Mesopotamian Marshes & Modern Development
Practical Approaches for Sustaining Restored Ecological & Cultural Landscapes

Conference at Harvard Design School on October 28th – 30th, 2004
Pre-Conference discussion panels in New York City on October 26th and in Cambridge, Massachusetts on October 27th and photographic exhibitions at Harvard University starting on October 20th

Hosted by: The Harvard Design School Center for Technology and Environment, the Harvard University Center for the Environment, the Center for International Development at Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, and the Harvard Design School Department of Landscape Architecture
And Co-Sponsored by: Applied Ecological Services, Canadian International Development Agency, CH2M HILL, Dharma Living Systems, Design Workshop, Ducks Unlimited, Iraq Foundation-Eden Again Project, Jones & Jones, Michael Baker Corporation, Montgomery Watson Harza, and North American Wetland Engineering, United States Agency of International Development

web address: www.gsd.harvard.edu/mesomarshes
email: mesomarshes@gsd.harvard.edu
conference phone line: 617-495-0647

The Mesopotamian marshes of southern Iraq, thought by some to be the original Garden of Eden, once provided habitat for millions of migrating birds and was inhabited since the time of the Sumerians by thousands of people living on artificial islands of mud and reeds and depending on sustainable fishing and farming. Since the early 1990s, a series of water manipulations have devastated this ecologically and culturally crucial region, leading to one of the most severe “ecocides” in history. The challenge is to creatively design and sustain an environmental restoration endeavor that will allow both for the preservation of traditional lifestyles and for modern development. Previous conferences have examined the feasibility of restoration efforts and the expected products that might ensue. The present conference will instead focus on practical approaches for sustaining the process of those restoration efforts, both during and after the reparation work. Furthermore, where other conferences have focused primarily on either the natural or the cultural aspects of restoration, but not on both, we recognize that by its very concept and application, restoration blurs the lines between what is “natural” and what is “cultural.” We hope to offer possible solutions to the sustainable development, both ecological and economic, of the restored Mesopotamian marshlands.

hello and thank you for posting information on the upcoming Mesopotamian marshlands conference in New York and Cambridge.

registration is still open for my 3-credit online course, "Iraq: Restoring the Marshes" hosted by the School of Continuing Education and Environmental Studies program at the University of Vermont-Burlington. For registration: <http://learn.uvm.edu> For others who simply want to follow the course of study, please contact me directly for course materials, readings, assignments, etc. <leidermn@christa.unh.edu> 603.776.0055

thank you,

Stuart M. Leiderman
"Environmental Refugees and Ecological Restoration"
Environmental Response/4th World Project
c/o Natural Resources Department, James 215
University of New Hampshire-Durham 03824 USA
leidermn@christa.unh.edu
603.776.0055

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Fall Term, September 3 to December 6, 2004

ENV195 [92701] "IRAQ: RESTORING THE MARSHLANDS"

Instructor: Stuart Leiderman 603.776.0055 leidermn@christa.unh.edu

Continuing Education, University of Vermont, Burlington
800. 639-3210 http://www.uvm.edu/~learn/

PART I: THE PAST: 3000 B.C. - 2002
Preconceptions; Speeches in Parliament;
Human and Environmental Dimensions; Demise?

PART II: THE PRESENT: 2003-2004
Ten Years' War, Five Years More; Re-entry, Reassessment;
Early Revival? Work to Do; Whose Marshes?

PART III: CAST OF CHARACTERS
United States; Iraq; United Nations;
Non-governmental Organizations and Academia; Business and Industry

PART IV: RESTORATION TOOLBOX
Conservation; Ecological Restoration; Wetlands;
Wetlands Restoration; Wadi Gaza Nature Park

PART V: THE FLORIDA CONNECTION
The Everglades; Marshlands Congressional Hearing
Ghosts of the Marshes; What Is Education For?

INTRODUCTION:

Throughout the 1990's, the regime of Saddam Hussein committed genocide and ecocide against the people and environment of Mesopotamia -- the vast marshlands between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Southern Iraq. The government did this through a secret "Plan for the Marshes" to drain away its life-giving water and attack, kill and scatter its half-million inhabitants who were predominantly Shi'a Moslem
and perceived to be a threat to the ruling Ba'athists who were predominantly Sunni Moslem. Today, the former regime is gone and the country is occupied by other forces, but Mesopotamia is still a depopulated wasteland.

A new plan for the marshes is urgently needed to restore the environment and permit the return of refugees and others who might settle there and resume their distinctive way of life. For restoration models, the degraded Florida Everglades is comparable in size, but that project has become extremely politicized and there is little progress to report despite the promise of commitment of billions of dollars. And while the Everglades is principally a wildland -- birds, reptiles, panthers, grass, reeds and trees -- Mesopotamia is a homeland whose pastoral and fishing communities, until recently, provided large amounts of food and fiber for all of Iraq.

The task of restoring Mesopotamia is just beginning. It will require the confidence, courage, willingness, resources and know-how of teachers, students, scientists, engineers, doctors, humanitarians, environmentalists, journalists and businesses from all over the world. Already, major participants include Iraq's Ministries of Environment and Water Resources, the University of Basrah, the U.S. Agency for International Development [USAID], the U.N. Environment Programme [UNEP], Iraq Foundation, AMAR Appeal, al-Khoei Foundation, Bird Life International, Wetlands International and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. For success, their work must be assertive, coordinated, ethical and cost-effective. It must include native Iraqis, especially marsh refugees, and preserve the continuity of indigenous marsh culture. It must be able to resist the counter pressures of Big Oil, agribusiness, urbanization and Western-style development. In the instructor's opinion, the job is too big for experts alone. Nevertheless, there is a need for a "Jacques Cousteau (or Jane Goodall) of the Marshes" who could come from anywhere on Earth -- even from a college campus -- to champion the cause of the marshlands, the surviving refugees and a new generation of a half-million Mesopotamians.

The instructor has studied, written, lectured and organized programs about Southern Iraq for more than ten years. He has extensive files and contacts accessible to students, and is working on the creation of a Center for Southern Iraq Restoration Studies at Basrah University, located between the marshes and the Persian Gulf in Iraq's second-largest city. He believes the greatest possible participation is necessary for restoring and protecting Mesopotamia's marshlands. A recent article is posted on the web at <http://www.carnegiecouncil.org/viewMedia.php/prmTemplateID/8/prmID/4458>

PLAN OF THE COURSE

For the fall session, the course is divided into five major parts (The Past, The Present, Cast of Characters, Restoration Toolbox, The Florida Connection) that, in turn, are divided into five sub-topics each. This makes for two subtopics per week. A research/writing assignment on the material covered is due the Monday following completion of each major part. 5-10 double-spaced pages for each paper will be sufficient.

Each major part is introduced and a brief introduction is given for each subtopic, then a discussion assignment and reading list of articles, speeches, reports, interviews and other documentation that pertain to the plight and of the marshlands of Southern Iraq and the efforts to restore them. Most will be found on the internet by following the hyperlinks. The remainder will be posted on the course site and/or e-mailed to students in advance.

This course is unsynchronized, meaning that the course site is always open and students may post their answers and comments at any time of the day or night. The "string" of group discussion for each subtopic simply accumulates in its own file on the course site and can be revisited at any time. For a satisfactory grade, students are expected to log onto the course site at least twice for each subtopic discussion -- once to post their initial comments and once to respond to comments of other students. The instructor will join the discussion from time to time to clarify or add points of view, probe the group on what they are learning and suggest how their research may lead to direct involvement in the actual ongoing restoration effort.

GOALS

Students will learn about and appreciate the plight of the marshlands and become familiar with the needs and plans for their restoration. They will become aware of the diversity of individuals and organizations needed to accomplish region-sized ecological restoration, refugee resettlement and wetlands management.

OBJECTIVES

The course aims to help internationalize the effort to restore and reinhabit the marshlands of southern Iraq. It also aims to increase the resources and support available for the job. Thus, students who satisfactorily complete the course will be considered qualified to be "electronic interns" for Iraqi and other environmental and humanitarian agencies and organizations. Their work could range from research to education, fundraising to day-to-day correspondence with refugees, scientists, engineers and other professionals.

HYPOTHESIS

An online course of study can offer students a way to learn about the marshlands of Southern Iraq and develop opportunities to become involved in the restoration effort as, for example, an "online intern" for an organization, agency, community or individual directly involved in some aspect of the restoration effort.

CALENDAR

Fri-Sun, Sep 3-5: Orientation to the Online Course
Mon, Sep 6: Labor Day
Tue, Sep 7: I-1 Preconceptions
Thu, Sep 9: I-2 Emma Nicholson's Speeches, UK Parliament
Mon, Sep 13: I-3 Human and Environmental Dimensions
Wed, Sep 15: I-4 Human and Environmental Dimensions cont'd
Thu-Fri, Sep 16-17: Rosh Hashonah
Tue, Sep 21: I-5 Demise?
Thu, Sep 23: II-1 Ten Years' War, Five Years More
Sat, Sep 25: Yom Kippur
Mon, Sep 27: Research/Writing Assignment Due for Part I
Tue, Sep 28: II-2 Re-entry, Reassessment
Thu, Sep 30: II-3 Early Revival?
Tue, Oct 5: II-4 Work to Do
Thu, Oct 7: II-5 Whose Marshes?
Fri, Oct 8: University of Vermont Fall Recess
Mon, Oct 11: Research/Writing Assignment Due for Part II
Tue, Oct 12: III-1 United States
Thu, Oct 14: III-2 Iraq
Tues, Oct 19: III-3 United Nations
Thu. Oct 21: III-4 NGO's and Academia
Tues, Oct 26: III-5 Business and Industry
Thu, Oct 28: IV-1 Conservation
Mon, Nov 1: Research/Writing Assignment Due for Part III
Tue, Nov 2: Election Day
Wed, Nov 3: IV-2: Ecological Restoration
Fri, Nov 5: IV-3: Wetlands
Tue, Nov 9: IV-4: Wetlands Restoration
Thu, Nov 11: IV-5: Wadi Gaza Nature Park
Mon, Nov 15: Research/Writing Assignment Due for Part IV
Tue, Nov 16: V-1: The Everglades 1
Thu. Nov 18: V-2: The Everglades 2
Tue, Nov 23: V-3: Marshlands Congressional Hearing
Wed-Fri, Nov 24-26: Thanksgiving Recess
Tue, Nov 30: V-4: Ghosts of the Marshes
Thu, Dec 2: V-5: What is Education For?
Mon Dec 6: Research/Writing Assignment Due for Part V

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http://peacework.blogspot.com
Anna Sophia Bachman

Here is my poem about the house I am currently living in ... in a moment of heat-induced weakness (the dorms at the University have no AC) I accepted an offer to live at the house of a wealthy Shiek who lives right on the river Tigris. It's a great place, but a strange place as well and I don't like the bunker mentality that seems to envelop these heavily-guarded houses. But I'm only here for a few weeks and it's helped me to strengthen (slightly) my arabic. [Added note: a mudhif is a house made of marsh grasses and typical of Marsh Arab construction. juwo and barra are Iraqi arabic words for inside and outside.]

In the house of the closed doors

There are steps down to the river, loose stones, a bar of soap
The oily, brown water slides by placidly
But there are whirlpools that arise and play from the turbulence beneath.

There is a mudhif in the garden, an unused swing and fountains with no wishes ... not even a penny's worth
The fluffy chickens strut idly by
But there is talk of politics on smooth, white stone.

There are men, many men, in knots and in guard towers, vigilant and smiling
The garden is quiet with a fire hose pumping river water an inch deep
But there are dark cars lined up at the ready.

There is the sound of the generator, helicopters overhead and gunfire in the distance
The men go about their business as they've always done
But we are not apart from the events in this city.

There is a house with closed doors, a lock with only two keys, two key masters
The mirrored domes echo my flute nicely
But we're all locked out by language and understanding.

Stay inside they tell me, in this house, behind this gate.
Here is safety, danger is outside, stupid, foolish Westerner
But they speak behind closed doors and that's what they know.

I agree, yes ... you are right, yes ... there is danger
But there is no life behind closed doors
Life is not just juwo, it is barra ... not only inside but out.

(And if I held safety so dear ... why would I have left my home to come to this place and stay behind closed doors?)

Monday, July 05, 2004