How dried-out wetlands on the Iran/Iraq border threaten the region

TimesLIVE

28-05-2025

The dust storms that have choked Iranians and Iraqis for weeks and hospitalised thousands are the canary in the coal mine for a complex environmental disaster unfolding in wetlands straddling the two countries' border.
The Hoor al-Hawizeh wetlands, north of the southern Iraqi city of Basra, are drying out and experts warn continued decline, including in the connected Hoor al-Azim marshes in Iran, could drive water shortages, migration and conflict.
'These marshes once acted as natural barriers, trapping fine sediments and maintaining soil moisture,' said Hossein Hashemi, an associate professor of water resource engineering at Lund University in Sweden.
'Their shrinkage, caused by upstream dam construction, wartime destruction and climate change, has exposed vast stretches of loose, dry sediment,' he said.
'As winds sweep across these barren areas, they lift large quantities of fine dust, leading to more frequent and intense storms.'
The degradation of the wetlands, part of the Mesopotamian Marshes, also threatens unique wildlife, including softshell turtles, birds, fish and water plants.
Hoor al-Hawizeh is recognised by Unesco for its biodiversity and cultural heritage, and Iraqi sections are designated wetlands of international importance on the Ramsar List, the world's largest list of protected areas.
On the Iran side, Hoor al-Azim is a crucial source of food, water, jobs and tourism to millions of people in the southwestern Khuzestan province, but now it is under threat.
'This brings with it the issue of forced migration, displacement, conflict, poverty, unemployment, hunger and more,' said Kaveh Madani, director of the UN University Institute for Water, Environment and Health and a former deputy head of Iran's department of environment.
Data from Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran shows that since the early 1970s, Hoor al-Azim has declined from about 124,000ha to 60,650ha.
That means nearly half of its original area, including water and reed beds, has disappeared, mainly, scientists say, because of oil exploration, farming, dam building and climate change.
'The degradation has contributed to the displacement of local communities, increased poverty and reduced agricultural productivity,' said Ali Torabi Haghighi, associate professor of water resource management at the University of Oulu in Finland.
'It has led to severe biodiversity loss, particularly among migratory bird species, native fish populations and other aquatic and semi-aquatic life,' he added.
In July 2021, one of the largest waves of nationwide protests began in Khuzestan over drought and water shortages. Security forces killed dozens and thousands were arrested, according to the human rights group, Amnesty International.
Those same stresses persist today with temperatures exceeding 55°C in the summer and drought again stalking the land.
In May, about a thousand people were hospitalised in Khuzestan each day with heart and respiratory illnesses from sand and dust storms.
Madani said urgent action was needed, not least to prevent political tensions flaring with countries accusing each other of not releasing enough water into the wetlands.
Wildfires worsen the pollution. In early May, thousands of hectares of Hoor al-Azim caught fire, local media said.
Earlier this year, smoke and pollution from fires on the Iraqi side of the wetlands engulfed villages in Khuzestan, forcing schools and offices to shut for days.
'As the marshes lose water, the once-lush vegetation turns into dry, flammable tinder, making the region highly susceptible to wildfires, whether ignited by natural causes, human activity or deliberate burning,' said Hashemi.
'Given the shared ecosystem, a fire on one side [of the border] directly affects the other, highlighting the need for bilateral co-operation in fire prevention, wetland restoration and air pollution control,' he said.
As well as climate effects, human activities are degrading the marshes. About 80% of Iran's oil production is in Khuzestan and a 2021 study found that since the early 2000s, oil exploration projects have caused 'significant damage'.
Hamidreza Khodabakhshi, a water planning expert and environmental activist in Khuzestan, said oil exploration had caused parts of the wetlands to dry up.
'Road construction and pipeline installation have not only damaged the ecosystem but also blocked the natural flow of water,' he said.
In February, oil minister Mohsen Paknejad told a meeting in Ahvaz, the main city in Khuzestan, that the government took responsibility.
'We are the ones who dried up the wetland and we are the ones who hurt the people of Khuzestan — now we need to prioritise the employment needs of locals,' he said.
The Hoor al-Hawizeh marshes are fed by water from the Tigris River in Iraq and the Karkheh River in southwest Iran — sources that have sometimes become a point of conflict.
Iran, Iraq and Turkey have constructed dams upstream that scientists say have significantly harmed Hoor al-Hawizeh.
Since 2009, the marsh has also been effectively divided by a 65km dyke built along the border by Iran to keep water in its territory.
Haghighi said tensions also flared over water allocation.
'In many cases, maintaining ecological water flows is given lower priority compared with agricultural, hydropower and municipal uses, resulting in severe consequences for wetland health,' he said.
Scientists hope to raise the case of Hoor al-Azim at the next meeting of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in Zimbabwe in July.
'Sand and dust storms and wildfires are examples of the complex problems that are going to require complex solutions through diplomacy and co-operation,' Madani said.
Thomson Reuters Foundation