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{{Short description|Marshes in Southern Iraq; a UNESCO World Heritage Site}}{{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
| WHS           = East Hammar Marshes
| Part_of       = [[Ahwar of Southern Iraq]]
| Type          = Mixed
| Criteria      = (iii)(v)(ix)(x)
| ID            = 1481-003
| Coordinates   = {{coord|30|44|21|N|47|26|19|E|format=dms|display=inline, title}}
| Year          = 2016
| Area          = {{convert|20,342|ha|sqmi|abbr=on}}
| Buffer_zone   = {{convert|12,721|ha|sqmi|abbr=on}}
| locmapin      = Iraq
}}
{{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
| WHS           = West Hammar Marshes 
| Part_of       = [[Ahwar of Southern Iraq]]
| Type          = Mixed
| Criteria      = (iii)(v)(ix)(x)
| ID            = 1481-004
| Coordinates   = {{coord|30|50|30|N|46|41|03|E|format=dms}}
| Year          = 2016
| Area          = {{convert|79,991|ha|sqmi|abbr=on}}
| Buffer_zone   = {{convert|68,403|ha|sqmi|abbr=on}}
| locmapin      = Iraq
}}
{{Designation list
 | designation1 = Ramsar
 | designation1_offname = Hammar Marsh
 | designation1_date = 7 April 2014
 | designation1_number = 2242<ref name=Shabeeb>{{cite book |author=Al Shabeeb, S. |year=2015 |title=Ramsar Information Sheet for Site no. 2242, Hammar Marsh, Iraq |publisher=Ramsar Sites Information Service |location=Gland |url=https://rsis.ramsar.org/RISapp/files/RISrep/IQ2242RIS_1509_en.pdf}}</ref>}}
[[Image:Iraq marshes 1994.jpg|thumb|260px|1994 Map of The [[Mesopotamian Marshes]] with draining features]]
The '''Hammar Marshes''' ({{Langx|ar|هور الحمار}}) are a large [[wetland]] complex in southeastern [[Iraq]] that are part of the [[Mesopotamian Marshes]] in the [[Tigris–Euphrates river system]]. Historically, the Hammar Marshes extended up to {{convert|4500|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} during seasonal floods.<ref name=Shabeeb/>  They were destroyed during the 1990s by large-scale drainage, dam and dike construction projects. Since 2003, they are recovering following reflooding and destruction of dams.<ref name=Richardson2006>{{cite journal |author1=Richardson, C.J. |author2=Hussain, N.A. |year=2006 |title=Restoring the Garden of Eden: an ecological assessment of the marshes of Iraq |journal=BioScience |volume=56 |issue=6 |pages=477–489 |doi=10.1641/0006-3568(2006)56[477:RTGOEA]2.0.CO;2|doi-access=free }}</ref>

==Geography==
The Hammar Marshes are located in the [[Dhi Qar Governorate|Dhi Qar]] and [[Basra Governorate]]s. They are bordered in the north by the city of [[Al-Qurnah]], in the northeast by the [[Euphrates River]], in the southeast by the city of [[Basra]], in the south by [[saline lake]]s and the [[Arabian Desert]], in the west and northwest by the urban centres of [[Nasiriyah]] and Al-Chibayish. Its main water sources are the Euphrates and its tributaries. Additional water from the [[Tigris]] reached the wetland through overflow from the [[Central Marshes (Iraq)|Central Marshes]]. Until the 1970s, the wetland stretched over {{convert|120|x|25|km|mi|abbr=on}} and permanently covered an area of {{convert|2800|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} that extended to about {{convert|4500|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} during seasonal floods.<ref name=Shabeeb/> It was the largest in [[West Asia]].<ref name=Richardson2006/>

The shallow [[eutrophic]] and slightly [[brackish]] [[Lake Hammar]] is the largest water body in the Hammar Marshes.<ref name=Salman_al2014>{{cite journal |author=Salman, S.D. |author2=Abbas, M.F. |author3=Ghazi, A.H.M. |author4=Ahmed, H.K. |author5=Akash, A.N. |author6=Douabul, A.A. |author7=Warner, B.G. |author8=Asada, T. |year=2014 |title=Seasonal changes in zooplankton communities in the re-flooded Mesopotamian wetlands, Iraq |journal=Journal of Freshwater Ecology |volume=29 |issue=3 |pages=397−412 |doi=10.1080/02705060.2014.907547 |s2cid=83503578 }}</ref>

== Ethnic groups ==
The main ethnic group in the area is the [[Marsh Arabs]].<ref name=Shabeeb/>

==History==
Massive drainage projects were started in the 1990s. Canals and embankments were built that split the once contiguous wetland into two, the West and East Hammar Marshes. An additional barrier between the two parts is the [[Rumaila oil field]].<ref name=Shabeeb/>
By 2000, less than 15% of the Hammar Marshes remained. Following the [[2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq]], returning Marsh Arabs broke embankments and drainage works, so that the wetland started to reflood. By the following year, vegetation had regrown significantly in the western part of the Hammar Marshes, and wildlife species returned. Recovery of the marshland habitat has been greater than expected, though there are still long-term risks to the habitat's viability due to pollution and water extraction from the Euphrates.<ref name=Richardson2006/> The salinity level of the re-flooded wetlands is higher than in typical freshwater wetlands.<ref name=Salman_al2014/>

== Wildlife ==
=== Flora ===
The main plant species in the Hammar Marshes are [[Ceratophyllum demersum|hornwort]], [[Myriophyllum verticillatum|whorl-leaf watermilfoil]], [[common reed]], [[Schoenoplectus|bulrush]], [[Stuckenia pectinata|sago pondweed]], [[Typha domingensis|southern cattail]] and [[Potamogeton lucens|shining pondweed]].<ref name=Shabeeb/><ref name=Richardson2006/>

=== Fauna ===
Bird counts between 2003 and 2005 revealed that the most common species in the Hammar Marshes are [[little egret]], [[black-headed gull]], [[slender-billed gull]], [[common gull]] and [[little tern]].<ref name=Richardson2006/>
Notable birds include [[western marsh harrier]], [[purple heron]], [[grey heron]], [[great cormorant]], [[western cattle egret]], [[black-winged stilt]], [[little grebe]], [[pied kingfisher]], [[white-throated kingfisher]] and [[malachite kingfisher]], [[white wagtail]], [[isabelline shrike]], [[bluethroat]], [[Iraq babbler]], [[white-eared bulbul]], [[graceful prinia]], [[common chiffchaff]] and [[house sparrow]].<ref name=Shabeeb/>

Mammal-oriented surveys carried out between 2009 and 2012 revealed the presence of [[jungle cat]], [[European otter]], [[gray wolf]], [[red fox]], [[golden jackal]], [[striped hyena]], [[honey badger]], [[small Asian mongoose]], [[wild boar]], [[long-eared hedgehog]], [[Kuhl's pipistrelle]], [[Cape hare]], [[Euphrates jerboa]], [[brown rat]], [[Asian house shrew]], [[Etruscan shrew]] and [[house mouse]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Al Sheikhly, O. F. |author2=Haba, M. K. |author3=Barbanera, F. |author4=Csorba, G. |author5=Harrison, D. L. |year=2015 |title=Checklist of the Mammals of Iraq (Chordata: Mammalia) |journal=Bonn Zoological Bulletin |volume=64 |issue=1 |pages=33–58}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.iraqfoundation.org/projects_new/edenagain/ Iraq Foundation: Eden Again Project] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304094824/http://www.iraqfoundation.org/projects_new/edenagain/ |date=2016-03-04 }}

[[Category:Marshes of Iraq]]
[[Category:Euphrates]]
[[Category:Environmental issues in Iraq]]
[[Category:Tigris River]]
[[Category:Shatt al-Arab basin]]
[[Category:Ramsar sites in Iraq]]
[[Category:Mesopotamian Marshes]]