All language subtitles for Miracle in the Marshes of Iraq BBC Natural World 2011 1080p HDTV x265 AAC MVGroup org_Subtitles01.ENG

The word "Iraq"
brings to the Western mind

images of desert, images of oil,

civil war,

of bloodshed, violence.

But the word "Iraq"
brings to me images of reed forests.

Images of plentiful fishing,

images of birds filling the sky.

Lakes extending
as far as the eye can see.

I hope the West will get to see

my version of Iraq, soon.

Looking at its landscape,

you wouldn't imagine southern Iraq

had been home to one of
the world's most important wetlands.

But as recently as the 1980s, this

looked like this.

An enormous marshland,
6,000 square miles in area.

Fed by the combined waters

of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers,

it dominated southern Iraq.

It was known as
the Mesopotamian Marshes

and many Biblical scholars believe
it was the original Garden of Eden.

What's certain is that
for over 7,000 years,

it was a unique habitat
of global importance,

where wildlife and people
lived in harmony.

Then, in the 1990s,

the marshes were virtually destroyed
by Saddam Hussein

in an attempt to eradicate
the indigenous Marsh Arabs.

Drained of water,

the region's biggest wetland
was turned to dust.

An interdependent community of
people and wildlife, wiped out.

Since the fall of Saddam, however,

there's been a concerted effort
to recreate the marshes.

'My name's David Johnson.

'Together with cameraman,
Steve Foote,

'I've decided to brave the violence
and chaos that still bedevil Iraq,

'to see if the marshes
can be restored.

'And to meet Azzam Alwash,

'who is driving what is, in effect,

'the biggest habitat recreation
project in the world.

'Steve and I also want to see

'if this wetland's amazing
variety of wildlife still exists.'

The marshes were
of crucial importance

'to a wide variety of birds,

providing a vital habitat corridor
for their migrations.

Marbled teal, like these
filmed in neighbouring Turkey,

rely on marshlands to survive
over winter and breed.

The draining of
the Mesopotamian Marshes

helped make them
a globally threatened species.

It's a similar story
with the Basra Reed Warbler.

It takes its name
from the nearby city of Basra

and is rarely seen out of the region,

except on migration to East Africa.

With its breeding grounds
virtually destroyed,

we want to know what's happened
to this endangered bird.

'Our mission sounds straightforward,

'but that's without the Iraq factor.'

Since the 2003 invasion,

this country has been torn apart
by violence and civil war.

Hundreds of thousands
of people have died.

So why have we risked it?

We had an opportunity here to make
a film about a hidden part of Iraq,

a piece of Iraq
that people, generally

are completely unaware of.

And hopefully, a positive story
in the final analysis,

'about a part of the world

'that just doesn't get
a lot of positive press.'

I felt that this was a film
that was actually worth making

and the risks involved
were worth taking.

This film is not
about the "bang-bang",
it's about the tweet-tweet!

'Before Steve and I could
even set foot in Iraq,

'we had to have specific training

'on working in a hostile environment.

'It covered everything from combat
first aid and survival techniques,

'to weapons recognition
and dealing with kidnapping.'

But nothing really prepares you for
the reality of a place like Iraq.

We travel everywhere
in specially-adapted Land Cruisers,

fitted with plate armour
and bullet-proof glass.

RADIO CALL
"Junction ahead,
straight, straight..."

'We're accompanied
by a private security team,

'equipped to deal with
all eventualities.'

Our quarters will be the two
US Airbases in the south of Iraq

and it's pretty clear
when we arrive at the Basra base,

that it's a million miles away
from the comforts of home.

Pretty much the first thing that
happens is you get a big safety
briefing about rocket attacks

and what to do in the event
that the alarms go off.

Seven rockets were fired into
the base the night before last.
This is real, this is happening.

'Only with all these
precautions in place,

'can we finally
start making the film.

'Our first priority
is to meet the man

'who is at the centre
of the enormous project

'to re-establish
this unique wetland -

'Azzam Alwash.'

'Azzam grew up
in the town of Nasiriyah,

'on the banks of the Euphrates.

'As a boy,
he accompanied his father -

'a government water engineer -
on many trips into the marshes.

'No photos exist of those trips,

'but these stills,
published around the same time,

'capture a flavour of
the environment he encountered.'

My memory of those boat trips
is that we are passing through
these passageways

that are surrounded with reed beds,

that to my mind's eye,
extended to the sky.

These were towering reeds.

I remember leaning over
the outside of the boat

and looking into this clear water
and seeing fish.

And I remember heat.

And every now and then,

we'd go out of these meandering
rivers into these wide lakes

and suddenly there's this breeze
that comes into you,

that cools you down.

What I remember
is a sense of serenity,

a sense of warmth,
a sense of love.

A sense of being with my father,
enjoying a unique place.

Azzam treasured those memories,

more so after fleeing Saddam's regime
and settling in the USA.

Then, in the wake of
the 2003 invasion,

he took time out from
his thriving engineering practice

to return to Iraq and see what
had happened to his beloved marshes.

But nothing prepared him
for what he found when he arrived.

The first time I saw the dried
marshes, the dried Central Marshes,

it was literally a physical blow.

It was painful.

Seeing a place that you grew up in,

that you have kept
in your memories,

green, full of life, birds...

and it's a desert, it's dead.

And then you look at
the destroyed homes,

you look at the remnants of boats

and you wonder about
the loss for the people -

what does it mean?

The indigenous Madan tribes

had relied on the marshes
for their livelihood.

But as these satellite images show,

the marshes,
once nearly the size of Wales,

had shrunk to less than 10%
of their original area,

far too small to sustain
the local population.

'Fahid Al-Assadi, a family friend
of Azzam, watched it happen.'

Starving, and terrorised
by Saddam's troops,

the Marsh Arab population collapsed

from a quarter of a million
to just a few thousand.

Fleeing to elsewhere in Iraq,
Iran, or further afield,

most, like Fadhila Jabbah,

thought their way of life
had gone forever.

But after Saddam's fall in 2003,
a return did indeed become possible.

Azzam, following up
on his father's old contacts,

headed for Al Caba'ish
in the Central Marshes.

'So, following in his footsteps,
it's our next destination, too.

'Of course, the security situation
means it's easier said than done.

'Disguised as roadside debris,

'Improvised Explosive Devices,
or IEDs,

'are often used
to attack the security forces.'

Sadly, private security teams
like ours

also constitute a legitimate target.

The other main risk we face
is kidnap,

a prospect that's rare,
but no less unnerving for it.

To minimise both threats,
we vary our route every day

and try to avoid going to
the same location two days running,

or establishing
any kind of pattern at all.

Well, we actually left our base
over an hour ago,

because, from a security
point of view,

we can't talk about things
in advance.

It's very much
on a need to know basis.

It really minimises
the risk of kidnap,

if we leave everything
to the last moment.

Makes our lives more difficult
from a planning point of view,

but it keeps us safe.

It's over two hours before
we finally reach Al Caba'ish.

It used to be at the heart
of the Central Marshes,

but now it's dry and dusty,

cut off from the Euphrates River
by an enormous embankment.

If you came before the embankment
was built, this was all marsh.

This was reed beds all the way,
as far as the eye can see.

This was where the water buffalo
frolicked and lived.

Now, we come back in 2003...

Well, this is essentially
what you see.

Desert plant, tamarix,

the water world had disappeared -

Eden disappeared.

This embankment
and its twin on the far shore,

are relics of the enormous
engineering works

carried out by Saddam
to drain the marshes dry.

45 miles long and seven metres high,

they were built
to prevent the Euphrates

ever flooding
this section of the marshes.

Every piece of dirt that was used
to build this embankment

was imported from the desert.

You can imagine the amount
of money that was spent

in order to prevent the marshes
from ever coming back to life.

'But this is just a small part
of the work Saddam carried out.

'Although it looks like a river,

'this is, in fact, a canal,

'part of the network built by Saddam
to channel water around the marshes,

'funnelling it straight to the Gulf,

'over 150 miles to the south.'

Part of me envies the engineers.

I mean, it's an incredible
accomplishment, really.

To drain 12,000 square kilometres
of wetland is no easy feat.

It's certainly
an incredible engineering feat,

but it's a disaster of a project.

Seeing Saddam's network of canals
at first hand,

I am struck by just
the sheer scale of the work.

It's as breathtaking
as it is depressing.

However, the Marsh Arabs who
returned after Saddam's overthrow,

were resolute in their determination
to reflood the marshes.

They dug breaches
in the canal walls,

but in many cases,

the embankments were just
too big for them to tackle.

'Back in Al Caba'ish,

'Azzam was undeterred.'

The Euphrates is right here
in the background

and we mobilised an excavator

and started digging a trench.

The trench got to the water level

and then the water took care
of the rest of the problem.

As soon as the water
started flowing, it started
undermining the embankment

and basically, made this excavation
the width that it is.

However, as people were finding out
across the region,

reflooding areas
was just the beginning.

I come back three months later

and I'm standing
on top of a bridge here

and I'm looking at the marsh

and I see nothing
but red, stagnated water.

And I'm saying, "Uh-oh..."

"..What the hell did I do?"

I thought at that point

we might have created
an environmental disaster.

Eventually, all the reddish stuff

that kind of got
dissolved in the water,

started going out.

And six months later,

reeds were coming back up

and it was amazing.
It was incredible, really.

The seeds had survived
nearly a decade of drought

and triggered
by the return of water,

new reed beds sprang up
right across the region.

It was a fantastic demonstration
of nature's ability

to recover
from the worst of disasters.

it's striking just how large
the reed beds are

and how varied the bird life is.

Pied Kingfishers are everywhere.

Capable of hovering for long periods
in search of prey,

they can swallow small fish
in flight,

an ability that allows them to thrive

amidst reed beds
that offer few solid perches.

We see them nesting
in the embankments built by Saddam

and it's obvious
the species has thrived.

Equally prevalent
are Black-winged Stilts.

With their distinctive red legs,
they patrol shallow areas,

on the prowl
for worms and small fish.

Pygmy Cormorants,

a species exclusive
to Southeast Europe,

Central Asia and the Middle East,
are thriving.

We also chance upon
wintering migrant birds,

like this juvenile Imperial Eagle,

which may have travelled here
from as far away as central Russia.

And in a happy echo
of that 1980s archive footage,

we spot a large flock
of Great White Pelicans.

The marshes are like...

Well, they're called
the Garden of Eden, aren't they?

It's just extraordinary, it's just
such a peaceful, peaceful place.

'It's an incredibly
relaxing experience.

'In fact, out in the boat,

'it's easy to forget
we're in Iraq at all.'

Another delight is seeing just
how many of the Marsh Arabs

have decided
to return to the area.

People like Hammed Sarsar.

With wildlife and reeds
re-established,

the Marsh Arab way
of life is rising from the ashes.

What we've learned is that
the people and the environment
are interconnected here.

What's good for the environment
is good for the people,

what's good for the people
is good for the environment,
so they are not separate.

From the reeds, they build
their own islands,
upon which they build their houses.

From the reeds, they make mats
for trading and bartering.

From the young reeds, they
feed their water buffalo.

From the dried reeds,
they bake their bread.

It's the trunk upon which
the Marsh Arab's life is built.

Steve and I also benefit from
this plant's inherent strength.

'Getting panoramic shots out here
is difficult, because it's so flat.

'And Steve has to make use of
whatever high point he can find.

'Out in the marshes,
the only way we can

'achieve the same kind of photography
is by getting the locals to build
platforms for us out of reeds.'

It's very strong
and it's actually quite sturdy.

'But we've managed
to successfully film
some birds from it this morning.

'I think it's testament to

'the building material itself.'

'It's not all been good news.

'A helicopter ride,
courtesy of the US military,

'reveals that the restoration
has been patchy and sporadic.

'It's a far cry from the endless
wetlands that Azzam knew as a child.

'And the situation
was even worse in 2004.

'People were reflooding
individual sections of marshland,
but there was no co-ordination

'between different areas,

'and no-one with a coherent plan to
ensure the marshes' long-term future.

'Having played a part
in restoring one area,

'Azzam decided to stay in Iraq

'and set up an organisation
to address this bigger picture.

'Despite the chaos enveloping
the country, Azzam has had
no doubt it was the right decision.'

'This is the cradle of
western civilisation.'

Around the shores of these lakes,

mankind built their first cities.

Or the birthplace of civilisation
at least. Western civilisation

is on the edges of these marshes,

or is where writing was invented,
or where Abraham was born.

And many scholars

theorise that the marshes
are, in fact, the site of Eden.

Why ask why work on restoring Eden?
Eden is not

just a state of mind,
it's a place, it's in

the marshes of Iraq.

'Shuttling between his family
in California and work in Iraq,

'Azzam has established a conservation
organisation, Nature Iraq.

'Since 2004, they have worked hard
to promote the cause of the marshes
and the Marsh Arabs.'

Some people think that we're
silly, working on the marshes
in the middle of civil insurrection,

in the middle of kidnapping,
gangs, and what have you.

'We take our precautions,
we try to protect our people
as much as we can.

'But life cannot stop
waiting for the civil war
to be finished.

'There's work to be done and there
is the next generation to educate.'

'Azzam wants to establish Iraq's
first National Park

'in the Central Marshes,

'using the wildlife
as its main attraction.

'It's all part of his plan to secure
the long-term future of the region.'

It is my dream
to have this area become

an eco-tourism Mecca,

as well as an archaeological
Mecca for tourists.

I see people arriving
in plane loads, and even before

making it to the hotel, visiting
the oldest city in the world, Ur.

Visiting Abraham's house,
visiting the royal tombs.

And the next day, we would take them
into staying in lodges in the middle

of the marshes, taking them on
kayak trips to see rare birds.

This has to be a place
the rest of the world has to see,

so they can help us maintain it
for the next generation.

'It takes quite a leap of imagination
to share Azzam's vision.

'Although our accommodation is clean,
it's not exactly five star...

'Instead of the hotel bar,
we have a...

'bomb shelter.

'And while there's no need to rush
out early to bag a spot on the beach,

'there are other compelling
arguments that prevent a lie-in.'

It's just gone
half past five in the morning.

A little bit earlier
than I would prefer to be up,

but there has been some intelligence

that there are some IEDs out on some
of the roads that we're travelling.

We're hoping to get out and early
before really any of the
insurgents are up and about

and hopefully that will keep us safe.

Slightly nerve-wracking, but

all part of the fun
of working in Iraq!

'Bombs are one of the reasons
our security team relies on
so many vehicles.

'The scout car travels first,
followed by our 4x4.

'If either of us break down,
or are blown up,

'the third car
is there to pick up the pieces.

'The fourth vehicle carries
all the heavy weapons.

'It's their job to extricate us
when the bullets start flying.

'Thankfully, we don't encounter any
bombs while making the film, but that
doesn't mean the risk is overstated.

'In the first six months of 2010,
there are on average more than

'two violent incidents a day,
just in the region we're working in.

'About half of those are roadside or
vehicle-borne explosions, including

'one that goes off just outside
a military base we're staying at.

'And Azzam himself accepts

'that Iraq is a long way off
becoming a tourist destination.'

I cannot make this argument
in today's Iraq, when people are
being found headless in the street.

This is not yet

'an eco-tourism destination,
but these are some of my dreams.'

'Even if Iraq becomes
a stable and peaceful place,

'Azzam knows he needs to convince
the locals, investors and

'potential visitors, that the marshes
do have a long-term future

'and that the wildlife
is here to stay.

'Which is one of the reasons
Nature Iraq regularly sends

'survey teams into the marshes,

'and winter is a crucial time of year
for monitoring activity here.

Many birds, like these Spanish
and Dead Sea Sparrows,

rely on this
wetland to feed and roost in winter.

And it's a key watering hole
for millions of migrants

on the long, hazardous journey
between Eurasia and Africa.

'By recording the numbers
and different species of birds

'passing through, the survey teams
will be able to assess the general
health of specific populations,

'a good indicator of the overall
condition of the marshes themselves.

'And there's exciting news.

'According to some local fishermen,
a large flock of marbled teal

'has been spotted
in the Central Marshes.

'This endangered species hasn't
been seen in this area for 20 years,

'so we've joined Azzam and chief
ornithologist, Mudhafar Salim,
to see if it's true.'

In the chaos
of the Iraq of today,

this is a piece of heaven.

Just being at one with nature,

birds flying,

the rustling of the reeds.

Isn't this what heaven is all about?

'It takes us half an hour
to reach the lake where
the teal are supposed to be.

'If the reports are accurate,
it should just be
a question of patience.'

THEY SPEAK ARABIC

Incredible, wow.

'We're in luck.'

Incredible.

A flock of marbled teal
is congregating on
the far side of the lake.

'What's really exciting is that there
are far more teal than we expected.'

You've got to see this. Oh, my gosh.

Oh, my God.

HE LAUGHS

Oh, my God! Look at this,
look at this!

Jesus!

That is incredible.

'If you were here in 2004, 2005,
when the water first arrived,

'you would have seen desert
and nothing but tamarisk.

And today you see reeds, it's winter
and it's yellow, it's not alive,

but the most beautiful thing
is the fact

you have, I don't know, 20,000 -
he says 20,000 - I have no idea!

I just know it's a black cloud
of birds and it's filling the sky

and it's just amazing, what will
happen when you let water back in.

When we tell this
to Birdlife International,
I think they're going to be

uncorking champagne.
I think, I'm not sure!

It makes it worthwhile, all the
sacrifices, missing my children's

birthdays,
missing my wife's birthday,

missing an anniversary,
missing the girl's graduation,

you know?

When my kids and my grandkids
come here,

and we talk about
the missed opportunities,

there is something I can point
to as this is the reason why.

'It's an amazing moment.'

The sight of so many birds
emphasizes the marshes' importance
as a wildlife habitat,

and it convinces me this could
actually become an eco-tourism
destination in the future.

'Analysing the photographs later,
the team revise their estimates
of teal numbers upwards.

'They now think there are over
40,000 in the marshes this winter,

'five times the previous highest
count, and almost double

'the previous estimates
of the world population.

'But we aren't the only people
to spot the teal.

'These men are hunters, attempting
to bag a few birds for the pot.

GUNSHOT

Surrounded by a group of excited
conservationists, I half expect us
to rush off and confront them.

'But Azzam knows that
a balance has to be struck

'between the needs of the wildlife
and those of the Marsh Arabs.'

We're not going to prevent people
from going in there and hunting,

we're not going to prevent people
from going there and fishing.

It's their land, it's their area,

they can go in there and fish
all they want.

The fact is the marshes need to be
restored, but need to be restored

for the people,
not for nature, per se.

But both can benefit from this.

'It's early April and we're back
to see what effect the spring

'floods have had, and to film some
of the marshes' resident wildlife.

'To give us the best chance of
actually seeing any, our security

'team has worked hard to set up
a one-off overnight in Al-Caba'ish.

'It will allow us to film at sunset
and sunrise, when the birds
and amphibians are most prevalent.

'The benefits
are immediately apparent.

'The resident marsh frogs treat
us, not just to a chorus,

'but to a mating display as well.'

This is all good stuff.

'Later, when we see the arrangements
required for the overnight,

'it's pretty clear
why we can't do this all the time.'

We've got a ten-man security team
working with us.

And on top of that, we've also got
the TSU, the Tactical Support Unit
of the Iraqi police guarding us.

So it's quite
a big operation, really.

Slightly surreal, considering,
really, they're only
looking after Steve and I.

So we're in this bizarre position
where there are thirty people here

to look after two,
which feels really odd.

The thing is, I can't quite figure
out, is it weird because there are

only two of us, we don't need
thirty to look after us, surely?

Or is it weird because, actually,
we do need thirty to look after us

and that says something about
the environment we're in?

Either way, it's pretty peculiar,
especially since we're really
just here to film some ducks.

Overnight is a success,
although the morning is

more of a smash and grab raid
than a conventional wildlife shoot.

'Guards and guns rather
compromise our ability to blend in.

'The light is nothing to get excited
about either,

'but we do get a glimpse
of an Iraq Babbler.

'Its rather bland looks
disguise its significance.

'This species
can only be found here,

'over the border in Iran,
and upstream along the Euphrates.

'The Babbler is definitely a tick,

'but we are hoping to see some of
the marshes' more exotic inhabitants.

'However, heading off later,
Mudhafar reminds us that
just a few years ago,

any of birding trip
would have been impossible.

Initially, we see little
except slender billed gulls.

'Then, after a bit of wading to get
right out to the edge of the marsh,

'we're rewarded with a sight
of my favourite bird -
a flock of Greater Flamingo.

'These birds probably breed
in northern Iran, but attracted

'by the warmer temperatures,
they'll spend several months here,

'moving from
one brackish spot to another.'

'The job of conserving
the wildlife here is getting harder.

'In fact, the whole marsh
restoration project is at risk.

'And looking at the Euphrates River,
it's immediately apparent why.

'By now, the river should be starting
to flood, swollen with snow-melt
from its head-waters in Turkey.

'In fact, it looks lower now
than it did in January.

'It's the continuation of
a drought that has been going on
for nearly three years.

'And from a peak of over 50%,
the proportion of marshland

'that's been restored
has slumped to around 30%.

'The drought is not the sole cause
of the problems.

'The Tigris and Euphrates rivers
have been dammed

'since the time of
the Babylonians, 4,000 years ago.

'But recently, the rate of
upstream dam construction

'has increased dramatically, and the
marshes now receive less than a fifth
of the water they did 30 years ago.'

The lack of water is the result
of dams upstream, in Iraq,

but mostly in Turkey and Syria.

If there's enough water,
we can restore 100% of the marshes.

The hindering block
is, in fact, this lack of water.

The dams are creating
an additional problem.

The traditional cycle of spring
floods, flushing out accumulated
salt deposits, no longer occurs.

'And, as scientists like Nabeel
Hasan are seeing, the marshes

'are becoming steadily
more saline.'

You can use this multimeter to take
an indicator of the water quality,
but the plants can give you

a first indicator.

Water lily is now growing
very limited,

and in a specific area,
it's less than before.

It makes me sad, actually,

because when you work
in the marshes,

you feel like each plant

is like, you know, like your baby.

The water quality changes
aren't just affecting the plants.

Traditional freshwater fish

are being replaced by species
that are salt water tolerant.

Elsewhere, areas
have dried completely.

The few pools of water left,
like those close to

Fadhila Jabber's house,
are often stagnant and polluted.

'It's late May, the beginning
of summer in the marshes.

'We've returned to Iraq
for one final trip.

'Our main objective is to film
the rare Basra Reed Warbler.

'Like these Squacco Herons,

'or these Red Crested Potchard, the
Reed Warblers should be nesting now.

'And our best chance of seeing one
lies in finding an occupied nest,

'somewhere out here in the marshes.

'We also want to find out what steps,

'if any, are being taken to tackle
the dreadful lack of water.

'If the problem is not addressed,

'then much of the work carried out
to date will be for nothing.

'However, returning to the river,

'it's obvious that in our absence
Azzam and his team have been busy.'

Early last year, we did notice that
the Euphrates level was dropping,

as a result, the Central Marshes
were beginning to re-dry.

In order to prevent that from
happening, one of my engineers
thought of the idea of building

an embankment across the Euphrates,
raising the level
of the Euphrates upstream.

The embankment is now being built
by the Ministry of Water Resources

to actually rehydrate
the Central Marshes,

and the Central Marshes
are rehydrating as we speak.

'Putting yet another dam
in the Euphrates

'can only be a stop-gap measure.

'It's just intended to buy time,
while Azzam musters the resources to

'implement his grand plan to secure
the long-term future for this area.

'To achieve it, he's taking on

'one of the most enduring legacies
of Saddam's reign.

'This is the Glory River, the
largest of Saddam's drainage canals.

'Until now, it's been
left largely intact.

'That's about to change.'

At this point in time,
we're building a regulator
at the beginning of the Glory River.

I hope you will see that there's not
going to be any water flowing here,
all the water that's flowing into

the Glory River should be flowing
into the Central Marshes, where
it will go to the National Park.

With this water, we can restore
the majority of the Central Marshes.

That's just part of the vision.

Diverting water from the Glory River
is like turning on a bath tap.

But Azzam is also playing with
the plug in order to recreate
the natural water cycle.

What we're trying to do here
is to create a mechanical
flood, as it were.

We have a series of nine regulators,
just about the same size
as this one.

We're going to use these regulators
to kind of hold water in the winter

and make the water go up
and basically wet
the dry areas, or the high areas.

And then let the water
go out in the spring,

creating a small flood cycle
for the central marsh.

It's a compromise, essentially.

It's basically creating
a small flood pulse, as opposed

to the large pulses
that used to happen by nature.

The water that comes into
the marshes these days does not have

the turbidity, does not have
the silt and clay that it used
to have, with the natural floods.

So it is a half solution,
but it's better than nothing.

'The project's being funded by
the Iraqi government, but was
developed using money from Italy.'

We have

a small generator for them.

THEY SPEAK ARABIC

Thank you very much.

'Several Western governments provide
aid to help in the rebuilding
of Iraq, channelling funds through

'specially set up Provincial
Reconstruction Teams, or PRTs.

'Here in Dhi Qar Province,
the PRT is run by the Italians.

'And its head, Anna Prouse, is
a committed supporter of the efforts
to maintain and extend the marshes.'

'I haven't been out here now
in a few months, and I was smiling.

'I said,
I am so glad I came out here.'

Because at the beginning, there was
was not much to see out here.

The heart would cry when you saw it.

Now, you start seeing water with
fish again, and the birds flying in
the evening when the sun goes down.

It is, you know,

it's good for the soul.

Here, you just breathe the future,

you just breathe
that there is a possibility.

And this is thanks to the wildlife.

That sense of hope
is a valuable commodity in Iraq,

because the deteriorating
security situation could plunge
the country back into chaos.

'The upsurge in violence
is partly due

'to the inconclusive results of the
national elections in March 2010.

'With no clear winner,
the competing groups

'have so far failed
to form a coalition government.

'In effect, no-one is in charge.'

No. Er, on the causeway.

Yes.

OK, see you then.

'With just a few days to go,

'we thankfully haven't had to deal
with any serious security incidents.

'But we still want to film
the elusive Basra Reed Warbler

'and today's early start looks
to have been a wasted effort.'

We've just had a bit of a delay
this morning, an argument over boats.

We'd got boats organised
to take us out into the marsh,

but one of the locals was arguing
because we weren't using his boat.

'And the only way it was going to get
resolved was by calling up the local

'Sheikh and the local Head of Police
to try and resolve it.

'The boats that have come
to pick us up belong to one tribe,
but to reach us, they've had

'to travel into another tribe's area,
which is the source of the dispute.

'As the argument intensifies,
it feels like

'I'm watching a microcosm of
the parliamentary negotiations...

'and they've been
going on for months.

'Being held like this in one place

'is never good from a safety point
of view, and after an hour's delay,

'the security team leader
decides to abandon filming.

'Visible for miles around
atop an embankment,

'we are extremely vulnerable.

'But we can't just head off.

'Our police escort has called up
a local detachment to guide us

'through the nearby town, so we must
move the vehicles off the skyline
while we wait for them to appear.

'Every new arrival is now viewed
as a potential threat.

'Even the confirmation
of their identity as the detachment

'we've been waiting for
does little to reduce the tension.'

I've just been informed
by the TL that we're moving out
in approximately two minutes.

Bravo, Roger.

Are we going back
through Suk Anq sukh?

No, we're going to go
a different route.

Just shows how a situation
can get out of control

over something
as simple as using the wrong boat,

can easily flare up into a full-on

bunfight, as they say.

'But if we thought our next stop
would be the sanctuary of our base,
we were sadly mistaken.'

Well, as you can see,
things have escalated a bit further.

Didn't quite expect to be on the
inside of an Iraqi police station.

The guy who was complaining
wouldn't take money.

We came to the conclusion that,
potentially,

there's another agenda going on.

This whole area
is now deemed potentially hostile,

and we are now waiting for
re-enforcements to join us.

The only thing we can really do
is return to base, regroup
and come up with a plan for tomorrow.

'After 45 minutes,
more heavily armed TSU squads arrive

'and we can finally start
the long journey home.

The guy who'd been kicking up a fuss
over the boats, and was subsequently
arrested, has actually turned out

to be a member of the Mahdi Army,
which is a militia group.

And that's just changed the
whole perspective on that situation.

The Iraqi police unit

that was escorting us is taking it
so seriously that we actually have

So we are now a military convoy
of ten vehicles in total,

which is a measure of

how seriously the local police
are taking the situation.

'After all the effort to get us
out to Iraq and into the marshes,

'the loss of a whole day's
filming is difficult to stomach.

'But as they say out here,
"Inshallah"

'- it's God's will.

'We can only hope
he smiles on us tomorrow.

We're going up this little channel,
away from all the other boats, to try
and find a Basra Reed Warbler nest.

It's one of the indigenous species

to the marshes
and, as its name suggests,

this is really one of the only
parts of the world where it's found.

According to Azzam's survey teams,
Basra Reed Warblers
were nesting here last year.

We're hoping that
the drying of the marshes
hasn't prevented their return.

It's over here.
Can you see it, David?

'Steve spots a nest.'

If necessary, I'll go
and stand in the water and do it.

'But is it still in use?'

Let's go back there.

'We're in luck,
and we get our first view

'of one of the world's
rare birds, a Basra Reed Warbler.

'Its unspectacular appearance
belies the magnitude of the moment.

'This bird, which breeds here
and virtually nowhere else,

'embodies the spirit
of the Mesopotamia Marshes.

'If it can recover,
then it speaks volumes

'for the whole
rehabilitation project.

'And despite the drought,
surveys show its breeding range

'is greater now
than at any time since 2003.'

This is what I love about my job.

This is what makes you work harder,

to make other places come back.

Yeah, this is the best part.

'Successes like this are part of what
keeps Azzam and his colleagues going.

'And if the challenges ahead
over water supply

'or any other threat seem daunting,
it's important to remember

'the progress made

'after the virtual destruction
of this unique environment.'

'Whenever I'm inside
the marshes, I feel at peace,

'listening to sound of
the wind going through the rushes,

'the sound of birds
calling in the distance.

'It's wonderful

'to have that feeling back again,
especially when you contrast it'

to 2003, when there was nothing

but desert and sand
in your ears and nose.

It's that contrast, between
the devastation wrought by Saddam,

and the areas of marshes
that have been restored,

that continues to give hope.

Not just for the Mesopotamian
Marshes, but also for other

parts of the world that have suffered
because of mankind's lack of respect.

In many ways, the restoration
of the marshes mirrors
the restoration of Iraq -

two steps forward, one step back,
two steps forward, one step back.

But you know what? Directionally,
we're on the right track.

The future's good,
all you need is

to have the will and persist.

And if we can restore this,
Iraq can be restored too.