Overview : UNDP Iraq seeks to implement a 3-year “Climate Action for Human Security in Iraqi Marshlands” project, jointly with the Iraqi Ministry of Environment (MoEn) and the local government in Misan. The project strategy is a direct response to the current levels of severe environmental degradation in the Al Hawizeh marshes, amidst returning IDPs. The projected changes in marsh and upstream climate regimes may well reverse the pattern of return of IDPs to the marshes and induce a second wave of displacement over time due to the deterioration of marshland biodiversity and the ecosystem services on which the livelihoods of returning IDPs depend. This project is considered a pilot project within the Regional umbrella project (SDG Climate Facility project: Climate Action for Human Security) Funded by SIDA includes regional Arab-wide as well as national-level activities. UNDP will work in close coordination with the MoEn and with Misan Governor’s office, both of which will designate official focal points who will provide management support to UNDP for the implementation of project activities. The Al Hawizeh Marshes are located in the Misan governorate in southeast Iraq just east of the Tigris River. Together with the adjacent Central and Al Hammar marshes within the Thi Qar and Basra governorates, respectively, they are at the southern tip of large alluvial plain fed by the flows of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and their distributaries. The three marsh areas consist of a set of interconnected, shallow, freshwater lakes, marshes and seasonally inundated large, flat floodplains. Based on consultations with the government, local communities, and civil society stakeholders on climate risks in the marshlands and priority activities to reduce displacement pressure, the overall objective of the project is to enhance climate security among returning IDPs to the Al Hawizeh marshes |