Shafaq News – Maysan

Iraq’s Hawizeh Marshes are collapsing into an environmental and humanitarian crisis, with more than 15 villages and several river tributaries completely dried up, environmental activist Murtadha al-Janoubi warned on Monday.

Al-Janoubi told Shafaq News the emergency began six weeks ago and has escalated with the disappearance of water from key offshoots of the al-Kahla River—al-Taws, al-Asijji, and al-Zubair—as well as the al-Musharrah River in al-Awainya. “Water has vanished—there’s not even enough to drink,” he said, describing how buffalo are dying daily from lack of reeds, papyrus, and stagnant water, their only sources of food and hydration.

He recalled watching a pregnant buffalo collapse and miscarry in a dry pit, noting that residents now refer to these parched trenches as “the wandering killer.”

While the Agriculture Ministry hasn’t published livestock loss data, al-Janoubi stressed that most families rely on water buffalo for food and income and are now abandoning their starving herds.

Despite multiple protests demanding the restoration of water flow, al-Janoubi affirmed Baghdad has remained unresponsive. He blamed the crisis on mismanagement and diverted water allocations, pointing out that al-Kahla is supposed to receive 18 cubic meters per second but gets none, while Basra draws 90.

“This crisis has dragged on for four years,” he asserted, “but it’s now beyond the marshes—the rivers themselves are dying.”