Ramsar Site: Hawizeh Marshes

The Hawizeh Marshes was designated as the first Ramsar site of Iraq in 2007, with an area of 137,700 hectares (1,377 sq. km.). The Hawizeh Marsh forms part of the Mesopotamian Marshes which used to be the largest freshwater marshlands in Western Eurasia. The site is internationally important for biodiversity, supporting numerous threatened species, e.g. the endangered Basra Reed Warbler Acrocephalus griseldis and the White-headed Duck Oxyura leucocephala; acting as a staging and wintering area for at least 79 species of waterfowl and nine species of raptors; and as a critical nursery area for freshwater fish. The Marsh is also of great cultural significance, providing a home for up to some 400,000 Ma'dan or Marsh Arabs for at least five thousand years, who are dependent on the resources of the marsh for survival. In 2008 a draft Management Plan for the Hawizeh Marsh Ramsar Site was prepared by the NGO Nature Iraq for the Iraq National Marshes and Wetlands Committee.