Iraq's Marsh Arabs test the waters as wetlands ruined by Saddam are reborn | Global development | The Guardian

19.1.17

Iraq's Marsh Arabs test the waters as wetlands ruined by Saddam are reborn | Global development | The Guardian: Many of them, particularly those who spent a decade in exile in neighbouring Iran, will just be pleased to return home. “Everything we do – from buffalo breeding to fishing – is connected to the water, so it’s good to live in the middle of the water,” said Haidar Hammeed, whose family have gone from one temporary lodging to another over the past few years. “It’s more practical.”

Coming at a time of conflict and low oil prices, which has seen the ministry of water resources’ allocation from the state’s capital investment fund cut from $1.7bn (�1.4bn) in 2013 to $90m (�73m) in 2016, some wonder if this is the best use of scarce resources. But the minister and local NGOs insist this is no mere aesthetic exercise.