'Don't be afraid for the marshes': The battle to save Iraq's waterways

Ninety percent of its rivers are polluted, and millions of people suffer from reduced access to water. The country is the fifth most vulnerable to climate change.

There is an obvious need for freshwater for human consumption and crop irrigation, and wetlands play a vital role in Iraq.

They are important water storage systems despite high rates of evaporation and provide effective wastewater treatment. Jassim's work has also demonstrated the capacity of wetlands to absorb and treat waste.

Enhancing biodiversity is another important function of wetlands. Not only are the marshes an important wintering ground for migratory birds, but they also support viable fish populations, at one time supplying more than 60 percent of the fish consumed in the country.

Wetlands also help moderate the local climate. A dried marsh absorbs more shortwave solar radiation, causing the temperature to increase, and a lack of water also produces dust storms.

But even beyond that, the Iraqi Marshes provide an important window to the past and a sense of identity for the future. They are a huge part of the story of Iraqi civilisation and how the country once thrived.

Despite evidence of the importance of the marshes, their preservation is not a high policy priority in Iraq.

In fact, being a defender of the marshes has often pitted Jassim against powerful agriculture and oil interests as well as the Ministry of Water Resources.

Two of the largest oilfields in the world lie in what were formerly wetlands, with the development of new oilfields reducing the size of existing wetlands. In addition, oil companies are resisting the construction of an outlet to allow polluted water to esacpe the southern section of the Marshes, because it could potentially flood more land proposed for oil development.

Ultimately, everything in Iraq takes a back seat to oil, which provides the vast majority of the state's income.

On top of that, the agricultural sector feels that the water going to the marshes could better be allocated to growing crops.

Jassim's participation at international conferences and his many links outside Iraq have also raised suspicions among groups that are closely associated with Iran.

In 2018, a photo was posted online of Jassim standing next to the future prime minister of Iraq, Adel Abdul Mahdi. The post falsely accused Jassim of being a US intelligence agent.

Friends in Iraq and elsewhere came to his support, and the furore soon subsided.

However, on February 1, 2023, Jassim was kidnapped while driving to Baghdad. He was held captive and tortured for 16 days. Once again, he was lucky to survive.

Jassim now spends most of his time in Chibayish, where he is safe from those who wish him harm.

"My safety is not bad but also not good now," he said. "When I travel to Baghdad, I go with a rental car and not my own car."

Despite the danger he faces, he refuses to leave Iraq.

"Jassim is not Jassim without the marshes," he often says.

And as his uncle once said, the marshes will survive as long as there are people like Jassim to defend them.