The historical Hawizeh The wetlands of southern Iraq have begun to recover after years of record low water levels. The vital ecosystem has long been threatened by climate change, drought and desertification, making the area one of the world's most vulnerable. But wetlands futured is still uncertain about it climate vulnerableIraq.
After several years of record low water levels, large parts of Hawizeh-The wetlands in southern Iraq have been filled with water again. Winter's rainy seasons and that Iraq's water reserves have strengthened by approximately 6 billion cubic meters water is behind the recovery in what is described as one of the world's most endangered ecosystems. This is reported by several media outlets.
The wetlands of southern Iraq constitutes a unique water landscape in the middle of a desert environment, but has since 1970s suffered extensive damage as a result of war, oil extraction and climate change, describes United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The Area, which was once the Middle East's largest wetland ecosystem, is a crucial habitat for many animal species and an important resting and nesting place for migratory birds.
It is also home to indigenous people of Ma'dān who have lived in the area for about 5,000 years and are active in traditional agriculture and fishing. Their livelihood and economy are completely dependent on the wetlands. The area is also a UNESCO-World Heritage Site and a protected area under the international wetlands convention RAMSAR.
Although the area is protected, several oil concessions overlap the area such as Hawizeh 1, Halfaya, Huwaiza and Majnoon. An oil concession provides en eller flera aktörer the right to extract crude oil and natural gas within a specific area for a specified period of time. One of the areas, Majnoon, considered one of the world's "supergiant" oil fields with estimated reserves of up to 38 billion barrels of oil according to The Guardian. Last year at the latest UNESCO's committeeé have expressed concern about Iraq's management of the area. Varpå Iraq's Ministry of Environment has announced that they intends to strengthen cooperation on wetlands with neighboring Iran.
OOil extraction consumes water
Iraq is today the second largest oil producer Inom Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and the industry accounts for over 90 percent of the state's income. This has led to extensive international investment. At the end of 2025, the Iraqi state signed agreements with the American ExxonMobil and Chevron and the British BP to further develop the Majnoon field reports the trade newspaper Journal of Petroleum Technology. The Halfaya oil field is being operated, according to the Guardian's investigations, in turn mainly by Chinese PetroChina, with French TotalEnergies as a partner.
Adjacent to the Halfaya oil field ska PetroChina ha built six pumping stations along the Tigris River that divert approximately 60,000 cubic meters water to the oil fields. The water is used there to increase oil recovery by injection into the wells, a method that is common in the region, men requires large amounts of water.
European journalists, with the support of Journalism Fund Europe, in a series of articles have examined the impact of European oil companies on wetlands in southern Iraq. In their reviews, they found that the oil industry uses up to three barrels of water for every barrel of oil extracted, further depleting the country's already limited water resources.
Oil extraction also leads to pollution that affects the local population. The Middle East-based investigative journalism network Daraj has obtained health data for the surrounding province of Maysan. The data indicates that the number of registered cancer cases increased from around 1000 per year in 2022 and 2023 to 7,735 by the end of September 2025.
But water supply also requires regional solutions
Vthe survival of the otters is completely dependent on the water flow from the Tigris and for the last 30 years,shipens water volume decreased dramatically. The wetlands, located between the historic Tigris and Euphrates rivers, are also dependent on water flows from neighboring countries such as Turkey and Iran. Turkey has built large dams along the Tigris, which has reduced the volume of water reaching Baghdad, upstream from Hawize, by 33 percent. Iran has also diverted water from shared rivers.
Although iWater management is also a challenge across the country's borders. According to the Guardian jvocabulary sector in Iraq accounts for at least 85 percent of the country's surface water use, which often leads to overexploitation.
Despite the recent recovery, wetlands are still vulnerable and dependent of steady water flows and climate protection measures. For the people living in the area, however, the water represents new hope for the future. As fisherman Kazem Kasid puts it to the news agency AFP:
– Life will return, along with the fish and livestock, and people will feel that their homeland and future have been restored.
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