The (proposed) Mesopotamia Marshlands National Park

The program for the establishment of the Mesopotamia Marshlands National Park (MMNP) started in April 2006 within the New Eden Project carried out and funded by the Italian Ministry of the Environment, Land and Sea. A Feasibility Study was developed in 2007 as the preliminary document to assess the real possibility of creating a protected area in the Marshlands of Southern Iraq. The consequent draft version of the Management Plan for the Iraqi Mesopotamia National Park was developed in 2008 and submitted for approval to the National Committee for Protected Areas. The draft Management Plan was then integrated by the outline of an Operational Program in 2008-2009, and by an updated version of the National Park’s Management plan in 2010. The Park area comprises land from three Governorates and five districts: Missan (45.67%) in the North (districts of Al Majar Al Kabeer and Al Maimona), Thi-Qar (45,68%) in the West (districts of Nassiriyah and Chibayish), and Basrah (8,65 %) in the East (district of Mudainah). The area covers an extent of 139,654 hectares, with a maximum length of 51 km and a width of 36 km. Figure 2 – map of the proposed Mesopotamia Marshlands National Park in southern Iraq (source: draft Management Plan - Interim Report 2010) The overall aim was to provide the southern marshes of Iraq with a plan to ensure the restoration and protection of the environmental and cultural heritage of the Central Marshes, while ensuring a sustainable development of the area and increasing the values of its unique features, so that they can be enjoyed by present and future generations. The peculiar bio-geographical situation of the lower Mesopotamia Marshlands provides a kind of bridge between the African region (the so-called “Arabic region of the African plate”) and Eurasian region (e.g. through the Miocene-Pliocene-Pleistocene fusion of Angara with Paleoeurope). This situation explains the presence of many endemic species in the Iraqi territory as well as the high ecological value of the lower Mesopotamia wetlands, both at regional and international level. Among the Iraqi endemic species we find many important species of aquatic and terrestrial fauna and flora, of which some are unique to this area: bird species like Tachybaptus ruficollis iraquensis; Anhinga rufa chantrei; Acrocephalus Griseldis; Turdoides Altirostris, mammals like Lutra perspicillata maxwelli, Erythronesokia bunnii and Gerbillus mesopotamiae, fish species like Barbus Sharpeyi. Although currently within the proposed area of the National Park there are few scattered small villages, before the drainage the marshlands were densely populated and natural resources of the territory used for the livelihood of a population that, it is estimated, was around 500,000 inhabitants. The existence of important tribes that exercise their customs on precise areas of the territory, the use of traditional natural resources handed down from generations, the legends and the historical facts related to particular sites are part of a heritage strongly shared and supported. Furthermore, the presence of more than documented 60 archaeological sites still unexplored gives an historic importance throughout the area that, although still to assess, will certainly exert great interest for all the international community and attract, in the future, the interest of tour operators. In October 2009 the members of the National Committee for Protected Areas expressed their approval on the draft Management Plan and the documents were forwarded to the General Secretariat of the Ministries Council. As of May 2012, the MMNP official approval procedure is not completed yet.