Iraqi Marshlands and the Marsh Arabs, The: : The Ma'dan, Their Culture and the Environment

years remained similar to the ancient practices of their Sumerian forbears, and how the current marsh dwellers with their impressive reed houses (mudhif) and long canoes (mashufs) are our only link with this rich cultural past. The book is also a moving testament to these forgotten people, whose habitats, villages and very lives were progressively snuffed out by the Iraqi government during the repressive reign of Saddam Hussein. It highlights precisely how and why Saddam methodically tried to destroy these wetlands, and explores the enormous international efforts now underway to restore them. Finally, the book also demonstrates the inevitable environmental consequences of Saddam's massive destruction of the marshes: the extinction of endangered species of birds, animals and plants that were endemic to the marshes and are found nowhere else.[Publisher's text]

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