It's evocative and beautifully written, though mostly sad news. “This is the purest water anywhere in the marshes,” Abbas says. Carp dart around and kingfisher

It's evocative and beautifully written, though mostly sad news. “This is the purest water anywhere in the marshes,” Abbas says. Carp dart around and kingfishers and gulls fly overhead. There are at least 15 species of fish in the Hawizeh, and over 150 species of birds found throughout the marshes, including four that are endemic and eight that are globally threatened. Some, like the Basra reed warbler, survived the draining of its habitat against the odds, breeding in pockets of remaining reedbed before returning, Phoenix-like, after the re-flooding.