Can Iraq reach dam agreement with Turkey to protect marshes? By Adnan Abu Zeed

BAGHDAD — Severe drought is affecting agricultural lands across Iraq because of the low levels of river water. Iraqi officials have raised the alarm on the negative impact of the Turkish Ilisu Dam on the Tigris River, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2016. Iraqi Minister of Water Resources Hassan al-Janabi and other politicians have been vocal on this matter.

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Wetlands into Drylands: Finances, Security and Mother Nature Conspiring Against Iraq’s Southern Marshes. By Raad Salem

The buffaloes that Jabbar Hassan farms moved too slowly across the marshland. They looked tired and too thin; seven had already died because it was too hot and the marshes where they live are becoming too dry. A severe drought is impacting on the Jabayesh marshes, where Hassan and his family live in southern Iraq; Jabayesh lies about 95 kilometres east of Nasiriya, the capital

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The River Tigris and the Dangers Ahead: By Dr. Hassan Janabi *

The River Tigris faces a number of real dangers, most of them associated with completed projects or ones underway in neighboring states. The most important are:   The Ilisu Dam in Turkey (under construction). The diversion of river tributaries originating in Iran (either underway or perhaps in most cases completed). The huge pumping station in Syria that aims to pump

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Water supply key to outcome of conflicts in Iraq and Syria, experts warn – Security analysts in London and Baghdad say control of rivers and dams has become a major tactical weapon for Isis. By John Vidal

The outcome of the Iraq and Syrian conflicts may rest on who controls the region’s dwindling water supplies, say security analysts in London and Baghdad. Rivers, canals, dams, sewage and desalination plants are now all military targets in the semi-arid region that regularly experiences extreme water shortages, says Michael Stephen, deputy director of the Royal United Services

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