The impact of climate on tourism in the marshes of southern Iraq

Zaid Hakim Jiyad
Under the supervision of Lect. Dr. Ali Khazal Jawad

Investing in tourism in the marshes of southern Iraq is an attractive factor for tourists and satisfies their desires in terms of visiting different natural places, learning about their terrain, plants and wildlife, as well as getting to know the communities living in the depths of the marshes in order to learn about their customs and traditions. The marshes are among the largest and richest water swamps in the world in terms of their biological diversity, as their borders extend around the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates, and since the inhabitants of the marshes live in houses built of reeds in a wonderful engineering manner, they have built them since ancient times on an area of islands in the depths of the marshes. These islands have developed and become cities and villages, including in Maysan Governorate (Al-Majar Al-Kabir, and Al-Kahla), and in Dhi Qar Governorate, the city of (Al-Jabaish, Al-Fuhud, and Al-Hammar) and other cities. As for Basra Governorate, these islands have developed and become of economic importance, including (Al-Madinah, and Al-Huwair). The marshes in Iraq have important economic resources, as they are rich in plant and animal wealth, water birds and fish, which the inhabitants of the marshes depend on for their livelihood, in addition to their archaeological sites. Therefore, it is important to invest in the natural environmental resources in the marshlands for tourism purposes, especially since one of the most important negatives in Iraq is the lack of exploitation of the country’s natural reserves for tourism purposes. Accordingly, the reality of the marshes has specifications that attract tourism from all over the world in order to obtain economic returns and employ many workers in various fields that serve the tourism sector. Also, interest in the tourism sector, especially in the southern regions (the marshes), will reduce poverty by reducing the phenomenon of unemployment prevalent in the marshlands, and this leads to a revival in the marshlands through the mixing of the culture of tourists with the ancient culture of Iraq in the southern marshlands, and increasing cultural awareness among the inhabitants of the southern marshlands. Accordingly, investing in the tourism sector has become one of the main sectors that is no less important than other economic sectors due to the distinction of this sector in employing large numbers of residents of tourist areas.