Restoring Iraq's wetland marshes to the original Eden

This BBC story included both a video and article about the marshes in Iraq. These wetlands have been thought to be the original garden of Eden but recently have been destroyed and turned into dried out holes with little life continuing to live there.

 "Upstream dams have disrupted the traditional water cycle of the marshes. The spring floods that used to flush out accumulated salt deposits and replenish the marshes with fresh minerals no longer occur. As a result the marshes are becoming more saline, affecting the ecology of the area.
The dams have also reduced the total volume of water reaching the marshes in the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Combined with a prolonged regional drought the area is suffering from a second  drying."

This damage has been done by direct effect from human forces. Saddam Hussein drained these great wetlands of southern Iraq, destroying them, turning them to desert as punishment to the people living there. However, since his overthrow, a remarkable effort has begun to restore these Mesopotamian Marshes, among the most important wetland habitat in the world.

Although this disaster was caused on purpose it is an important representation of what human influence can do to the environment and what climate change could bring if we're not careful.


 Links to the article are listed below:
 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12215046

http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9364000/9364044.stm