On a sun-scorched shoreline in Iraq's southern marshlands, fishermen stood shovelling a grim catch: tiny fish gathered dead from the water, fit only for use as animal fodder.
Locals once lived self-sufficient lives in the vast freshwater areas that make up the UNESCO-recognized Iraqi Marshlands, filling their nets with varieties of fish and keeping large herds of water buffalo.
"There used to be many kinds of fish but now it's all gone, due to the lack of water and salinity and the dams that were built," he said. Iraqi officials and locals say the changes are driven by a perfect storm of factors - upstream damming of rivers by Turkey and Iran, mismanagement of water resources, heavy pollution of rivers and man-made climate change that has led to less rain.In a country where most of the economy is state-led, this means more people are seeking government jobs, putting further pressure on oil-dependent finances that the former finance minister said pay salaries to 7 million workers.
His brother still tries to make a living on the river, now shallow and foul with sewage, but says the catch of up to five kg a day - compared to up to 50 kg in the past - may soon drive him away. "There used to be more demand for the boats because water levels were higher - and there was fish in the water," he said, adding he had not shifted work because he - like many working by Iraq's waterways - did not know how to do anything else.
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