Exploring Program Sustainability and Impact Twelve Years Later USAID Iraq Marshlands Restoration Program (IMRP) November 2018 Photographs on cover page: Top left: Truckload of tilapia, an invasive species, caught in Central marsh and destined for sale in middle Iraq governorates. Top right: Date palm offshoots in a nursery in Maysan governorate, initially planted by IMRP in 2006. Lower left: Buffalo wading in Hawaizah marsh, Basra governorate. Lower middle right: Ecosystem monitoring team’s ornithologist taking photos of aquatic birds in East Hammar marsh. DAI Shaping a more livable world. 7600 Wisconsin Avenue Tel: 301 771 7600 Suite 200 Fax: 301 771 7777 Bethesda, Maryland www.dai.com 20814 USA Contents Acknowledgments vii Abbreviations and Terms ix Summary xi 1. Introduction 1 Peter Reiss and Najah A. Hussain ........................................................................................................ 1 SUSTAINABILITY AND TRANSFORMATION ............................................................................................... 2 BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................................. 2 PROGRAM SUSTAINABILITY AND IMPACT OBJECTIVES ......................................................................... 3 IMRP OBJECTIVES ....................................................................................................................................... 3 IMRP GUIDELINES ....................................................................................................................................... 3 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................................... 4 2. Impact Assessment and Ecosystem Monitoring Teams 5 Najah A. Hussain .................................................................................................................................. 5 IMPACT ASSESSMENT TEAM ..................................................................................................................... 6 ECOSYSTEM MONITORING TEAM ............................................................................................................. 7 3. Field Visits to the Marshes 9 Najah A. Hussain and Adil F. Abbas .................................................................................................... 9 IMPACT ASSESSMENT TEAM ..................................................................................................................... 9 ECOSYSTEM MONITORING TEAM ........................................................................................................... 10 4. Marsh Ecosystem Monitoring 13 Najah A. Hussain, Adil F. Abbas, Maitham Ghaley Al-Shaheen, Haifa A. Hamza, Mohammad S. Moyel, and Muhana A. Qassim ................................................................................. 13 BACKGROUND ........................................................................................................................................... 14 RESULTS .................................................................................................................................................... 14 Water Quality (Adil F. Abbas and Mohammad S. Moyel) ................................................................... 14 Aquatic Plants (Adil F. Abbas) ............................................................................................................ 23 Phytoplankton (Maitham Ghaley Al-Shaheen) ................................................................................... 26 Zooplankton (Anfas N. Okash) ........................................................................................................... 31 Fish (Najah A. Hussain)....................................................................................................................... 33 IMRP—Exploring Program Sustainability and Impact Twelve Years Later i Amphibians ......................................................................................................................................... 35 Reptiles ............................................................................................................................................... 35 Birds (Muhana A. Qassim) .................................................................................................................. 35 Macrobenthos (Haifa A. Hamza) ........................................................................................................ 40 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................................. 44 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................................. 45 5. Institutional Support 47 Najah A. Hussain and Alaa H. Al-Badran ........................................................................................... 47 MOWR HYDROLOGIC MODEL OF TIGRIS-EUPHRATES BASIN ............................................................. 47 CENTER FOR RESTORATION OF THE IRAQI MARSHES AND WETLANDS ............................................ 48 MOWR AND UNIVERSITY LABORATORY UPGRADES ............................................................................. 49 CONCLUSIONS .......................................................................................................................................... 50 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................................. 51 6. Agricultural Production 53 Abbas M. Jassim ................................................................................................................................ 53 CENTRAL SOIL-WATER DATABASE ......................................................................................................... 54 FIELD CROP DEMONSTRATIONS ............................................................................................................. 54 DATE PALM NURSERIES ........................................................................................................................... 58 CONCLUSIONS .......................................................................................................................................... 63 7. Livestock Production and Veterinary Services 65 Asaad Y. Ayied ................................................................................................................................... 65 LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 66 Livestock Diversity ............................................................................................................................. 67 Reproduction and Calf Performance ................................................................................................. 74 Daily Milk Yields ................................................................................................................................. 75 Lactation or Milking Period ................................................................................................................ 77 Total Annual Milk Yield ....................................................................................................................... 77 Financial Benefits ............................................................................................................................... 78 DAIRY PRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................. 79 VETERINARY SERVICES ............................................................................................................................ 83 CONCLUSIONS .......................................................................................................................................... 84 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................................. 86 ii IMRP—Exploring Program Sustainability and Impact Twelve Years Later 8. Capture Fishing and Fish Farming 87 Amjed K. Resen .................................................................................................................................. 87 WILD FISH POPULATION ........................................................................................................................... 88 CAPTURE FISHING .................................................................................................................................... 90 FISH FARMING ........................................................................................................................................... 97 FISH MARKETING ...................................................................................................................................... 98 CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................................................................ 100 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................................... 101 9. Constructed Wetlands 103 Peter Reiss and Najah A. Hussain ...................................................................................................