US embassy cable - 05ROME1883

UNCLAS  ROME 001883 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR OES (PDAS ROCK) AND NEA/REA (LAWSON) 
STATE FOR EB/ODF (DE MARCELLUS) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID, IT, IZ, SENV, IRAQI FREEDOM 
SUBJECT: IRAQ: ITALIAN MARSH RESTORATION TO ENTER 
OPERATIONAL PHASE 
 
REF: 04 ROME 1092 
 
This cable is sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect 
accordingly.  Not for Internet publication. 
 
1. (SBU) Summary: The Italian Ministry of Environment (MOE) 
plans to spend approximately euro 12 million through 2005 on 
its "New Eden" marshland restoration project in Iraq.  In 
partnership with the Free Iraq Foundation, the GOI has funded 
a two-year scientific survey of the re-flooded Abu Zirig 
marsh near Nasiriyah, in addition to a feasibility study for 
providing marsh communities with better access to potable 
water. The GOI is now proceeding with a large "master plan" 
for water resource management in the marshland area.  The MOE 
is also expected this year to fund the construction of water 
control structures to improve water flow through the marsh, 
the establishment of a model "green" marsh village, and the 
installation of 15-20 portable desalination plants to supply 
drinking water.  End summary. 
 
Background 
---------- 
 
2. (U) Since July 2003, the Italian Ministry of Environment 
and Territory (MOE) has funded the Free Iraq Foundation (a 
Washington, D.C.-based NGO) "New Eden" marshland restoration 
program (www.edenagain.org).  So far, the GOI has disbursed 
euro 5.7 million (one euro=$1.26) of the project's projected 
euro 12 million budget.  (Note: There is some discrepancy 
within the GOI over how much Italy will contribute.  MOE 
officials expect the GOI to contribute approximately euro 12 
million, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which tracks 
spending on all Iraq reconstruction projects, lists the 
project cost at just euro 10.5 million.  End note.) 
 
3. (U) "New Eden" involves three main projects: 1) the 
restoration of the Abu Zirig Marsh, including scientific 
monitoring and the eventual construction of water control 
structures to improve water flow; 2) a pilot project to 
provide marsh-area communities with potable drinking water, 
including construction of a model "green" marsh village; and 
3) the compilation of a "master plan" to manage water 
resources in the marsh region. 
 
4. (U) The total budget for the "New Eden" project is not yet 
finalized, but the approximate breakdown is as follows (all 
figures in millions of euros): 
 
Planning/assessment (completed)............1.2 
Monitoring/feasibility study (completed)...0.9 
"Master plan" (start spring 05)............3.6 
Control structures in Abu Zirig (late 05)..3.0* 
Portable desalin/model village (late 05)...3.0* 
 
Total                                     11.7 
 
*estimated cost. Work could begin in late 2005 or early 2006. 
 
Restoration of the Abu Zirig Marsh 
----------------------------------- 
 
5. (U) Iraqi authorities commenced re-flooding of the Abu 
Zirig Marsh in June 2003, according to the Foundation. 
Presently, about 40 percent of the original marsh reportedly 
is once again underwater.  The MOE and the Free Iraq 
Foundation identified the area as an ideal site to conduct 
scientific monitoring as the marsh was re-flooded.  Project 
managers hope the resulting data will help engineers better 
manage the restoration of other Iraqi marshes.  The GOI 
supplied scientific instruments and training to Iraqi 
engineers and scientists from the Iraqi Ministry of Water 
Resources (MOWR), the primary Iraqi partner for the Abu Zirig 
portion of "New Eden."  Following a pattern used in other 
GOI-sponsored reconstruction efforts, the MOE conducted 
training in Italy for a half-dozen Iraqi scientists, who then 
conducted the actual field observations. 
 
6. (SBU) While Italian experts traveled to Iraq during the 
initial stages of the project, such visits ended in 2004 in 
reaction to a string of hostage takings involving Italian 
citizens.  Augusto Pretner, a hydraulic engineer and the lead 
Italian expert on the New Eden project, told Econoff that the 
Iraqi teams working in and around Abu Zirig have encountered 
few security problems.  Pretner said scientists involved in 
the project make a special effort to obtain permission from 
 
 
local tribal leaders before venturing into the marsh.  The 
monitoring teams also leave the marsh well before sundown. 
Pretner said the main security risks in the area come from 
economic-motivated banditry rather than insurgency-linked 
terrorism. 
 
7. (U) After nearly two years of research in Abu Zirig, the 
scientists have concluded that the marsh is healthy overall, 
though some areas have recovered faster than others.  Pretner 
noted that 50,000 people have returned to the area around Abu 
Zirig; fish have also returned in surprising numbers.  The 
complete restoration of the marsh, he said, will depend on 
how Iraq, and other countries up-stream, manage the Tigris 
and Euphrates rivers, and whether these up-stream countries 
will make enough water available to the marshlands.  In 
April, the MOE and the Foundation presented a report of these 
conclusions to the United Nations. 
 
8. (U) The MOE, the Foundation, and the MOWR are now 
discussing the next phase of the restoration, which involves 
the construction of water control structures at the inlet and 
outlet of the marsh.  This infrastructure, according to 
Pretner, will help recreate the periodic flooding critical to 
maintaining the marsh ecosystem.  Pretner stated that the MOE 
is awaiting a formal request from the Iraqi authorities, but 
is expecting to approve euro three million of GOI money 
toward construction of these structures. 
 
Potable Water 
------------- 
 
9. (U) The second part of the "New Eden" project involves an 
assessment of drinking water needs in the area surrounding 
the Abu Zirig Marsh, a triangle formed by the towns of 
Nasiriyah, Qurna, and Zubayr.  The Ministry of Public Works 
(MPW) is the primary Iraqi partner in this effort.  According 
to the April 2005 report, 340,000 of the 2.6 million 
residents of this region lack access to any drinking water 
supply system.  The water typically available to these 
communities is potable but often brackish.  Providing 
adequate clean, desalinated drinking water to this population 
will require an investment of euro 335 million, the report 
says. 
 
10. (U) The "New Eden" project also conducted a preliminary 
feasibility study of using natural gas from nearby oil wells 
to generate electricity to run desalination plants. 
Currently, this gas is flared as a waste product.  Pretner 
said that it is unclear whether the quality and quantity of 
such waste gas is sufficient to generate power economically. 
Pretner told Econoff that the "New Eden" team had decided for 
the time being to generate electricity using conventional 
fuel. 
 
11. (U) Based on the "New Eden" study, the Iraqi MPW is 
expected to present a proposal to the Italian MOE to install 
15 to 20 small-scale desalination plants.  These plants will 
be powered by portable generators.  The Iraqi authorities, 
Pretner said, are also requesting funds to construct a model 
"green" marsh village that will incorporate modern water 
(and, presumably, wastewater) technology.  Pretner said the 
MOE expects to approve the proposal and spend an additional 
euro three million on the portable desalination units and the 
model village. 
 
Water Resource "Master Plan" 
---------------------------- 
 
12. (SBU) Parallel to these other efforts, "New Eden" experts 
(which include a team of hydraulic engineers from the U.S., 
Italy, and Iraq) are compiling a euro 3.6 million "master 
plan" for water resource management in the marshlands area. 
The finished product will include a comprehensive survey of 
water resources in the region and a detailed plan for 
managing the reflooding of all Iraq marshes, including 
reconstruction of ditches and channels that historically have 
linked the marshes together into one system.  The MOE's goal 
in funding the master plan is to avoid further environmental 
damage to Iraq's marshes due to haphazard and unplanned 
reflooding.  Pretner said that Iraqi officials were very 
pleased with the work so far and may enlist the Free Iraq 
Foundation to do a similar water resource plan for the whole 
of Iraq. 
 
Comment 
 
 
------- 
 
13. (SBU) Pretner expressed the hope that "New Eden" could 
further improve coordination with USAID-sponsored marsh 
restoration projects.  As Pretner candidly told us last year, 
the New Eden project was conceived both to help the Marsh 
Arab population and to create opportunities in Iraq for 
Italian hydro engineering companies.  These commercial 
considerations, however, have apparently fallen by the 
wayside, as ongoing security concerns have dampened Italian 
private-sector interest in reconstruction work.  As with 
other Italian assistance projects in Iraq, the GOI emphasizes 
the high level of Iraqi participation, which both builds 
Iraqi capacity and allows Italy to manage these programs from 
a distance.  (The MFA, we have heard, still strongly 
discourages travel to Iraq by Italian officials and private 
citizens alike.) 
 
SEMBLER 
 
 
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 2005ROME01883 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED