming activities. It cannot be said restoration is
on-schedule. A relatively small cast of very influential characters are
retarding the process, with local, regional, national and international
political overtones clearly showing through. Correspondingly, all of this has
been scrutinized and criticized, broadcasted and written about, not only within
Florida but at a great distance, even overseas. As a consequence, there is
global awareness of the dynamics of failed ecological restoration of wetlands,
and many are wondering what can be done to avoid the same fate in the effort to
restore the marshes of southern Iraq, a wetland of comparable size that
coincidentally covers gigantic deposits of crude oil beneath the surface.
For Online Discussion:
Where do you think the balance should be made between a) farming and urban
development in southern Florida versus b) the integrity of the Everglades as a
functioning wetlands ecosystem? If you were Governor of Florida, how would you
resist the pressures from farming and real estate interests described in the
readings? If you were Florida's director of natural resources, what would you
propose to swing the balance back towards protecting and restoring the
Everglades?
References:
V-2a Levin, Ted. 2003. Bitter Sweets: A politically connected industry
devastates the Everglades. E Magazine. November 28.
http://www.emagazine.com/view/?383
V-2b Dahlburg, John Thor. 2003. The sway of cattails and politics. Los Angeles
Times. August 22. reprinted at
http://www.mindfully.org/Heritage/2003/Everglades-Politics22aug03.htm
V-2c Grunwald, Michael. 2002. The Swamp [series of eight articles]. Washington
Post. June 23-26. series reprinted at
http://www.ussugar.com/sugarnews/everglades/swamp.html
V-2d _____. 2002. The swamp: Can $8 billion restore the Everglades? A rescue
plan, bold and uncertain. Washington Post. June 23. reprinted at
http://www.ussugar.com/sugarnews/everglades/swamp_series/swamp_part1.html
V-2e _____. 2002. The swamp: Mining the Everglades in order to save it:
Between rock and a hard place. Washington Post, June 24. reprinted at
http://www.ussugar.com/sugarnews/everglades/swamp_series/swamp_part2.html
V-2f _____. 2002. The swamp: To the White House, by way of the Everglades.
Washington Post. June 24. reprinted at
http://www.ussugar.com/sugarnews/everglades/swamp_series/swamp_part3.html
V-2g _____. 2002. The swamp: Water Quality is long-standing issue for tribe.
Washington Post. June 24. reprinted at
http://www.ussugar.com/sugarnews/everglades/swamp_series/swamp_part4.html
V-2h ____. 2002. The swamp: Growing Pains in southwest Florida: More
development pushes Everglades to the edge. Washington Post. June 25. reprinted
at http://ussugar.com/sugarnews/everglades/swamp_series/swamp_part5.html
V-2i _____. 2002. The swamp: when in doubt, blame Big Sugar: Once the
Everglades chief ecological villain, Industry has plenty of company. Washington
Post. June 25. reprinted at
http://www.ussugar.com/sugarnews/everglades/swamp_series/swamp_part6.html
V-2j _____. 2002. The swamp: A river unleashed: An environmental reversal of
fortune: The Kissimmee's revival could provide lessons for restoring the
Everglades. Washington Post. June 26. reprinted at
http://www.ussugar.com/sugarnews/everglades/swamp_series/swamp_part7.html
V-2k _____. 2002. The swamp: Among environmentalists, the Great Divide.
Washington Post. June 26. reprinted at
http://www.ussugar.com/sugarnews/everglades/swamp_series/swamp_part8.html
V-3 Marshlands Congressional Hearing (Tuesday, November 23):
In February 2004, U.S. Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, representing Miami,
Florida, convened a hearing in her capacity as chair of the Subcommittee on the
Middle East and Central Asia, committee on International Relations. The
subject of the hearing was "United States and the Iraqi Marshlands: An
Environmental Response". Four witnesses testified. The hearing was webcast on
the internet and is still posted there. To the instructor's knowledge, it is
the only presentation on the plight and fate of the marshes that the U.S.
government has ever given to the American public; all other presentations have
been private or to limited audiences.
In her remarks, Cong. Ros-Lehtinen noted that Congress did not approve the
Administration's 2003 request for $100 million toward restoration and that
"today, however, we must reexamine the issue." In addition to her concern for
the marshes per se, she specifically added "and if possible a restoration of
the homes for the Marsh Arabs, so many of whom remain as refugees in their own
country and in neighboring ones as well."
For Online Discussion:
What are the similarities and differences among the testimony of the hearing
witnesses? Do you have confidence in the program described by the State
Department witnesses? What does the U.S. government plan to do with the
network of drains, levees and canals that Saddam Hussein built to destroy the
marshes? What, if any, sense of urgency did the witnesses express? How does
this compare with predictions made by the United Nations Environment Programme
in its reports that you read earlier in the course?
References:
V-3a Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana. 2004. Congressional website.
http://www.house.gov/ros-lehtinen
U.S. House of Representatives. 2004. "United States and the Iraqi Marshlands:
An Environmental Response". February 24.
V-3b [meeting notice]
http://wwwc.house.gov/international_relations/108/meca022404.htm
V-3c [audio/video webcast] http://boss.streamos.com/real/hir/34_me022404.smi
V-3d http://wwwc.house.gov/international_relations/108/ros022404.htm
V-3e http://wwwc.house.gov/international_relations/108/wes022404.htm
V-3f http://wwwc.house.gov/international_relations/108/mir022404.htm
V-3g http://wwwc.house.gov/international_relations/108/alw022404.htm
V-4 Ghosts of the Marshes (Tuesday, November 30):
There are only a few books written by Western authors about the time before the
marshes were destroyed by Saddam Hussein's regime: The Marsh Arab: Haji Rikkan
by Fulanain (pseudonym of Monica Grace Hedcock and Stuart Edwin Hedgcock)
[1928], Marsh Dwellers of the Euphrates Delta by S.M. Salim [1962], People of
the Reeds by Gavin Maxwell [1957], The Marsh Arabs by Wilfred Thesiger [1964]
and Iraq: Land of Two Rivers by Gavin Young [1980]. Two brief articles
appeared in National Geographic Magazine, one in 1958 by Wilfred Thesiger and
one in 1976 by Gavin Young, then nothing afterwards. The people described in
those books and articles are likely very old or already dead, leaving the
marshes bereft of leaders with personal memory of a time when the marshes
functioned as a relatively intact ecosystem, culture and economy. This also
leaves the marshes and the people vulnerable to plans for the region that
emphasize development on dry land more than restoration of a watery world that
once supported a half-million people. Therefore, anyone who advocates
restoration rather than development begins at a distinct disadvantage.
For Online Discussion:
What elements of life in the former marshes would you like to restore in the
present day? What elements would you modify in some way to improve the
environment and people's health, living standards and ability to resist future
threats?
References:
V-4a Thesiger, Wilfred. 1958. Marsh Dwellers of Southern Iraq: Primitive
Ma'dan, Building Cathedral-like Houses of Reeds, Share a Watery domain with
Buffaloes and Wild Boars. National Geographic, vol. 113, February, pp202-239.
[copy in library or on webct site]
V-4b Young, Gavin. 1976. Water Dwellers in a Desert World. National
Geographic, v149, April, pp502-523.
[copy in library or on webct site]
V-5 What Is Education For? (Thursday, December 2):
The people and the environment of the marshes of southern Iraq have suffered a
major man-made disaster. For more than ten years, government officials,
scientists and engineers from all over the world professed the goals of
ecological restoration and refugee resettlement in the marshes. Yet, today,
many of those same people seem to have prematurely judged the marshes "dead on
arrival" before even attempting the first stages of actual restoration. Their
pronouncements not only dampen international enthusiasm for rejuvenating the
"Garden of Eden" but also deprives former inhabitants and others who might want
to live in the region -- and many generations to come -- the chance to
challenge these prejudgements and make themselves a homeland that might again
achieve sustainability in the Middle East. For this to happen, new leaders,
paradigms and plans for restoration must arise and become quickly rooted in the
region, with cooperation and support from individuals, organizations,
governments, companies and institutions within Iraq and outside the country.
For Online Discussion:
What is education for? What one additional principle for education can you add
to David Orr's list of six? How would you apply these principles to the
restoration of southern Iraq's marshes?
References:
V-5a Orr, David. 1991. What is education for? in Context Institute. The
Learning Revolution (IC#27). Winter, p. 52ff. Reprinted at
http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC27/Orr.htm
Research/Writing Assignment for Part V (Due Monday, December 6):
Listen to and watch the recorded webcast and read the prepared testimony of the
U.S. Congressional hearing on Iraq's marshes held in Washington, D.C. on
February 24, 2004 (see below). Then, prepare your own testimony as if you were
a representative from any nationality of real or hypothetical government agency
or non-governmental organization, or as an individual testifying on your own
behalf. In your own words, explain your purpose for appearing before the
hearing, give a report of your priorities and activities, goals and objectives.
You can base these on any material already covered in the course.
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proofed and websites checked, August 22, 2004
Stuart M. Leiderman
[log in to unmask]
603.776.0055
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