Lessons learned from environmental management of the Iraqi marshlands in the post-conflict period

As part of the United Nations assistance for the reconstruction of Iraq, the United Nations Environment Programme implemented a large-scale initiative in the Iraqi marshlands to help address critical environmental degradation that hampered the stability and livelihoods of the Marshland communities. The project demonstrated environmentally sound technologies and management practices for rehabilitating wetlands and maintaining water-quality management, provided safe drinking water to residents in selected rural communities, and also carried out pilot-scale sanitation service provision. This case study summarizes two types of natural-resource management activities undertaken within the project, namely drinking-water provision and wetland rehabilitation.