The
Mesopotamian Marshes or Iraqi Marshes are a
wetland area located in southern
Iraq and partially in southwestern
Iran and
Kuwait. Historically the
marshlands, mainly composed of the separate but adjacent
Central,
Hawizeh and
Hammar Marshes, used to be the largest wetland
ecosystem of Western
Eurasia. It is a rare aquatic landscape in the desert, providing habitat for the
Marsh Arabs and important populations of wildlife. Draining of portions of the marshes began in the 1950s and continued through the 1970s to reclaim land for agriculture and oil exploration. However, in the late 1980s and 1990s, during the presidency of
Saddam Hussein, this work was expanded and accelerated to evict
Shia Muslims from the marshes. Before 2003, the marshes were drained to 10% of their original size. After the fall of Hussein's regime in 2003, the marshes have partially recovered but drought along with upstream dam construction and operation in
Turkey,
Syria and Iran have hindered the process.