Return of the Garden of Eden
The Garden of Eden, the biblical reference, has long been thought to located be twixt the Tigris and Euphrates in what we now know politically as Iraq. During the Gulf War in 1991 Saddam Hussein drained 93% of the marshes there, obliterating the largest wetland ecosystem in the Middle East. Despite this disappearance of most of this habitat for many years every species, all 278 recorded bird species, survived by hanging on in small spots waiting for the water to spread again so their populations could rebound. Now Iraq's Council of Ministers have designated this land and are working to restore it as Iraq's first national park. The Garden of Eden hasn't come all the way back yet. There are still patches that have not returned but 76% of the potentially restorable marshland was flooded last year and now the remaining issue is its continued protection. This will require an international agreement on water sharing among neighboring countries. I wonder how the Garden will fare until such an agreement is forged. I know the dispute over water between states in this country is often hotly contested. In the Middle East I hope the Garden of Eden, like the Bible, continues to live on.