Nahr ash Shūlī

Until the 80's the area between the two rivers consisted of thousands of km2 of wetlands, an ecosystem with channels criss-crossing and 2million inhabitants specialised on living here.
One of the crazy projects of Saddam Hussein was to drain these wetlands to get rid of these people who were causing trouble and to create large-scale agriculture. However, without the yearly floods bring fresh water water and soil , the soil was too salty and nothing grew. The result today, is an endless desert with dust storms and shrubs here-and-there.
An ecological tragedy!
10% of the surface have been declared as national park but the water levels are no longer there.Read more