Mesopotamian Marshes
Dhi Qar, Iraq · 31.00°, 47.00° · Wetland loss
The vast marshes of southern Iraq were drained to a tenth of their size, partly revived, and are now drying again behind upstream dams.
The marshes where the Tigris and Euphrates meet were among the largest wetlands in Eurasia and the home of the Marsh Arabs for thousands of years. Saddam Hussein's government drained them in the 1990s; after 2003 locals breached the dykes and water returned to much of the area, and they were made a World Heritage Site in 2016. Dams in Turkey and Iran, drought and salinity have since shrunk them again, killing water buffalo and emptying villages.
In the game
Mesopotamian Marshes flares up as Polluted water. The fix is a gesture: drag through the floating waste to sweep it up. Done right, it becomes Water cleaned ♻️. Finish all three steps of its chain in one round for a combo, or take your time in Explore mode: a place you fully restore stays green on your map for good.
🧭 Fly there and restore it▶ Play a 60-second round