From the top of the old tourist complex built on the shores of Lake Sawa, in the province of Al-Muthanna in southern Iraq, the desert stretches as far as the eye can see. The buildings have been abandoned since the 2003 US-British invasion. "In the past, there was water up to the banks, fish and birds. We used to come to swim, picnic and take a boat ride on the lake," recalled Abdallah, a 40-year-old cab driver who has come from the neighboring town of Samawa to enjoy the calm of the place in the middle of the day. Today, the entire ecosystem of Sawa is threatened with extinction.
In April, the lake dried up completely. It formed more than 5,000 years ago near the Euphrates River, at the western end of the fertile Mesopotamian valley that stretches to the Tigris River, the cradle of the Sumerian civilization that gave the world writing and agriculture. At the beginning of the summer, water resurfaced. But for the lake – fed only by the water table that rises through cracks and fissures in the ground – there remains only a pond in the middle of a gaping crater measuring 5 by 2 kilometers. "Lake Sawa is now only 5% or 10% of its original size. It will never return to its former level. If we can at least preserve this area, it will be an achievement," said Youssef Jaber, environmental officer for Al-Muthanna province.
For a long time, Lake Sawa remained stable. "It is located very low, 6 meters above sea level and 200 meters below the surrounding desert plateaus, which allows it to collect groundwater from Syria and Saudi Arabia," explained Ali Hanoush, an agronomy expert and former member of the Al-Muthanna regional council. The unique site has been protected since 2014 by the Ramsar Convention on wetlands. Located in an area of salt pans, formed on silt rocks and surrounded by gypsum barriers, it usually acts as a climate regulator against the desertification that is rampant in the region. Its waters used to be home to shrimps and small fish that fed migratory birds stopping on its banks, including vulnerable species such as the imperial eagle, the houbara bustard and the marbled teal.
We are interested in your experience using the site.
Images of desolation
Water levels began to drop in 2015. "There are causes related to climate change. For three years, there has been no rainfall and temperatures sometimes exceed 50 °C in Samawa. Small earthquakes have closed the springs that fed the lake," said Youssef Jaber. Local human activity is also responsible. The lack of water in the region has intensified the competition between industrialists, farmers and herders to appropriate the precious resource. "Wells have been dug illegally in the surrounding desert for agricultural projects and factories such as cement and salt works. They drain a lot of water from the water table that feeds the lake, especially the saltworks," continued the local official.
You have 84.62% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.