Sawa lake

SAWA LAKE, Iraq: A “No Fishing” sign on the edge of Iraq’s western desert is one of the few clues that this was once Sawa Lake, a biodiverse wetland and recreational landmark. Human activity and climate change have combined to turn the site into a barren wasteland with piles of salt. Abandoned hotels and tourist facilities here hark back to the 1990s when the salt lake, circled by sandy banks, was in its heyday and popular with newly-weds and families who came to swim and picnic. But today, the lake near the city of Samawa, south of the capital Baghdad, is completely dry. Bottles litter its former banks and plastic bags dangle from sun-scorched shrubs, while two pontoons have been reduced to rust. “This year, for the first time, the lake has disappeared,” environmental activist Husam Subhi said. “In previous years, the water area had decreased during the dry seasons.” Today, on the sandy ground sprinkled with salt, only a pond remains where tiny fish swim, in a source that connects the lake to an underground water table. The five-square-kilometer (two-square-mile) lake has been drying up since 2014, says Youssef Jabbar, environmental department head of Muthana province. The causes have been “climate change and rising temperatures,” he explained. “Muthana is a desert province, it suffers from drought and lack of rainfall.” A government statement issued last week also pointed to “more than 1,000 wells illegally dug” for agriculture in the area. Additionally, nearby cement an...

• Access Limited. Please • Memos Concise, actionable scenarios and predictions from top regional experts. • Live events & webinars Intimate in-person access to policy and business VIPs. • Industry Newsletters Weekly A.I. driven curation of top business stories accross 12 industries in the region. • Trend Reports Data-driven analysis of latest market trends. Lake Sawa, located in Muthanna governorate in southern Iraq, has The name of this lake was mentioned in Iraqis call the salty lake the For some Shiites, its drying up presents itself as a sign of the Hamid al-Nayef, official spokesman for the Ministry of Agriculture, told Al-Monitor, “The land investors near the lake have illegally and randomly dug more than 1,000 wells, which caused a shortage in the lake’s water.” He believes that the solution lies in “stopping the investors’ abuses on the waters of the lake, and this is not the responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture but that of both the Ministry of Water Resources and the local government in Dhi Qar.” Nayef said, “When the Ministry of Agriculture approves an investment project, it requires investors to obtain the approval of the Ministry of Water Resources.” Aoun Diab, consultant at the Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources, told Al-Monitor, “Indications of a decrease in the lake water started gradually years ago as a result of agricultural investments in the Samawa desert, where the lake is located, which led to the depletion of the Dammam water-bearing layer, ac...

Contents • 1 Description • 2 Climate • 3 Flora and fauna • 4 Environmental concerns • 5 Drying of lake • 6 References • 7 External links Description Lake Sawa is a unique body of water in Iraq since characterized by highest salinity value (up to 35 g/L as TDS) Climate Sawa Lake is characterized by arid climate. Highest and lowest temperatures are ranges between (27.6– 44.6) °C. Mean annual rainfall is 110mm per year, highest values of evaporation occur during July (506mm) while lowest values occurring in January (89mm). Overall wind direction is a North-West with speed of 4.1m/s. Flora and fauna Because of its saline water, no plants grow in the lake or on its shores. Unlike its scarcity of aquatic organisms, Sawa Lake is rich with birds; 25 species of resident and immigrant birds were observed in Sawa Lake and the surrounding areas. the lake held large numbers of Fulica atra). The endemic race of Tachybaptus ruficollis iraquensis) and the Corvus cornix capellanus) occur, as well as the near-endemic The desert area on the western side of the lake, the fresh wetland strip (represented by the western branch of Euphrates River including the orchards), and the flat arid/semi-desert areas over the southern parts of the lake might harbor considerable wildlife diversity, mammals present include Urva edwardsii). Reptiles found included: Water snake (maybe Natrix tessellata). Environmental concerns As Sawa Lake represents a unique, closed water body in Iraq it is an important site ...

An aerial view shows a pond remaining at the dried-up Sawa Lake in Iraq’s southern province of al-Muthanna on 19 April, 2022. – In Sawa, a sharp drop in rainfall — now only at 30% of what used to be normal for the region — has lowered the underground water table, itself drained by wells, said a senior advisor at Iraq’s water resources ministry. Photo: Asaad NIAZI / AFP Human activity and climate change have combined to turn the site into a barren wasteland with piles of salt. Abandoned hotels and tourist facilities here hark back to the 1990s when the salt lake, circled by sandy banks, was in its heyday and popular with newly-weds and families who came to swim and picnic. But today, the lake near the city of Samawa, south of the capital Baghdad, is completely dry. Bottles litter its former banks and plastic bags dangle from sun-scorched shrubs, while two pontoons have been reduced to rust. “This year, for the first time, the lake has disappeared. In previous years, the water area had decreased during the dry seasons.” environmental activist Husam Subhi said. Today, on the sandy ground sprinkled with salt, only a pond remains where tiny fish swim, in a source that connects the lake to an underground water table. The five-square-kilometre (two-square-mile) lake has been drying up since 2014, says Youssef Jabbar, environmental department head of Muthana province. The causes have been “climate change and rising temperatures,” he explained. “Muthana is a desert province, it suf...

Official name Sawa Lake Designated 3 March 2014 Referenceno. 2240 Sawa Lake ( بحيرة ساوة) is an Description [ ] Lake Sawa is a unique body of water in Iraq since characterized by highest salinity value (up to 35 g/L as TDS) Climate [ ] Sawa Lake is characterized by arid climate. Highest and lowest temperatures are ranges between (27.6– 44.6) °C. Mean annual rainfall is 110mm per year, highest values of evaporation occur during July (506mm) while lowest values occurring in January (89mm). Overall wind direction is a North-West with speed of 4.1m/s. Flora and fauna [ ] Because of its saline water, no plants grow in the lake or on its shores. Unlike its scarcity of aquatic organisms, Sawa Lake is rich with birds; 25 species of resident and immigrant birds were observed in Sawa Lake and the surrounding areas. the lake held large numbers of Fulica atra). The endemic race of Tachybaptus ruficollis iraquensis) and the Corvus cornix capellanus) occur, as well as the near-endemic The desert area on the western side of the lake, the fresh wetland strip (represented by the western branch of Euphrates River including the orchards), and the flat arid/semi-desert areas over the southern parts of the lake might harbor considerable wildlife diversity, mammals present include Urva edwardsii). Reptiles found included: Water snake (maybe Natrix tessellata). Environmental concerns [ ] As Sawa Lake represents a unique, closed water body in Iraq it is an important site to protect for its scient...

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SAWA LAKE, Iraq (AFP) - A "No Fishing" sign on the edge of Iraq's western desert is one of the few clues that this was once Sawa Lake, a biodiverse wetland and recreational landmark. Human activity and climate change have combined to turn the site into a barren wasteland with piles of salt. Abandoned hotels and tourist facilities here hark back to the 1990s when the salt lake, circled by sandy banks, was in its heyday and popular with newly-weds and families who came to swim and picnic. But today, the lake near the city of Samawa, south of the capital Baghdad, is completely dry. Bottles litter its former banks and plastic bags dangle from sun-scorched shrubs, while two pontoons have been reduced to rust. "This year, for the first time, the lake has disappeared," environmental activist Husam Subhi said. "In previous years, the water area had decreased during the dry seasons." 1,000 illegal wells A government statement issued last week also pointed to "more than 1,000 wells illegally dug" for agriculture in the area. Additionally, nearby cement and salt factories have "drained significant amounts of water from the groundwater that feeds the lake", Jabbar said. It would take nothing short of a miracle to bring Sawa Lake back to life. Use of aquifers would have to be curbed and, following three years of drought, the area would now need several seasons of abundant rainfall, in a country hit by desertification and regarded as one of the five most vulnerable to climate change. Th...