<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><rss xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:openSearch="http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/" xmlns:blogger="http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008" xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss" xmlns:gd="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005" xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0" version="2.0"><channel><atom:id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740673484050288686</atom:id><lastBuildDate>Sun, 01 Sep 2024 22:26:12 +0000</lastBuildDate><category>Mesopotamian Marshes</category><category>2010</category><category>Ataturk dam and Kurdish folk dance</category><category>August 27</category><category>Barcelona Spain</category><category>Basrah Conference</category><category>Capital Public Radio</category><category>Circle Dialogue for Water and Peace in Middle East</category><category>Cizre and Tigris River</category><category>Cizre wetlands and Turkish army</category><category>Concert and Protest in Hasenkeyf</category><category>Cızre and Turkısh Army</category><category>Divine Sufism</category><category>Eco-cultural restoration</category><category>Euphrates River</category><category>Fehime Ozman</category><category>First day in Istanbul</category><category>Hasenkeyf</category><category>Ilus Dam construction pictures</category><category>Ilusu Dam</category><category>Ilusu dam constructıon started</category><category>Insight NPR Wed Aug 25 10-11</category><category>Iraq</category><category>Leaving Istanbul Aug 2</category><category>Marsh Dwellers</category><category>Mediterranean Sea in France and Spain</category><category>Merida day 1</category><category>Nemrut</category><category>Petition</category><category>Photos from Bierecik Dam</category><category>Photos with Leaving Istanbul</category><category>Plight of Marsh Arabs and water buffalo from lack of water</category><category>Press Release Requesting Water for Marshes</category><category>SER Confrence</category><category>September 6-12 events in Sacramento</category><category>Spain</category><category>Symposium 1 at SERI conference</category><category>Thank you to Doga Dernegi</category><category>Traditional Ecological Knowledge</category><category>Trıp to Hasankeyf and Tıgrıs Rıver</category><category>Update of July 2011 newletter and Hima web</category><category>Water</category><category>World Congress for Middle Eastern Studies in Barcelona</category><category>cappedocia</category><category>turkey</category><title>Hima Mesopotamia: Travels in Jordan 2013</title><description>Outreach, coordination and capacity building among grassroots organizations, NGO&#39;s, and international organizations to encourage wetland conservation and sustainable development through eco-tourism and women&#39;s cooperatives to reach economic, social justice, and biodiversity goals.</description><link>http://iraqmarshrestoration.blogspot.com/</link><managingEditor>noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Michelle L. Stevens)</managingEditor><generator>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>74</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740673484050288686.post-3846235800262425125</guid><pubDate>Wed, 03 Jul 2013 00:37:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-07-02T17:37:42.827-07:00</atom:updated><title>Pictures from Azraq wetlands</title><description>&lt;table align=&quot;center&quot; cellpadding=&quot;0&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; class=&quot;tr-caption-container&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiB0C2kHWy4hck5iHKbFf_smkyc4Wr3f36k2zGg3PbL-FLzE078knA03DJ3qXbCjsMcgz2grM_mvpRIRJdyKvOIfyRnIuwlwObfV1PaWSnHfmBFsggdpSVQb_esFsxensXlZel4JJ1E4fE/s1600/2013+Jordan+219.JPG&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiB0C2kHWy4hck5iHKbFf_smkyc4Wr3f36k2zGg3PbL-FLzE078knA03DJ3qXbCjsMcgz2grM_mvpRIRJdyKvOIfyRnIuwlwObfV1PaWSnHfmBFsggdpSVQb_esFsxensXlZel4JJ1E4fE/s320/2013+Jordan+219.JPG&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;tr-caption&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;Phragmites in early morning light&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
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&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfb0Kgr2B5TEq0VElVBC5tV2viypKp-lYJDPaB_kGKTrwU8IcvCnTcz2DHE6HEYji0ohEUly3HCW7tt6K19X09v7ZASw6n0Or6FQ0WZGMlwgzzrYFtxbJyOmxOrjjIPEcn74qMnvmsoLqn/s1600/Azraq+wetland+soil+profile+2013+Jordan+259.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfb0Kgr2B5TEq0VElVBC5tV2viypKp-lYJDPaB_kGKTrwU8IcvCnTcz2DHE6HEYji0ohEUly3HCW7tt6K19X09v7ZASw6n0Or6FQ0WZGMlwgzzrYFtxbJyOmxOrjjIPEcn74qMnvmsoLqn/s320/Azraq+wetland+soil+profile+2013+Jordan+259.jpg&quot; width=&quot;240&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;tr-caption&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;Soil Profile - once was spring fed wetlands, now 20 m below wetlands&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
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&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjlKojJ9ngofi9q2iQC9eaED6DnjrLmrLDM5uvod_HDNia5kImNpYLaLgT8w0Ff-LzcXj7JliEkoViD0EBIazE9mi35oZKjHM35YtIureMd3BvpA0u9vqXbBTcle9BRMbmtiow_4sC5iwZ/s1600/Azjraq+wetlands+2013+Jordan+222.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjlKojJ9ngofi9q2iQC9eaED6DnjrLmrLDM5uvod_HDNia5kImNpYLaLgT8w0Ff-LzcXj7JliEkoViD0EBIazE9mi35oZKjHM35YtIureMd3BvpA0u9vqXbBTcle9BRMbmtiow_4sC5iwZ/s320/Azjraq+wetlands+2013+Jordan+222.jpg&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;tr-caption&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;Azraq wetlands fed by supplemental water&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
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﻿﻿&lt;table cellpadding=&quot;0&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; class=&quot;tr-caption-container&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGWAMyrylTZzWKrfWr5BQFEuqVXphsCHvokCnEAfRN0nFs6baVG0Enlc77ANCedFb8u07A6mwc6W7PFLYLCxB2lONmZVNKU81o47uAz69upe8gtoqoVtgrjOy6CbA8wnc_SmdvvS-rF-8U/s1600/Azraq+Big+flat+2013+Jordan+292.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGWAMyrylTZzWKrfWr5BQFEuqVXphsCHvokCnEAfRN0nFs6baVG0Enlc77ANCedFb8u07A6mwc6W7PFLYLCxB2lONmZVNKU81o47uAz69upe8gtoqoVtgrjOy6CbA8wnc_SmdvvS-rF-8U/s320/Azraq+Big+flat+2013+Jordan+292.jpg&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;tr-caption&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;Big Flat - ephemeral wetland completely flooded this spring&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
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&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqrvotCQ63F8vg7Fpwby1aXmh6DpR6pSaLVNevNpzLKUU9GLRuAMHiStDHuQaUVWlgTQBzb3XGtzGnvHv0Vec0hT7nzwZ8M1dySnCfmed1RT2lskePHAD4-ySY1SRAfIMGDJD0zcwulG_C/s1600/2013+Jordan+392.JPG&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqrvotCQ63F8vg7Fpwby1aXmh6DpR6pSaLVNevNpzLKUU9GLRuAMHiStDHuQaUVWlgTQBzb3XGtzGnvHv0Vec0hT7nzwZ8M1dySnCfmed1RT2lskePHAD4-ySY1SRAfIMGDJD0zcwulG_C/s320/2013+Jordan+392.JPG&quot; width=&quot;240&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoOC_TGyIfyrttPHGLQrPDICMhOSPd2pPUR03_Kub-sj67RcwZkiU4loO9DV7MnqsGoZ-XZ99qATQBnajDEwbp3ZomiT8r0vr97kWQ-7Lb8kOnEcfXeI4rwq40JxxrWioKuiOqJ58HK69D/s1600/Azraq+bedouin+house+with+geese+2013+Jordan+320.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoOC_TGyIfyrttPHGLQrPDICMhOSPd2pPUR03_Kub-sj67RcwZkiU4loO9DV7MnqsGoZ-XZ99qATQBnajDEwbp3ZomiT8r0vr97kWQ-7Lb8kOnEcfXeI4rwq40JxxrWioKuiOqJ58HK69D/s320/Azraq+bedouin+house+with+geese+2013+Jordan+320.jpg&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;tr-caption&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;Bedouin house at edge of wetland&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
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&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlhoVlXgHkdrm1L8Em4n7M1_F4MxLF54I9XlZFgwCWg30Ql_o4Oq3b2Pj86q7L92BMA-xenm_rMfV6o7rJ9ZdzEblwikUSFq7WWr9PyuxMYBe6XuWs12GHTgmh99nILBpYRnezXUvzsZmv/s1600/Azraq+Bedouin+woman+sheep+and+donkey+fave2013+Jordan+364.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlhoVlXgHkdrm1L8Em4n7M1_F4MxLF54I9XlZFgwCWg30Ql_o4Oq3b2Pj86q7L92BMA-xenm_rMfV6o7rJ9ZdzEblwikUSFq7WWr9PyuxMYBe6XuWs12GHTgmh99nILBpYRnezXUvzsZmv/s320/Azraq+Bedouin+woman+sheep+and+donkey+fave2013+Jordan+364.jpg&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;tr-caption&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;My favorite picture - sheep and donkey and Bedouin &amp;nbsp;herders&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
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&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis9CqCQZFjtSzqM5RBnCk9DxQcp6L4zu4-m3WwRhMoiFnq8F4P7cjd-UboDfV0ibZcdXAU8uPXuknOY4t566ppOyivesSIruBTE9DHrviboJPz2Sw2pKoNy22ObiWo09m7sX6HH3BNQTeH/s1600/Azraq+bedouin+woman+sheepherder+and+donkey.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis9CqCQZFjtSzqM5RBnCk9DxQcp6L4zu4-m3WwRhMoiFnq8F4P7cjd-UboDfV0ibZcdXAU8uPXuknOY4t566ppOyivesSIruBTE9DHrviboJPz2Sw2pKoNy22ObiWo09m7sX6HH3BNQTeH/s320/Azraq+bedouin+woman+sheepherder+and+donkey.jpg&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;tr-caption&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;Sheep&amp;nbsp;with&amp;nbsp;donkey and Bedouin woman herding&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
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&lt;table align=&quot;center&quot; cellpadding=&quot;0&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; class=&quot;tr-caption-container&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY0UnNsFSS6tmgRbDEkvjWeMW6P5ZiW6mfY32_V88669V-CRIjEUXVDy-a0_rc5C1yDLR3XNbF65l3qxNo6Jo9BcfiWI7Q3YsZllPf0dAftUOxopK_KJr-yWnL6BOnAJuqG8TQLySvV1EO/s1600/Azraq+Big+flat+2013+Jordan+292.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY0UnNsFSS6tmgRbDEkvjWeMW6P5ZiW6mfY32_V88669V-CRIjEUXVDy-a0_rc5C1yDLR3XNbF65l3qxNo6Jo9BcfiWI7Q3YsZllPf0dAftUOxopK_KJr-yWnL6BOnAJuqG8TQLySvV1EO/s320/Azraq+Big+flat+2013+Jordan+292.jpg&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;tr-caption&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;Looking at ephemeral wetland &lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
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&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv9pweheauYeuE1Hln7FOsH90hwBo2XfMpShTFm2bT7C2FG9yEGBtBxVV7h6nvxAE4hHFLltpR8SSEZsMqXWlRdfqLejPPAa6DLMZVx4LV2KA_DAGKa_u63aGCGVNN1Y1tgSTfBEBlScqq/s1600/Azraq+bomb+2013+Jordan+307.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv9pweheauYeuE1Hln7FOsH90hwBo2XfMpShTFm2bT7C2FG9yEGBtBxVV7h6nvxAE4hHFLltpR8SSEZsMqXWlRdfqLejPPAa6DLMZVx4LV2KA_DAGKa_u63aGCGVNN1Y1tgSTfBEBlScqq/s320/Azraq+bomb+2013+Jordan+307.jpg&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;tr-caption&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;Boys with their toys - American and Jordanian military exercises - scared the crap out of me&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
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&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioBrpgqMAKjmxKywpC2PkmFFZ7GcdQRboZhXvkp_FThKGsd4IqHdR8kh-ITxQvOQpUWh0VEZUbaGLbm2qll8B67i_4xDwLchoZX4umlVg7GbZzko6oTIA_MBzMkODmpq_5cuWgflW6HjXq/s1600/Azraq+bombing+practice.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioBrpgqMAKjmxKywpC2PkmFFZ7GcdQRboZhXvkp_FThKGsd4IqHdR8kh-ITxQvOQpUWh0VEZUbaGLbm2qll8B67i_4xDwLchoZX4umlVg7GbZzko6oTIA_MBzMkODmpq_5cuWgflW6HjXq/s320/Azraq+bombing+practice.jpg&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;tr-caption&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;Wetland with bombing practice in background&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
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&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_XQA_ZL2Hap7ay38imUXgLYMVV8WrXtVzuyTBEoAIdbe1Mll4uHnO7LicNt1RCiG8kSCAn3y4lS5f-aRQB1t96Iwes8cMxT0e2xLOljLEZPVSLFd0RNx9nGIaldLfFhCgjRwOkDjftqKi/s1600/Azraq+camels+2013+Jordan+306.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_XQA_ZL2Hap7ay38imUXgLYMVV8WrXtVzuyTBEoAIdbe1Mll4uHnO7LicNt1RCiG8kSCAn3y4lS5f-aRQB1t96Iwes8cMxT0e2xLOljLEZPVSLFd0RNx9nGIaldLfFhCgjRwOkDjftqKi/s320/Azraq+camels+2013+Jordan+306.jpg&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;tr-caption&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;Camels seemingly undisturbed by bombing practice - co-evolved?&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
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&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYtwZuuknGk1nKnXm4A4gdOYXgHLcdElR28hi-twVzjA20ulKWzeIH4tVYt34VhkxZJAtn_43C85FukB5xSamC76Qcgb4Oj29a_zuSuvCtybrG8w27SIyWquI_Txn7mkKUIwzvLaE-2U6h/s1600/Azraq+castle+Hasim+2013+Jordan+346.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYtwZuuknGk1nKnXm4A4gdOYXgHLcdElR28hi-twVzjA20ulKWzeIH4tVYt34VhkxZJAtn_43C85FukB5xSamC76Qcgb4Oj29a_zuSuvCtybrG8w27SIyWquI_Txn7mkKUIwzvLaE-2U6h/s320/Azraq+castle+Hasim+2013+Jordan+346.jpg&quot; width=&quot;240&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;tr-caption&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;Hazem - Project Manager at Azraq Wetlands&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
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&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVT7N54kD8vqpVqGNPueHZT7Z6GdYOBFBh9bcOHFGOfDp4XdU1CXS_OwtEljD2ybYfIXk4r_jcm2c6fWJ7tAwVesr1_uFLSIRB4iUw8OAAY97jJ9heXG10qteYKOGy-r6-gzjT8XxTuw1B/s1600/Azraq+castle+well+2013+Jordan+349.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVT7N54kD8vqpVqGNPueHZT7Z6GdYOBFBh9bcOHFGOfDp4XdU1CXS_OwtEljD2ybYfIXk4r_jcm2c6fWJ7tAwVesr1_uFLSIRB4iUw8OAAY97jJ9heXG10qteYKOGy-r6-gzjT8XxTuw1B/s320/Azraq+castle+well+2013+Jordan+349.jpg&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;tr-caption&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;Well at Azraq Castle&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
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&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM5yqwlbEXaIzvpIIzDjWRRO71ZJNVua0_u1ykmQ58HfyEgazwXkwP7zasmCcIfNQEVYuA_xQElO6wsP36AcVqilrH52PBonnB2LLKTGs-qnFyLKEkGGMMCWUAWp3sW_ru96mwuiouc1BO/s1600/Azraq+coffeeshop+2013+Jordan+252.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM5yqwlbEXaIzvpIIzDjWRRO71ZJNVua0_u1ykmQ58HfyEgazwXkwP7zasmCcIfNQEVYuA_xQElO6wsP36AcVqilrH52PBonnB2LLKTGs-qnFyLKEkGGMMCWUAWp3sW_ru96mwuiouc1BO/s320/Azraq+coffeeshop+2013+Jordan+252.jpg&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;tr-caption&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;Coffee Shop in town of Azraq&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
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&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigbEaIGrsJ5Tw54LhUH4Np2OjAh8M7Z9GW6FT2TNT0TgD-cRMuJQ35h6gU1wxQ4jFGI-kmVzUTI_ItW8Gl8lhnu01bdyqJGL5tI6675Jz2-h6qzHBj9hAxAVnmAEnk25o86kItA1kXokpx/s1600/Azraq+desert+behind+wetland+2013+Jordan+362.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigbEaIGrsJ5Tw54LhUH4Np2OjAh8M7Z9GW6FT2TNT0TgD-cRMuJQ35h6gU1wxQ4jFGI-kmVzUTI_ItW8Gl8lhnu01bdyqJGL5tI6675Jz2-h6qzHBj9hAxAVnmAEnk25o86kItA1kXokpx/s320/Azraq+desert+behind+wetland+2013+Jordan+362.jpg&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;tr-caption&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;Desert surrounding Azraq wildlife refuge - significance of wet oasis in the&amp;nbsp; midst of desert&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
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&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2xNalnfWlFHeKKCPDph_1lDnkiUPynJLFNqO3JKs47ftnH_jxX65qYHB8ChAD5cx06C60LLkRDtGvUHaz8YoI9nDWVoAf94gchu0jpb2kJjrj61IeIICUEv2YLV1wXSYs3qsluCs3SKgX/s1600/Azraq+early+morning+2013+Jordan+318.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2xNalnfWlFHeKKCPDph_1lDnkiUPynJLFNqO3JKs47ftnH_jxX65qYHB8ChAD5cx06C60LLkRDtGvUHaz8YoI9nDWVoAf94gchu0jpb2kJjrj61IeIICUEv2YLV1wXSYs3qsluCs3SKgX/s320/Azraq+early+morning+2013+Jordan+318.jpg&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;tr-caption&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;Town of Azraq early in the morning&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
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&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimjrJgH51yat65tcanX21-YcyY5igc5pl937zxmV8Q_bqFknjHO9mz_kXIYuoYAE2zkGdrM0UsU3NdmvppSb7paTJqeLhCaZkDW-A7Hw5VByZtpDrqvIAZhEg1GQkh2e2JshG90bHqJB1_/s1149/Azraq+gazelles+2013+Jordan+312.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;267&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimjrJgH51yat65tcanX21-YcyY5igc5pl937zxmV8Q_bqFknjHO9mz_kXIYuoYAE2zkGdrM0UsU3NdmvppSb7paTJqeLhCaZkDW-A7Hw5VByZtpDrqvIAZhEg1GQkh2e2JshG90bHqJB1_/s320/Azraq+gazelles+2013+Jordan+312.jpg&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;tr-caption&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;Gazelles at Shawmari Wildlife Refuge, Jordan&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
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&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq1ACnrgYJwilSXxcf9_d_Z6rDw14sEefmFTuxqdkZlYRz_4IgioewBJo6pUBcmKPukelH04l-HANnd8pZJ4mv4bQ-0k38mZRp0Cl7Wb7ZNwo-WM9_iQVuANdV1HH7II-2JdCZriTQAT5H/s1600/Azraq+geese+early+2013+Jordan+250.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq1ACnrgYJwilSXxcf9_d_Z6rDw14sEefmFTuxqdkZlYRz_4IgioewBJo6pUBcmKPukelH04l-HANnd8pZJ4mv4bQ-0k38mZRp0Cl7Wb7ZNwo-WM9_iQVuANdV1HH7II-2JdCZriTQAT5H/s320/Azraq+geese+early+2013+Jordan+250.jpg&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;tr-caption&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;Big Bad Watch Geese - closer every morning - intention of butt biting&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
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&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWeZD9Ln7ErAzRMMdsANwoufgdlD4SqCHjkB7wZ12jKgZJKl1z3-I4sh11cYmteTOmjpSrsonqJW_5X7msJSpNpEBW0j1kdRa_qzIg7zXZG12D6AqLaBnEeTbhb3Rv-Z3MTID5zb1KFam1/s1303/Azraq+kitty+in+window+2013+Jordan+255.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWeZD9Ln7ErAzRMMdsANwoufgdlD4SqCHjkB7wZ12jKgZJKl1z3-I4sh11cYmteTOmjpSrsonqJW_5X7msJSpNpEBW0j1kdRa_qzIg7zXZG12D6AqLaBnEeTbhb3Rv-Z3MTID5zb1KFam1/s320/Azraq+kitty+in+window+2013+Jordan+255.jpg&quot; width=&quot;278&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;tr-caption&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;Azraq Lodge Kitty&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
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&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEQGV7Bt9y6FcLSqkPNX4bwOcMJJHmxX6fvioMPckpEvZclLo-R8AGwIP9tjKrzA2PHplMatbFweXrx6Acwi0sTlXyDyEpipCnxoK7NzzxlF7W0hWCI42pRZyknmhp_RarSByCChnARd0W/s1600/Azraq+kitty+on+barrel+close+2013+Jordan+322.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEQGV7Bt9y6FcLSqkPNX4bwOcMJJHmxX6fvioMPckpEvZclLo-R8AGwIP9tjKrzA2PHplMatbFweXrx6Acwi0sTlXyDyEpipCnxoK7NzzxlF7W0hWCI42pRZyknmhp_RarSByCChnARd0W/s320/Azraq+kitty+on+barrel+close+2013+Jordan+322.jpg&quot; width=&quot;240&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;tr-caption&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;Kitty on way to wetland&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
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&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0v1_dTCsGClGkTQMTkkco4McBvVgs076zfkvxU2jrtXiHdHzmxIKGRN38NWVSR88Q0NhhsjCA4lJnrm5W2Awz-KfwLKU4F81g4M0zFE8PeEo6K05Bfs9J4VCCktGAGslMwUueYRNKK86g/s1600/Azraq+kitty+on+barrel.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0v1_dTCsGClGkTQMTkkco4McBvVgs076zfkvxU2jrtXiHdHzmxIKGRN38NWVSR88Q0NhhsjCA4lJnrm5W2Awz-KfwLKU4F81g4M0zFE8PeEo6K05Bfs9J4VCCktGAGslMwUueYRNKK86g/s320/Azraq+kitty+on+barrel.jpg&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;tr-caption&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;Kitty on way to wetland&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
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&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;tr-caption&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;Mama kitty nursing kittens at Azraq lodge&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
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&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3wM2SyllHdvmcmjOD_3q7whPz0QZkCcwy1gc2e15r8_FZ18vEnj45wsrAJJeD4jXgq3mN8sU3z9RqoCxVa3fHbrOWJi82XNyPJgtseehEo7OQk5lYR_BvzaIk76Qu6PcOBCPpgK4yvcJt/s1600/Azraq+nest+in+desert+2013+Jordan+352.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3wM2SyllHdvmcmjOD_3q7whPz0QZkCcwy1gc2e15r8_FZ18vEnj45wsrAJJeD4jXgq3mN8sU3z9RqoCxVa3fHbrOWJi82XNyPJgtseehEo7OQk5lYR_BvzaIk76Qu6PcOBCPpgK4yvcJt/s320/Azraq+nest+in+desert+2013+Jordan+352.jpg&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;tr-caption&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;Hope - dove nest in desert&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
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&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg15y5qxi2vPn-ReIESO2gHA5EfRXYxRPlUuU_hWZrNV1E9WYVzx5eaKPEoPim6Nv63YRlt7i9v3JomN76cuvdocJl8MWmh8C5XTBMUZWBGQFzj2WNyC2Yh2l-7-n9MsKGzdNawvJlsaiZE/s1600/Azraq+oryx+3+2013+Jordan+308.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg15y5qxi2vPn-ReIESO2gHA5EfRXYxRPlUuU_hWZrNV1E9WYVzx5eaKPEoPim6Nv63YRlt7i9v3JomN76cuvdocJl8MWmh8C5XTBMUZWBGQFzj2WNyC2Yh2l-7-n9MsKGzdNawvJlsaiZE/s320/Azraq+oryx+3+2013+Jordan+308.jpg&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;tr-caption&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;Arabian Oryx at Shawmari Wildlife Refuge in Jordan&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
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&lt;br /&gt;</description><link>http://iraqmarshrestoration.blogspot.com/2013/07/pictures-from-azraq-wetlands.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Michelle L. Stevens)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiB0C2kHWy4hck5iHKbFf_smkyc4Wr3f36k2zGg3PbL-FLzE078knA03DJ3qXbCjsMcgz2grM_mvpRIRJdyKvOIfyRnIuwlwObfV1PaWSnHfmBFsggdpSVQb_esFsxensXlZel4JJ1E4fE/s72-c/2013+Jordan+219.JPG" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740673484050288686.post-4952215949414296284</guid><pubDate>Tue, 02 Jul 2013 23:08:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-07-02T16:51:13.672-07:00</atom:updated><title>Pictures of Petra from Jordan trip</title><description>&lt;table align=&quot;center&quot; cellpadding=&quot;0&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; class=&quot;tr-caption-container&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhifj6VoAYLtEPSTtmN3pYBTlSDrzoZ8mDXzwnFRgU3uTgj-xki9pCCp4DB-iPcmDK9xMSynuv15Cnxy7LtRX9QtNwoSXJIbKTwBwTX3-1t8tbmSaWuaMkRHM6IYdpbIn536S8UcKfM3gpJ/s1600/Petra+almanac+2013+Jordan+651.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhifj6VoAYLtEPSTtmN3pYBTlSDrzoZ8mDXzwnFRgU3uTgj-xki9pCCp4DB-iPcmDK9xMSynuv15Cnxy7LtRX9QtNwoSXJIbKTwBwTX3-1t8tbmSaWuaMkRHM6IYdpbIn536S8UcKfM3gpJ/s320/Petra+almanac+2013+Jordan+651.jpg&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;tr-caption&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;Sacred Weather Station&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
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&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;The following images are from Petra. The Environmental Director, Majed, &amp;nbsp;gave us a tour of the hidden water conveyance systems, the visible water conveyance system, the advance warning flood system, and weather station (almanac in arabic) - not place of sacrifice. &lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
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&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;tr-caption&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;Sacred Weather Station&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
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&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;tr-caption&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;Deep within the canyon of Petra &lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
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&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;tr-caption&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;Phragmites in Petra water source&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzCvs6yop3lfKQMBZLSoBKMw-E2I9Ojx-oQlvL7lePygOe8t6WvRsFwLahhyphenhyphenn7y3qqN2vo0Pqzh0aPaBXWAGK89J17BkBMJw0owu97RCMHG-o1fPIbb5dTLBJQvvzztyHHPmX7ZkqXnvup/s1600/Petra+2013+Jordan+610.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzCvs6yop3lfKQMBZLSoBKMw-E2I9Ojx-oQlvL7lePygOe8t6WvRsFwLahhyphenhyphenn7y3qqN2vo0Pqzh0aPaBXWAGK89J17BkBMJw0owu97RCMHG-o1fPIbb5dTLBJQvvzztyHHPmX7ZkqXnvup/s320/Petra+2013+Jordan+610.jpg&quot; width=&quot;240&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;tr-caption&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;Entering Market area at Petra&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
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</description><link>http://iraqmarshrestoration.blogspot.com/2013/07/pictures-of-petra-from-jordan-trip.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Michelle L. Stevens)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhifj6VoAYLtEPSTtmN3pYBTlSDrzoZ8mDXzwnFRgU3uTgj-xki9pCCp4DB-iPcmDK9xMSynuv15Cnxy7LtRX9QtNwoSXJIbKTwBwTX3-1t8tbmSaWuaMkRHM6IYdpbIn536S8UcKfM3gpJ/s72-c/Petra+almanac+2013+Jordan+651.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740673484050288686.post-2867508344162070893</guid><pubDate>Wed, 26 Jun 2013 11:59:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-07-02T16:09:11.945-07:00</atom:updated><title>Wadi Rum and Petra</title><description>Wadi Rum and the desert voyage was a wonderful experience. Then Petra. We had a full day with the Environmental Director of Petra named Majed. We met him to discuss the area in a cane like restaurant the night before for cappuccino. The next day we started at Petra at 7:00 am, and were made aware of this complex water system conveyance system, flood advanced warning system, and sacred weather station. Going with Majed made the place come alive. I did lose my camera with everything on it in the womens bathroom; some Japanese tourists looked at the pictures and found Clara to return it. I was panicking!&lt;br /&gt;
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In the afternoon we went to Little Petra and looked at large water storage systems. then a wonderful walk at Wadi Musa, looking at a wonderful hima and restoration site. We walked down a drainage very incised and head cut. The agricultural part, of winsome ancient dancing olive trees, grapes, figs, pomegranate, prunes, apricot and apple trees. Beautiful riparian patches with willows. Birds singing everywhere He had his colleague bring us tea as we sat peacefully in the grass under the trees, listening for the athan singing prayers, looking out at the sunset over Petra. One hillside was deforested and eroding drastically, the other vegetated with agricultural and wild vegetation, and was whole.&lt;br /&gt;
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Some Syrians had some green finches on a string to call in other finches, cage them, and sell them for 30 dinar ($40). This was illegal and they were busted!&lt;br /&gt;
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Such a nice day, &amp;nbsp;learned so much about this ancient water system. Ended the evening with Petra by night. At 8:30 walked in the luminaria lined stone path through the narrow canyon, ending at the Market. There were over 500 flickering luminarias. First we heard a traditional stringed instrument, then a flute. A story teller told us about the area as we sipped tea, then out the canyon. The full moon was rising, so beautiful and soft and cheerful. What a magical day. I am so grateful for the wisdom from Majed, and hospitality. People who are so inspired make my heart happy, and these beautiful caring people are all over the world. It gives me hope. Below are images from Wadi Rum&lt;br /&gt;
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</description><link>http://iraqmarshrestoration.blogspot.com/2013/06/wadi-rum-and-petra.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Michelle L. Stevens)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp3wSghqFQiJ4OnB3WD123c5ObMJOsZk-hK9ZkU4_snWf_8F9PQIxVKArDq2OTr4DYf37TNruh6oK-SdtuQbdqKQajnZuSfdTY2Y5xK6uqRB0ah56y4eyDcItEl18s2l4248JhVo9VAqLt/s72-c/Wadi+Rum+2013+Jordan+458.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740673484050288686.post-1137361656816009189</guid><pubDate>Thu, 20 Jun 2013 17:30:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-06-20T10:30:02.060-07:00</atom:updated><title>Summer Solstice at Aquba</title><description>This morning we did our last walk to say good- bye to Azraq wetlands. The four watch geese at the Bedouin home by the reserve have come closer every morning as we walk by. This morning their confidence had built to a peak and they were ready for an ass kickin. The middle white goose rushed out at us, and they all honked wildly. It&#39;s lucky we are leaving, because tomorrow we&#39;d have goose beaks firmly gripping our butts. One great outcome of our visit is building the goose self &amp;nbsp;esteem - they&#39;ll be talking about their prowess for a long time to come.&lt;br /&gt;
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We said goodbye to our friends this morning, and Sharrif gave us a ride to Al Zarqa to catch the bus to Aquaba. It was a long cramped loud ride. We were so glad to get to our wonderful hotel.&lt;br /&gt;
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I have had many interesting discussions about how Jordanians perceive the refugees and the Arab Spring. They liked the Iraqi refugees; they were upper class, knew they would only be there for a short while, and felt grateful to Jordan for taking them in. I have heard several Jordanians who feel Saddam Hussein was a great leader, not understanding how much suffering his regime caused to the people in the south and north of Iraq - 2/3 of the population. Destabilization of the Iraqi government has certainly created a whole new level of suffering, economic and security downturns, and heavy losses. I am concerned it is getting too dangerous to go back in October, and I feel so sad at the violence that is erupting every day. A bombing occurred in a popular restaurant in Baghdad recently.&lt;br /&gt;
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I have heard Jordanians say there is no Arab Spring, and that America is behind the unrest. Even in Tunisia and Egypt. It&#39;s disturbing to realize how deeply disliked Americans are throughout the Middle East, not us as individuals but the government as a whole. &amp;nbsp;The perception is vey damaging to us as a nation, to our credibility, and to bringing peace into the world. For Jordan, being a friend of America hurts them with other Arabic countries.&lt;br /&gt;
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Another thing iI learned is that Jrdanians are very apprehensive about the Syrians coming into the refugee camps. There is concern that the uprooted are middle clas, that they feel entitled to certain treatment, and there may be unrest in the camps creating dangerous conditions for people working there. Many Jordanians will only work in the headquarters of the NGO&#39;s, not the open camps.</description><link>http://iraqmarshrestoration.blogspot.com/2013/06/summer-solstice-at-aquba.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Michelle L. Stevens)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740673484050288686.post-5387914096921955848</guid><pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:55:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-06-18T08:55:54.631-07:00</atom:updated><title>Chechen breakfast and Ansel Castle</title><description>This morning I woke up at first light and walked to the wetlands. There are lots of kitties here, and they have mites on their noses, and underfed, unhealthy&amp;nbsp;and prolific.&amp;nbsp;If my friend Mary were here, she would commission one of those big cargo planes, load up all the kitties, and take them back to the U.S. for veterinary care and love.&lt;br /&gt;
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The gate to the wetland reserve was locked, so I walked out into the desert behind the reserve to get a sense of how big it was, and what it looks like from behind. This is a&amp;nbsp;virid, vital postage stamp wetland where once it stretched for miles and miles. Its like the pulse on your neck; one&amp;nbsp;spot on the whole body, and the pulse for the whole system. &lt;br /&gt;
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The four big sacred springs are gone. Water is pumped into the reserve, with the people of Azraq first. They only get water three days per week, and usually&amp;nbsp;the water doesn&#39;t arrive on time. People wait to take showers,&amp;nbsp;wash clothes, wash their hair. The reserve comes last, but today the&amp;nbsp;water is flowing out of the pipes, and the wetland is a virid green oasis.There are many layers and colors of vegetation; the tamarisk trees, Phragmites taller then the trees, and the reeds and cattails in rounded clumps around the water. As I walk to the edge of the reserve, the piles of sediment dredged from the bottom on the pools is stacked with roots/ rhizomes of Phragmites and Typha. Inside the pools agtails dip and bob, herons and egrets&amp;nbsp;reflect and ripple in the water. White egrets perch in the Tamarisk, and a stilt cries out and flies across the pool.&amp;nbsp;So small, so fragile, so precious.&lt;br /&gt;
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Hazem, the refuge manager, has gone out of his way to take Clara and I to meet people and to teach us all he can about the Azraq aquifer, the fight for the wetlands, and the needs of the Azraq people. Azraq means blue. The remaining water, the remaining wetland, is a treasure - like the blue diamond in my wedding ring. Surrounded by gold, the gold of the Chechen, Druze and Bedouin communities. Over this past week, we have been invited to homes of leaders of each of these community groups, and people have been so generous with their time and knowledge. We sit in their guest rooms, drink coffee, drink sweet tea, have some fruit. We spend hours talking, listening, and laughing, making new friends. Something that never happens in my academic environment - people never, ever have the time to sit and visit, to talk and listen to each other. Too busy to listen, to share.&lt;br /&gt;
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Today we went out to a local farm. Olives, pomegranates in bloom, date trees with a spray of new dates, apricots. He also has a big&amp;nbsp;house for&amp;nbsp; doves to come and go, pipe shelters for&amp;nbsp;turkeys,and a hutch for&amp;nbsp;bunnies. We sat and talked outside, the cool breeze under the trees a perfect temperature. A small dog, underfed and unhealthy, scurried by while we sat talking. It hurried out of site, not to appear again.&amp;nbsp; This farm, like the wetland, also a treasure and an oasis in the midst of this drying, desertifying landscape. No water. Amman has the water, water pirates have the water, and so little remains for the people.&lt;br /&gt;
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As I write this, the refugee camp continues to be build for 450,000 to 600,000 people. They will have two wells for all those people, and plan to truck out the waste. International humanitarian organizations are providing funds for relief, and soon the refugees will be coming to this hot tent city&amp;nbsp;in the middle of a very barren and bleak landscape&amp;nbsp;. A military base is close to the future refugee camp, and that is where the American and Jordanian miliray are exercising &quot;fierce lion&quot; where they are doing miliatary exercises here on the syrian border. &lt;br /&gt;
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Many of the first refugees from Syria, as well as from Iraq, are or were&amp;nbsp;rich. They buy property and drive up the price of housing and services. While there will be some jobs in the refugee camp, some people will be able to bribe&amp;nbsp;there way out and move to Azraq and will need jobs. The communities of Azraq fear they will take local jobs, which are few and far between. The unemployment in this area is extremely high after the salt cooperative closed. Unrest on the border has affected tourism and eco-tourism to the area.&amp;nbsp;Water only is delivered&amp;nbsp;three days per week, and limited opportunitiespccur in this rural&amp;nbsp;area for making a livelihood.&amp;nbsp;People tell me they have to buy everything, they can&#39;t have their animals graze, and fish and hunt and create a subsistence livelihood like they did before.&lt;br /&gt;
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Azraq is a wonderful community. We&#39;ve been treated with such hospitality, and met such interesting people. This wetland, these birds and wildlife, these farms and agriculture sustain the community. Above all, the community needs water. I&#39;ve been touched deeply, been privileged to learn a great deal from these generous people. I don&#39;t think I&#39;ll be the same leaving here as when I arrived.&lt;br /&gt;
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These war planes fly low and fast and loud over the town. The American and Jordanian pilots play boys with their toys, showing off their prowess. This military precense is not who I want to be as an American, this is not how I want to be perceived by people in this country that is one of our few friends in the region&amp;nbsp;. Salam aleikum, peace be to you, peace be to the people of this town Azraq, and peace be to all the animals and plants and living things trying to survive without water.</description><link>http://iraqmarshrestoration.blogspot.com/2013/06/chechen-breakfast-and-ansel-castle.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Michelle L. Stevens)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740673484050288686.post-4309519071932971055</guid><pubDate>Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:23:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-06-18T08:19:43.071-07:00</atom:updated><title>Shaumary  Wildlife Refuge</title><description>We drove out to Shumari wildlife refuge, looking forward to seeing the oryx and wildlife. We stopped to look at a reservoir for water storage, and I was focused on the drying clay. Large cracks&amp;nbsp;formed large cracks in the clay, and the soils were a gray blue gleyed color;&amp;nbsp;Iwas in my head thinking of hydric soils and was this montmorillonite? Then a huge boom crashed the air, causing me to jump, and I looked up to see&amp;nbsp;military manuuvers doing bombing runs. F-16 planes, high up almost invisible and screaming in, dropped bombs precisely on their targets. The American military is doing military exercises with the Jordanian military. They are showing their presence, here only about 100 miles from Syria, 130 miles from Iraq, 30 miles from Saudi Arabia. Whats the point? A no fly zone over Syria? Flexing muscles, beating chests? How much does every bomb cost?&lt;br /&gt;
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At the wildlife refuge, the animals here for captive breeding were nervous at the bombing in near proximity. Not because they were close enough to do damage, but because of the fear because of the loud percussive noice. I think of how much my poor dog is so scared of fire works.&amp;nbsp; The birds were really scared. We stood on the tall tower, about 40 feet above the growd, talked to the biologist, watching &amp;nbsp;the endangered&amp;nbsp;Arabian oryx, wild ass, and sand gazelle. The Oryx were bred in captive breeding in the Phoenix zoo, then returned to Shaumari. The reserve was&amp;nbsp;established around 1975, and the enclosures built in 1978. The conservation biologists are testing DNA on the animals, and are careful to breed with other genetic strains to make sure there is genetic diversity among the herd. Right now they have 46 Oryx, 30 Gazelle and 22 Onyger (wild ass).&lt;br /&gt;
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Oryx were introduced successfully in Oman, but efficient and brutal poaching almost eliminated them. The reserve was pulled from the UNESCO World Heritage Site list. &lt;br /&gt;
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The reserve should have a visitors center open for local to be developed near the administration building within 2 years. They also plan a Safari Project with safari vehicles on a 7 km trail.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
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There are 15 gazelle from Syria and 20 from Saudi Arabia. &amp;nbsp;Apparently, this is a point of recovery of some very endangered species. However, these bombs going off so close don&#39;t make anything feel safe. An impending uncertainty settles like dust.&lt;br /&gt;
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</description><link>http://iraqmarshrestoration.blogspot.com/2013/06/shaumary-wildlife-refuge.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Michelle L. Stevens)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740673484050288686.post-4234314383558678650</guid><pubDate>Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:46:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-06-17T07:46:20.793-07:00</atom:updated><title>Azraq, Water In The Desert: 15 June 2013</title><description>&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; At a confluence of mighty highways that link Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia in Jordan&#39;s great Eastern Desert, lies a small dusty oasis town. Al Azraq was the gathering place for mighty caravans on their way from the Gulf&amp;nbsp;states&amp;nbsp;and weary bands of Bedouin watering their thirsty&amp;nbsp;herds in the shimmering sun. Today, greasy mechanic shops service long haul trucks pounding their way through the sand and asphalt,&amp;nbsp;and the camels are relegated to the few Bedouin tents on the outskirts of town.&amp;nbsp;Azraq as an oasis town is long gone...and today even the water is going away.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Azraq sits on a mighty aquifer that lies underneath the desert, the oasis, a huge wetland full of birds, fish and plant species was once over 12000 km in area. European explorers had surveyed the site and determined that it was exceptional in quality and importance to migrating birds and mammals. They began a reserve to protect it. But&amp;nbsp;far to the west, the&amp;nbsp;ancient city of Amman was expanding. One of the oldest settled&amp;nbsp;cities,&amp;nbsp;Amman was becoming a burgeoning metropolis. Its new population needed water, and the eyes of the government settled on the aquifers of Azraq to the east. Pumping stations were placed around Azraq in the 1980s, and the drawing down of the mighty Azraq aquifer began.The end for the oasis was not long in coming, by 1993, the huge wetland was dry, and the birds and animals came no more to its shores. &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; But the natural ecosystems were not alone in their suffering, the local populations of Druze, Chechen and settling Bedouin began to feel the effects of the dropping water table. Wells dried up, and the city began to be rationed water, six days a week, five, four and finally three. Wealthy and promiment former government officials dug illegal wells along with some of the locals to feed their farms. The remaining few acres of wetland, hastily saved from complete dessication in the late 1990s, were rationed water as well. Outside the&amp;nbsp;tiny remnant of marsh,&amp;nbsp;huge dead clumps of reeds and phragmites remain as stark tombstones to what once was. &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Today, the water returns for the first time in three days, there is quiet celebration, but nothing spectacular, hair is washed,&amp;nbsp;laundry is done,&amp;nbsp;and&amp;nbsp;storage&amp;nbsp;barrels filled,&amp;nbsp;here, no one knows when the water will go off again. Across town the manager of the little wetland&amp;nbsp;turns the big valve, and the soft noise of running water&amp;nbsp;tinkles among the reeds&amp;nbsp;in the dry desert air.</description><link>http://iraqmarshrestoration.blogspot.com/2013/06/azraq-water-in-desert-15-june-2013.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Michelle L. Stevens)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740673484050288686.post-6815330218474160796</guid><pubDate>Sun, 16 Jun 2013 18:42:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-06-16T11:42:29.511-07:00</atom:updated><title>Arrival at Azrak Wetlands Reserve, June 14, 2013</title><description>We woke up at 4:30 am and walked in first light down to the Azraq wetlands. The guard let us in the gate. There is a boardwalk, and eleven water buffaloes were happily grazing on the Phragmites.The guard moved them off the trail, for our safety. We took pictures of the light glowing on the reeds and the water.&amp;nbsp; Really a peaceful place, lots of birds. &lt;br /&gt;
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In 1978, Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature&amp;nbsp;established Azraq WetlandsReserve to conserve the uniquely precious oasis located in the heart of Jordan’s eastern desert, between a limestone desert in the west and a basalt desert in the east. It is distinguished by lush marshland and natural springs forming sparkling pools, giving Azraq its name, which is the Arabic word for ‘blue’.&lt;br /&gt;
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Citation: The Azraq Wetland Reserve web site. &quot;In 1977, Azraq was declared a Ramsar Wetland of International Significance. Tragically, the wetland has suffered an environmental disaster because of overuse of water from the Azraq Basin aquifer. Due to excessive pumping of water from the oasis to large urban areas, particulalry Amman,&amp;nbsp;and the illegal drilling of artesian wells for agricultural purposes, water levels have steadily dropped over the course of 50 years. These high levels of water extraction resulted in the extreme depletion of this natural oasis, drying up massive areas of invaluable wetland equaling over 25 km2. In 1992 the four&amp;nbsp; springs which were feeding the wetland had dried out and the water table&amp;nbsp;reached a depth of 12 meters below ground level. The water body that used to be a thriving ecological hotspot has dwindled alarmingly to cover 0.04 % of the area it used to cover in the past; the effects of which can be clearly seen in declining numbers of birds stopping over in Azraq wetland on their migratory route.&quot; In 1994, RSCN and international agencies managed to obtain enough water to restore depleted water levels by 10 percent. So far, this target has not been achieved due to continued water pumping, lack of manpower, and a lack of experience in wetland management. However, thanks to RSCN&#39;s efforts, many birds for which Azraq was once renowned for are coming back, and special boardwalks and bird hides have been constructed to enable visitors to observe and enjoy them.&lt;br /&gt;
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The wetland provides a natural habitat for numerous aquatic and terrestrial species, including the Azraq Killifish &lt;em&gt;Aphanius sirhani&lt;/em&gt;, the only true endemic vertebrate species of Jordan. Due to the degradation of the species native habitat, the killifish is a critically endangered species as identified by the World Conservation Union IUCN. A captive breeding project was initiated, and kilifish have returned to the pools. their numbers greatly increased in their natural habitat.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
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We met Hazen y. Al-Hreisha, the Azrak Refuge Manager. He has been so kind, and is helping to organize our interviews and research. He helped us contact local people to interview about their community based conservation program, representing the local Chechen, Druze and Bedouin cultural groups in Azraq. I hope to determine how they relate to the wetland both from the time when the wetland was whole, to its current degraded condition. </description><link>http://iraqmarshrestoration.blogspot.com/2013/06/arrival-at-azrak-wetlands-reserve-june.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Michelle L. Stevens)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740673484050288686.post-1302334562346070046</guid><pubDate>Sat, 15 Jun 2013 18:22:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-06-15T11:26:37.553-07:00</atom:updated><title>Part 2 - Sharbil bin Hassneh EcoPark</title><description>The EcoPark was an amazing experience. We drove into the lodge area, and sat in the shade and we retailed with a symphony of bird song. Our wonderful guide, Adnan Budleri, is the Assistant Director of Research and Development with th EcoPark. I wish I had written down all the birds we saw - little owl, cattle egret, swifts, European bee eater, blue tit, black legged stilt, house sparrows, kingfisher, blackbirds, spear winged plover, dead sea sparrow, little grebe, and lots more. The trees were alive and flutering and singing with birds.This is particularly significant in that the landscape all around us was dry annual grasses.&lt;br /&gt;
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Unfortunately, Jordan has lost most of its forests and a lot of its really cool wildlife. Trees were cut by the Romans, the Ottoman empire, damaged from overgrzazing and charcoal production for hubbly buubly hookah pipes. Less than 1% of the forests remain. The Royal&amp;nbsp;Botanic Garden and EcoPark are restoring the 1 percent of the remaining forests. There are pines, oak (&lt;em&gt;Quercus cathercanthus&lt;/em&gt;), White acacia (&lt;em&gt;Acacia albudure&lt;/em&gt;), figs, funeral cypress, and Arabic acacia, They used to have roe deer, wild goats, mountain gazelle, ibex, cheetah, desert gazelle, leopard, lions, Syrian gazelle, lions.&lt;br /&gt;
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We had a wonderful time and saw a lot of the northwestern side of Jordan. We got to the Ibis at 3:00 pm, met our drive from the Azraq Wetlands Reserve, and drove east to Azraq, about a two hour drive. The highway is a major conduit between Jordan, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. Trasport of petrol comes through these roads, among other commodities. Clara says driving through Iraq in convey with petrol trucks is very dangerous, and they often hit a bomb or are boarded and the gas stolen. The long and short is that the drive scared the pucky&amp;nbsp;out of me because of fast traffic passing frequently frequently with no passing lanes and big trucks. One truck had fluffy wool in it, and I didn&#39;t look closely. It turned out to be dead sheep and a cow, except I didn&#39;t look. It&#39;s not emblazened on my brain. &lt;br /&gt;
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We drove by the huge Mrajeeb Al Fhood refugee camp preparations on the way to Azraq. The area is 84 hectares in size. &amp;nbsp;They plan to bring 450,000 to 600,000 people to the camp within two months.&amp;nbsp;The area is &amp;nbsp;flat black rock desert, no vegetation at this time of year, no trees, no water, and blazing hot in August. We presumed the refugees would be Syrian; however, in Azraq rumors circulate that it could be Palestinian (probably a rumor). The size and scale of this huge area as far as the eye can see, heavy equipment moving sand and gravel for the flat&amp;nbsp;pads for tents, was really sad. It weighs on me. It leant a heaviness to my dreams. So much suffering. The camp is near a military base. US transport planes are landing with materials for the refugee camp, evidentally U.S. aid. One man was doing his prayers while the big equipment moved around him. I think we all need to do our &amp;nbsp;prayers. No one knows how long the refugees will be here, where the water will come from, whether the wastewater will contaminate the limited groundwater aquifer, will there be health care, education or any hope of earning a livelihood? The war in Syria is fully engaged, with no good guys, pawns by other countries supplying weapons, and just unspeakable tragic suffering. War literally is hll.</description><link>http://iraqmarshrestoration.blogspot.com/2013/06/part-2-sharbil-bin-hassneh-ecopark.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Michelle L. Stevens)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740673484050288686.post-6673708475815502060</guid><pubDate>Fri, 14 Jun 2013 16:07:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-06-14T09:07:14.622-07:00</atom:updated><title>Sharhabil bin Hassneh EcoPark June 13</title><description>June 13, 2013 Western Jordan with Adnan Budieri, Friends of the Earth Middle East&lt;br /&gt;
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We went on a tour to the Jordan River on the western Jordan Valley on the border with Israel and Palestine. We claimed up circuitous mountain west from Amman, then down into the Jordan Valley. The hillsides are badly overgrazed. This spring was a good water year, yet the slopes were largely denuded of vegetation. Animal trails could be seen throughout the steep slopes, with rills and erosion tracking down the mountainside. The headwaters of watersheds became deeply incised and head cutting occurred throughout the drainages.&lt;br /&gt;
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The Jordan Valley is part of the Great Rift Valley, stretching all the way from Turkey to Africa. As we descended from the mountains, the air was a shimmery blue haze and we could see down to the meandering green pattern of the river, the fertile valley bottom, and the border of so much conflict in the world. This is the place so many stories we read as children in Sunday school, and this is the place I imagined. It&#39;s amazing that Jesus was here in this valley, where he was baptized, a Dave he hid in. Adnan pointed out the plant &quot;Crown of Thorns (Ziziphus spinachristi) that was put around Jesus head.&lt;br /&gt;
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Olives are called poor mans agriculture. They grow without irrigation;farmers dig a trough around them to collect spring rainwater, then leave them to grow and produce. The lower slopes have olives trees, the upper have sparse individual trees. The forest were once Cypress Pine (with bigger nuts) and Aleppo Pine (Pinus halogensis). Things that are native and growing wild on the hillsides include carob, pistachio, fig, grapes, and castor oil plant.&lt;br /&gt;
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The Jordan River flow has been reduced from 1.3 billion cubic meters per year to less than 70 million cubic meters per year. &amp;nbsp;Since much of the are is a closed military zone, the reduced flows and poor quality water are not readily noticed and complained about by the public. Due to regional instability I&lt;br /&gt;
I&#39;m thinking there are not agreements on allocation of water, and that the river will continue to have flow reductions.&lt;br /&gt;
The Eco park is a paradise.&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;br /&gt;</description><link>http://iraqmarshrestoration.blogspot.com/2013/06/sharhabil-bin-hassneh-ecopark-june-13.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Michelle L. Stevens)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740673484050288686.post-4111260064571812297</guid><pubDate>Thu, 13 Jun 2013 02:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-06-12T19:00:34.009-07:00</atom:updated><title>Day 2 WANA Forum</title><description>June 12 &lt;b&gt;Day 2 WANA Forum&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
A key objective of the WANA Forum is the DeLeon guiding principles. Several key issues were pointed out that lead to displacement of people within the region. 1) The dynamics of the market displace many people and put them in the ranks of the excluded, such as replacing subsistence food production with global production of coffee, tea, cacao, etc. .2) A permanent fund needs be created to help countries dealing with a sudden crises of people. 3) Deal with the route of the problem -lack of access to resources, inadequate access to health and education, inadequate access to financial wherewithal to make a livelihood and participle in the democratic process.4) Account for environmental functions and services degraded by influx of people, especially water supply, waste disposal, and degradation of biodiversity and habitat. 5) Coordinate development led strategies to integrate refugee impacts and&amp;nbsp;growth potential to stimulate the economy.&lt;br /&gt;
The WANA Forum stresses &quot;what is important:to seek out opportunities to hear what the silenced majority have to say.&quot; As Peter Sutherland, Special Representative to the UN Secretary General on Migration and Development synthesized the three questions on Netherlands agenda, commitment to resolving rather than financing the extension of displacement; establishment of a regional bank for reconstruction and development; and the setting up of a knowledge and sharing platform.&lt;br /&gt;
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Draft guiding principles with two principles:&lt;br /&gt;
A) alleviate human suffering while ensuring and sustaining the dignity of both the uprooted people and host countries;&lt;br /&gt;
B) Establish a framework of regional cooperation and mutually assured human security underpinned by a Social Charter and a Regional ECOSOC Charter&lt;br /&gt;
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The guiding principles should be based on the four pillars of post-conflict reconstruction and&lt;br /&gt;
recovery, social cohesion, the environment, and green economy.&lt;br /&gt;
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Ideas from the conference draft guiding principles: 1) develop macro and micro economic development strategies and approaches. the idea is to reframe humanitarian crises. As development opportunities -attempt to minimize burdens the uprooted may have on host countries though positive and sustainable contributions that they may make to the local and national economy may be maximized. 2) Develop strategies for the internally displaced people or immigrants to provide housing, land, food, potable water, and waste management; end urban violence against the uprooted; provide access to health care, education, and an opportunity to make a livelihood 3) Water. promoting regional water management and resource cooperation in the context of climate change is key to mitigating conflict, preventing uprooting and responding to the impacts of displacement where this occurs. These objections can be secured by enhancing regional and national policies for adaptation, resilience and governance through a regional knowledge knowledge base side by side with grassroots mobilization.&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;img src=&quot;webkit-fake-url://D2D32133-602E-474D-B9E9-1CCA74F4D1EA/imagejpeg&quot; /&gt;</description><link>http://iraqmarshrestoration.blogspot.com/2013/06/day-2-wana-forum.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Michelle L. Stevens)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740673484050288686.post-7875312283378717780</guid><pubDate>Tue, 11 Jun 2013 21:07:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-06-12T10:13:09.611-07:00</atom:updated><title>Day 1 WANA Forum</title><description>June 11 Opening day of the WANA Forum. We all had the great honor of meeting His Royal Highness Prince Hassan bin Talal. The honor is for the deep thoughtful and brilliant comments on building a pluralistic and mutually respectful society.&lt;br /&gt;
The names for &quot;immigrants&quot; at the forum was &quot; the uprooted,&quot; distinguishing between Internally Displaced People, such as the Marsh Arabs in Iraq, and people dispossessed by war, lack of environmental resources, dams, and other catastrophes. &amp;nbsp;There are &amp;nbsp;20 million displaced people in the world, and the majority are women and children. HRH called for a &quot;more just world&quot; by eliminating: 1) inequitable distribution of assets; 2)Enhancing the capacity of the poor to generate assets by building capacity, enabling and empowering them; &amp;nbsp;3) eliminating unequal distribtion of markets, inability to get credit or startup capital; and &amp;nbsp;4) Unjust lack of access to education.and health care. Delightfully, HRH ended his talk quoting &amp;nbsp;Kung Fu Panda &quot;Yesterday is history. tomorrow is mystery. Today is a present, that&#39;s why we call it a gift.&quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Today we learned about the 1,600,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq, and 8,000 pour across the borders of Jordan every day. There are also 160,000 Palestinian refugees in Jordan. By keeping their borders open to refugees, the host countries like Jordan are providing an incredible international service.&lt;br /&gt;
&quot;The pillars of faith are an important part of the solution, we need to &quot;to feed the uprooted our of love for the prisoners of war.&quot; said Dr. Hang el Benna, of the Humanitarian Forum&lt;br /&gt;
Andrew Harper, UNHCR, discussed the problem all countries are concerned about, which is the potential security threat of the uprooted. the young men without potential for education or earning a livelihood are vulnerable to radicalization. Also, the sovereignty, stability and provision of social services tax the host country.&lt;br /&gt;
Forum&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875);&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;members in the workshop at the end of the day provided written reccomendations for solutions to some of these obstacles. A major initiative is to include protection of refugees in the Millineum Development Goals and present our reccomendations to the G20 summit in October 2013&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
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&lt;img src=&quot;webkit-fake-url://8CBCB443-12FA-4394-8078-ADF50BB280EC/imagejpeg&quot; /&gt;</description><link>http://iraqmarshrestoration.blogspot.com/2013/06/day-1-wana-forum.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Michelle L. Stevens)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740673484050288686.post-3136804449303456969</guid><pubDate>Sun, 09 Jun 2013 17:50:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-06-12T09:09:19.235-07:00</atom:updated><title>Arrival in Jordan at WANA Forum</title><description>Clara Crossman and I arrived at the Ibis Hotel at 4:00 am June 8. 28 hours in transit, and all flight connections delayed and re routed. It took five hours to get out of Sacramento. Tomorrow we are attending the West Asia North Africa Region (WANA) Forum on Achieving the Human Dignity of the Uprooted. Jordan provides a refuge for environmental refugees, with hundreds of thousands poring in from Syria and in the last two months from Iraq. &amp;nbsp;We will collectively learn about the existing situation and develop guiding principles based on the Social Charter of the WANA Forum. This will be fascinating based on the US forum on immigration. Tuesday we will talk about the HIMA approach of the WANA Forum, by which they mean Human IntegratedManagement Approach. Tuesday the forum will focus more on the HIMA approach, led by my esteemed colleague Dr. Walid Salem, Director of the Centre for Democracy and Community Development. I hope to collaborate with him about establishing a MOC with the United Nations University and CSUS. I want to establish &amp;nbsp;a HIMA Center for the CSU Sacramento.&lt;br /&gt;
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We plan to visit the Azraq Wetlands from June 13-20. these wetlands are the prefect analogue for Iraq, with somewhat similar problems. A influx of refugees, the dispossessed, suffering similar to problems of Marsh Arabs. Water withdrawals, in Jordan by powerful agricultural interests (similar to California), and oil companies in Iraq. We will be testing &amp;nbsp;a wetlands rapid assessment methodology in the Azraq wetlands, similar to the California Rapid Assessment Method (CRAM) modified for Jordan and California. With the water withdrawals and desiccation in the wetlands, wetland assessment may also be very beneficial to conservation of Jordanian wetlands.&lt;br /&gt;
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Today we met today with Maen-Ed Al Smadi, the reserves manager for Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature in Jordan. There may be opportunities for research collaboration and publications here in Jordan. With increasing insecurity in Iraq, and fascinating opportunities in iJordan, there are likely to be future opportunities here. We also plan to talk to members of the women&#39;s operatives and did out more about sustainable development opportunities for women, families and children.&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;br /&gt;</description><link>http://iraqmarshrestoration.blogspot.com/2013/06/arrival-in-jordan-at-wana-forum.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Michelle L. Stevens)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740673484050288686.post-870543376047885027</guid><pubDate>Thu, 06 Jun 2013 22:53:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-06-06T16:00:25.117-07:00</atom:updated><title></title><description>See our new page; &quot;HIMA Mesopotamia Jordan&amp;nbsp;Trip&quot;&amp;nbsp;for updates about&amp;nbsp;HIMA&#39;s trip to Jordan on June 07-27, 2013!</description><link>http://iraqmarshrestoration.blogspot.com/2013/06/blog-post.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Michelle L. Stevens)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740673484050288686.post-6260132862340460113</guid><pubDate>Sat, 10 Sep 2011 19:46:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-09-10T13:12:02.339-07:00</atom:updated><title>Hima Fundraiser</title><description>&lt;a onblur=&quot;try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}&quot; style=&quot;color: rgb(102, 255, 153);&quot; href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAnVFWTHOfKCwYzxjUF-qoQk5dPwAkSziiLYXungg7dHaAsF-8sdIpG48mMQ2vh4rclOr3J-kMKI4RgBq6DzIJasdOjA43SPH4S7s2QGjMog1ejvaul-BJNpoL8URdf8TX6EtIbOQ7t49u/s1600/DSC_0016.jpg&quot;&gt;&lt;img style=&quot;float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAnVFWTHOfKCwYzxjUF-qoQk5dPwAkSziiLYXungg7dHaAsF-8sdIpG48mMQ2vh4rclOr3J-kMKI4RgBq6DzIJasdOjA43SPH4S7s2QGjMog1ejvaul-BJNpoL8URdf8TX6EtIbOQ7t49u/s320/DSC_0016.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; id=&quot;BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5650820193222934066&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Last night, &lt;span class=&quot;blsp-spelling-error&quot; id=&quot;SPELLING_ERROR_0&quot;&gt;Hima&lt;/span&gt; Mesopotamia had its first fundraiser at the Kiwanis Family House in Sacramento, California. Over 48 people attended the talk by Dr. Nadia &lt;span class=&quot;blsp-spelling-error&quot; id=&quot;SPELLING_ERROR_1&quot;&gt;Fawzi&lt;/span&gt; on her life and lives of Iraqi&#39;s in southern Iraq. We were particularly delighted to have a large number of Iraqi&#39;s present. I learned last night that over 2,000 refuges have been relocated in the Sacramento area. Two men from the group Mesopotamia invited me to meet with them, to come to their homes, to listen to their stories. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;font-size:78%;&quot; &gt;Dr. Nadia Fawzi, guest speaker, Basrah Marine Science Center, Basrah, Iraq&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hima Mesopotamia is about telling people&#39;s stories. It is remarkably healing for a dispossessed people to have their stories told within the context of their culture,  the land they come from, and their ancestors. We started out the evening with a movie featuring Dr. Azzam Alwash, Nature Iraq, and the Marsh Arabs. My  favorite part of the movie is watching a small child rolling around and hugging a large water buffalo, as we in America might have our children playing and wrestling with a family pet dog. The mashoofs or boats on the water, the mudheif or guest house constructed of reeds, the remarkably buccaulic and tranquil floating islands of reeds. A hard life and a good life.  When I think of Iraq before Saddam&#39;s reign of terror, I think of people living a subsistence life style on the marshes, entertaining guests lavishly, punishing enemies with a vengeance. Iraq also had an intellectual elite, with some of the finest colleges and best educated students in the world. Ramzi told us they had a final exam of advanced calculus, physics, physical chemistry, biology, arabic and english. The  top scores, of whatever background or sex, went to the best Universities. I have been told that some biologists became biolotists because they couldn&#39;t pass the test high enough to become doctors or engineers. In Iraq, there were a lot of well educated and well paid women engineers and doctors before the  wars.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Its sad how a tyrant, and those who allow a tyrant power, can destroy a world. The war between Iran and Iraq in the 1980&#39;s caused a huge debt, the loss of millions of lives, destruction of the border lands along the Shat al Arab. Saddam&#39;s incursion into Kuwait coast the country a great deal of lives, riches and the bad will of the international community. After the US invaded Iraq, the country is stumbling its way toward democracy. Nadia pointed out the Democracy did not arise organically from the people, the young, the inspired. It was imposed from the top down. What does Middle Eastern Democracy look like? I don&#39;t know.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I digress.  Last night Nadia Fawzi gave  a wonderful talk, sharing from her own life. She said she and her husband and four children moved to Yemen with almost nothing in their pockets, and were able to obtain jobs. Then they moved to New Zealand. Now her husband is in Saudi Arabia and her children are in both countries.  Moving back to Basrah  must have taken a great deal of passion, conviction and courage. Now the Marine Science Center scientists are going into the marshes and talking to the marsh arabs, finding what they need, and how their lives are. After three decades of war, hope is the greatest casualty. Without  water, jobs, education, viable transportation to and from communities, healthy water buffaloes, gardens, or adequate fish, life is tough. There are high rates of infant mortality and birth defects from contaminated water and inadequate hygiene and waste disposal.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We had many students, members of the  communities, and Iraqi&#39;s at the talk and good dinner and desert. To me this was a basket start, a beginning of creating a network where we can listen, we can hear the stories and tell them, and we can find a way to help. One thing we can keep alive is the knowledge that a healthy ecosystem is essential to keep functional and viable for a healthy human population.</description><link>http://iraqmarshrestoration.blogspot.com/2011/09/hima-fundraiser.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Michelle L. Stevens)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAnVFWTHOfKCwYzxjUF-qoQk5dPwAkSziiLYXungg7dHaAsF-8sdIpG48mMQ2vh4rclOr3J-kMKI4RgBq6DzIJasdOjA43SPH4S7s2QGjMog1ejvaul-BJNpoL8URdf8TX6EtIbOQ7t49u/s72-c/DSC_0016.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740673484050288686.post-736596228263290271</guid><pubDate>Sat, 10 Sep 2011 19:44:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-09-10T12:45:48.266-07:00</atom:updated><title>Hima sponsored talks by Dr. Nadia Fawzi at CSU Sacramento</title><description>&lt;table align=&quot;center&quot; cellpadding=&quot;0&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; class=&quot;tr-caption-container&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisNYIe-FeI_Kip43Mivyv8D6IH-QEL5kVy5h320nfS8FK7Hho7mgmcJt4BnzInOBPXEJOvdXUQxkYlMxTMtb_00kJpTBBYsL0TD3ZNnlVDRmUzR5WNimPALILYi6gajq4cjjqTMZnRpHAC/s1600/DSC_0019.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;214&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisNYIe-FeI_Kip43Mivyv8D6IH-QEL5kVy5h320nfS8FK7Hho7mgmcJt4BnzInOBPXEJOvdXUQxkYlMxTMtb_00kJpTBBYsL0TD3ZNnlVDRmUzR5WNimPALILYi6gajq4cjjqTMZnRpHAC/s320/DSC_0019.jpg&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;tr-caption&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Dr. Nadia Fawzi, Marine Science Center, Raida Fahmi, and Dr. Michelle Stevens&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;tr-caption&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;tr-caption&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;</description><link>http://iraqmarshrestoration.blogspot.com/2011/09/dr.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Michelle L. Stevens)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisNYIe-FeI_Kip43Mivyv8D6IH-QEL5kVy5h320nfS8FK7Hho7mgmcJt4BnzInOBPXEJOvdXUQxkYlMxTMtb_00kJpTBBYsL0TD3ZNnlVDRmUzR5WNimPALILYi6gajq4cjjqTMZnRpHAC/s72-c/DSC_0019.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740673484050288686.post-5293342507470009413</guid><pubDate>Sun, 04 Sep 2011 16:03:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-09-04T09:12:35.986-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">September 6-12 events in Sacramento</category><title>Guest Nadia Fawzi and Hima Fundraiser</title><description>&lt;a onblur=&quot;try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}&quot; href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAkJd_NqOasi8ufEzun_ZEgmP38uK3_h1Uv7wty64y73AcgoRrp_LRzXdD67B02EP9IYlHEJVQY2hWRUpAPKaO4PLXElhAj0znfpte-Sf_xM_zuCc85OP602IAmHRYINOTJsszOJItFcer/s1600/almaltha1.jpg&quot;&gt;&lt;img style=&quot;float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAkJd_NqOasi8ufEzun_ZEgmP38uK3_h1Uv7wty64y73AcgoRrp_LRzXdD67B02EP9IYlHEJVQY2hWRUpAPKaO4PLXElhAj0znfpte-Sf_xM_zuCc85OP602IAmHRYINOTJsszOJItFcer/s320/almaltha1.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; id=&quot;BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648537999629645938&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur=&quot;try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}&quot; href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj3sNmGz6LN7drtFsEOR-gtqmuWrAYCUCOHICJrLmQbx_YDNB_4G3aFJ9ga94f909VDqVa8sGKsEpPIi4PODpDRqKnfAYTOUaBkz1HWqcvhGr5Sz-DSkQuj3maxaOGnpQfxwBxOywokdT4/s1600/almaltha3.jpg&quot;&gt;&lt;img style=&quot;float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj3sNmGz6LN7drtFsEOR-gtqmuWrAYCUCOHICJrLmQbx_YDNB_4G3aFJ9ga94f909VDqVa8sGKsEpPIi4PODpDRqKnfAYTOUaBkz1HWqcvhGr5Sz-DSkQuj3maxaOGnpQfxwBxOywokdT4/s320/almaltha3.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; id=&quot;BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648537854376776210&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Next week Hima Mesopotamia is sponsoring visiting researcher Dr. Nadia al-Mudaffer Fawzi, Assistant Professor of Marine and Enviornmental Pollution, Marine Chemistry Department, Marine Science Center, University of Basrah, Iraq. The fundraiser will be Friday, September 9th, from 6:00-10:00 pm. The talk will be &quot;The Desertification of Eden: Stories from the Marsh Arabs&quot; and a film on the Marsh Arabs.  We will serve light middle eastern food. Suggested donations: $15.00 adults, $10.00 students, children free.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The location is the Kiwanis Family House, 2875 50th ST, Sacramento, CA.  For reservations email michelle@hima-mesopotamia.org or view our web site at www.hima-mesopotamia.org.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Other events this week include:&lt;br /&gt;* Tuesday September 6th, Geology Department Colloquium from 4:30-6:00 in Mendocino Hall, Room 1015, CSU Sacramento Campus&lt;br /&gt;* Wed September 7th, Environmental Studies Department and SSIS &quot;Marsh Arabs and the Environmental Changes in Southern Iraq Marshes&quot;, Mendocino Hall, Room 1015&lt;br /&gt;*Monday Sept 12th, STEM Faculty Forumj &quot;Impacts of Environmental Change: The Life and REalities of Iraqi Women and Children in the Mesopotamian Marshes, presented by the Center for STEM Excellence, Sequoia Hall, Room 317.&lt;br /&gt;</description><link>http://iraqmarshrestoration.blogspot.com/2011/09/guest-nadia-fawzi-and-hima-fundraiser.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Michelle L. Stevens)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAkJd_NqOasi8ufEzun_ZEgmP38uK3_h1Uv7wty64y73AcgoRrp_LRzXdD67B02EP9IYlHEJVQY2hWRUpAPKaO4PLXElhAj0znfpte-Sf_xM_zuCc85OP602IAmHRYINOTJsszOJItFcer/s72-c/almaltha1.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>1</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740673484050288686.post-6103570657647745622</guid><pubDate>Sun, 04 Sep 2011 15:51:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-09-04T09:01:15.266-07:00</atom:updated><title>Second Symposium</title><description>&lt;!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;&lt;xml&gt;  &lt;o:officedocumentsettings&gt;   &lt;o:relyonvml/&gt;   &lt;o:allowpng/&gt;  &lt;/o:OfficeDocumentSettings&gt; &lt;/xml&gt;&lt;![endif]--&gt;&lt;!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;&lt;xml&gt;  &lt;w:worddocument&gt;   &lt;w:view&gt;Normal&lt;/w:View&gt;   &lt;w:zoom&gt;0&lt;/w:Zoom&gt;   &lt;w:trackmoves/&gt;   &lt;w:trackformatting/&gt;   &lt;w:punctuationkerning/&gt; 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priority=&quot;62&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Light Grid Accent 2&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;63&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium Shading 1 Accent 2&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;64&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium Shading 2 Accent 2&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;65&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium List 1 Accent 2&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;66&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium List 2 Accent 2&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;67&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium Grid 1 Accent 2&quot;&gt; 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semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Colorful Shading Accent 3&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;72&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Colorful List Accent 3&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;73&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Colorful Grid Accent 3&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;60&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Light Shading Accent 4&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;61&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Light List Accent 4&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;62&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Light Grid Accent 4&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;63&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium Shading 1 Accent 4&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;64&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium Shading 2 Accent 4&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;65&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium List 1 Accent 4&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;66&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium List 2 Accent 4&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;67&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium Grid 1 Accent 4&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;68&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium Grid 2 Accent 4&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;69&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium Grid 3 Accent 4&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;70&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Dark List Accent 4&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;71&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Colorful Shading Accent 4&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;72&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Colorful List Accent 4&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;73&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Colorful Grid Accent 4&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;60&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Light Shading Accent 5&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;61&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Light List Accent 5&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;62&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Light Grid Accent 5&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;63&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium Shading 1 Accent 5&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;64&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium Shading 2 Accent 5&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;65&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium List 1 Accent 5&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;66&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; 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&lt;style&gt;  /* Style Definitions */  table.MsoNormalTable 	{mso-style-name:&quot;Table Normal&quot;; 	mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; 	mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; 	mso-style-noshow:yes; 	mso-style-priority:99; 	mso-style-parent:&quot;&quot;; 	mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; 	mso-para-margin-top:0in; 	mso-para-margin-right:0in; 	mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; 	mso-para-margin-left:0in; 	line-height:115%; 	mso-pagination:widow-orphan; 	font-size:11.0pt; 	font-family:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;; 	mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; 	mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; 	mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; 	mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; 	mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;; 	mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} &lt;/style&gt; &lt;![endif]--&gt;  &lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;&lt;b style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;i style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-style: normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;&quot;&gt;Special Session 2: Restoring Mesopotamia: Socio-economic Aspects of Cultural and Ecological Restoration &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;b style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;&lt;b style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;&quot;&gt;Abstract&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;&quot;&gt;The Mesopotamian Marshes are a culturalized landscape, consisting of a reciprocal relationship formed over thousands of years between Marsh Arab cultures and the marshes through both agriculture and traditional resource management. This panel will document the difficulties of those who returned to the marshes, hoping to regain their traditional lifestyle, as well as those who choose to or are forced to live in the cities. With their marsh homeland disappearing into a salt-encrusted wasteland, the Marsh Arabs are once again a people dispossessed. The Ma’dan are now becoming urban refugee squatting on lands they do not have ownership or rights to, attempting to eke out an existence with their water buffalo. Water buffalo represent both an umbrella species and a cultural icon; they are the main source of livelihood of people in the marshes, and are indicators of marsh health. Marsh Arabs face huge difficulties from loss of culture, dire health and educational situation, and loss of traditions. They are facing a very difficult situation with many of the young want to stay in the city, yet have no access to health, education, work opportunities, or the luxury of electricity or television. Because they are uneducated they are working in low wages and putting the major cities under pressure draining the already scarce resources. The fragility and vulnerability of the vast marsh ecosystem is also jeopardized by a lack of equitable riparian water rights from upstream users in the Tigris Euphrates watershed. The dislocated Marsh Arabs are environmental refugees.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun:yes&quot;&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin-left:12.0pt;text-indent:-12.0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;&quot;&gt;Dr. Michelle Stevens and Dr. Nadia Al-Mudaffar Fawzi, Panel Moderators&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin-left:12.0pt;text-indent:-12.0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;b style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;i style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-style:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;&quot;&gt;Speakers&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;&quot;&gt;Michelle Stevens.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun:yes&quot;&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;“Eco-cultural restoration baseline: Traditional Resource Management of Marsh Arabs in the Mesopotamian Marshes”. Executive Director, Hima Mesopotamia. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;&quot;&gt;Khalid al-Fartosi. &lt;i style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-style: normal&quot;&gt;Presentation given by Monica Dean&lt;/i&gt;. &lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun:yes&quot;&gt; &lt;/span&gt;“Water Buffalo: Cultural icon of Marsh Arabs and umbrella species indicating health of the marshes ” &lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun:yes&quot;&gt; &lt;/span&gt;Prof. Dr. Khalid Al-Fartosi, Biology Department / College of Science, University of Thi-Qar / Iraq. E-mail: khalidalfartosi@yahoo.com &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;Tova Fleming &quot;Breaking the silence: Finding hope in Mesopotamia&quot;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;text-align:justify;text-justify:kashida;text-kashida: 0%&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;&quot;&gt;Nadir Salman. &lt;i style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-style:normal&quot;&gt;Presentation given by Michelle Stevens&lt;/i&gt;. “&lt;span style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold&quot;&gt;Socioeconomic Status of People Inhabiting the Southern Marshes of Iraq” &lt;/span&gt;Marine Science Center, Basrah University, Basrah, Iraq. Email: &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;mailto:nadirabd@yahoo.com&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:12.0pt;line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;&quot;&gt;nadirabd@yahoo.com&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:12.0pt;font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;&quot;&gt;Nadia Al-Mudaffar Fawzi, Kadhmia M.W. Al-Ghezzy, Luma Al-Anber - Co-Facilitator of Special Session Panel, “Marsh Arabs and the Environmental Changes in Southern Iraqi Marshes (To Return or not to Return: That is the Question)” &lt;/span&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; color:#1F497D&quot;&gt;Marine Chemistry Department,&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;&quot;&gt;Marine Science Center, Basrah University, Basrah, Iraq. Email: nadia.fawzi@clear.net.nz&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:&amp;quot;MS PGothic&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-ansi-language: EN-GB&quot; lang=&quot;EN-GB&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  </description><link>http://iraqmarshrestoration.blogspot.com/2011/09/second-symposium.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Michelle L. Stevens)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740673484050288686.post-5590939369573244218</guid><pubDate>Sun, 04 Sep 2011 15:38:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-09-04T08:51:00.648-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">SER Confrence</category><title>symposium 2 at SERI conference</title><description>&lt;a onblur=&quot;try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}&quot; href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOXd95RYlTbum4jwO-JzKKnHAOr2lsNjBh9oFvwhm7FVozA9wvXp29KxbRnS-ZbSIRhrQF67q7i3FLngjevNQfBsHZKdHl_7M9SDT9rxUzZXfW_dtTkqbBqMS_zuLEcwDr1ZDDGtcBPvbn/s1600/Yucatan2+148.JPG&quot;&gt;&lt;img style=&quot;float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOXd95RYlTbum4jwO-JzKKnHAOr2lsNjBh9oFvwhm7FVozA9wvXp29KxbRnS-ZbSIRhrQF67q7i3FLngjevNQfBsHZKdHl_7M9SDT9rxUzZXfW_dtTkqbBqMS_zuLEcwDr1ZDDGtcBPvbn/s320/Yucatan2+148.JPG&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; id=&quot;BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648529933021949826&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur=&quot;try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}&quot; href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqEX47LqlMrwjZ3b1m3-aN3SH79_cflDhEgYPcTNLDnX7r0DB_qkx_seiyggU_Rcl41syuViT_WHynbNbMB84Q0qvBMsFQDwiLbdkRizNZ0BVskG9vLnHAgsbCU5iHrpmZKkGyh7jOLEIa/s1600/Yucatan2+140.JPG&quot;&gt;&lt;img style=&quot;float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqEX47LqlMrwjZ3b1m3-aN3SH79_cflDhEgYPcTNLDnX7r0DB_qkx_seiyggU_Rcl41syuViT_WHynbNbMB84Q0qvBMsFQDwiLbdkRizNZ0BVskG9vLnHAgsbCU5iHrpmZKkGyh7jOLEIa/s320/Yucatan2+140.JPG&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; id=&quot;BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648529665129218098&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Dr. Nadia Fawzi, Basrah Marine Science Center, Tova Fleming and Monica Dean. Merida, Mexico. August 2011.&lt;br /&gt;</description><link>http://iraqmarshrestoration.blogspot.com/2011/09/symposium-2-at-seri-conference.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Michelle L. Stevens)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOXd95RYlTbum4jwO-JzKKnHAOr2lsNjBh9oFvwhm7FVozA9wvXp29KxbRnS-ZbSIRhrQF67q7i3FLngjevNQfBsHZKdHl_7M9SDT9rxUzZXfW_dtTkqbBqMS_zuLEcwDr1ZDDGtcBPvbn/s72-c/Yucatan2+148.JPG" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740673484050288686.post-9207126579479383561</guid><pubDate>Sun, 04 Sep 2011 15:32:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-09-04T08:38:30.654-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Symposium 1 at SERI conference</category><title>Society of Ecological Restoration Conference</title><description>&lt;a onblur=&quot;try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}&quot; href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA4o2r1mBGyizapsOkPsRkh9-1juiUWhV-sh4wgDai9q-jYll6FO9M6v8Kl6hcR5zBM4LM-brMyxIUUj8fDxE3WaJeidsx1nFH0RNMtGgSlSh3xb1bv3w6ExDIaXkZAAKmaop3aMeY4D00/s1600/Yucatan2+146.JPG&quot;&gt;&lt;img style=&quot;float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA4o2r1mBGyizapsOkPsRkh9-1juiUWhV-sh4wgDai9q-jYll6FO9M6v8Kl6hcR5zBM4LM-brMyxIUUj8fDxE3WaJeidsx1nFH0RNMtGgSlSh3xb1bv3w6ExDIaXkZAAKmaop3aMeY4D00/s320/Yucatan2+146.JPG&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; id=&quot;BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648528300059806786&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We were very successful in our  two symposia at the Society of Ecological Restoration in Merida, Mexico. There were over 1,000 people attending the conference from 70 countries. Dr. Nadia Fawzi from the Basrah Marine Science Center, Tova Fleming and Monica Dean participated in the symposia. We had several cancellations due to lack of funds or ability to travel to Mexico, so we gave their presentations for the missing scientists. 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qformat=&quot;true&quot; name=&quot;heading 6&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;9&quot; qformat=&quot;true&quot; name=&quot;heading 7&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;9&quot; qformat=&quot;true&quot; name=&quot;heading 8&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;9&quot; qformat=&quot;true&quot; name=&quot;heading 9&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;39&quot; name=&quot;toc 1&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;39&quot; name=&quot;toc 2&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;39&quot; name=&quot;toc 3&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;39&quot; name=&quot;toc 4&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;39&quot; name=&quot;toc 5&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;39&quot; name=&quot;toc 6&quot;&gt; 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qformat=&quot;true&quot; name=&quot;Strong&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;20&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; qformat=&quot;true&quot; name=&quot;Emphasis&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;59&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Table Grid&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Placeholder Text&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;1&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; qformat=&quot;true&quot; name=&quot;No Spacing&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;60&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Light Shading&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;61&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Light List&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;62&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Light Grid&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;63&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium Shading 1&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;64&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium Shading 2&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;65&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium List 1&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;66&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium List 2&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;67&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium Grid 1&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;68&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium Grid 2&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;69&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium Grid 3&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;70&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Dark List&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;71&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Colorful Shading&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;72&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Colorful List&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;73&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Colorful Grid&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;60&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Light Shading Accent 1&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;61&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Light List Accent 1&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;62&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Light Grid Accent 1&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;63&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium Shading 1 Accent 1&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;64&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium Shading 2 Accent 1&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;65&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium List 1 Accent 1&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Revision&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;34&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; qformat=&quot;true&quot; name=&quot;List Paragraph&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;29&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; qformat=&quot;true&quot; name=&quot;Quote&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;30&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; qformat=&quot;true&quot; name=&quot;Intense Quote&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;66&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium List 2 Accent 1&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;67&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium Grid 1 Accent 1&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;68&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium Grid 2 Accent 1&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;69&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium Grid 3 Accent 1&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;70&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Dark List Accent 1&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;71&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Colorful Shading Accent 1&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;72&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Colorful List Accent 1&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;73&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Colorful Grid Accent 1&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;60&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Light Shading Accent 2&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;61&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Light List Accent 2&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;62&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Light Grid Accent 2&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;63&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium Shading 1 Accent 2&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;64&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium Shading 2 Accent 2&quot;&gt; 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name=&quot;Dark List Accent 2&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;71&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Colorful Shading Accent 2&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;72&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Colorful List Accent 2&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;73&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Colorful Grid Accent 2&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;60&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Light Shading Accent 3&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;61&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Light List Accent 3&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;62&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Light Grid Accent 3&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;63&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium Shading 1 Accent 3&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;64&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium Shading 2 Accent 3&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;65&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium List 1 Accent 3&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;66&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium List 2 Accent 3&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;67&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium Grid 1 Accent 3&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;68&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium Grid 2 Accent 3&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;69&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium Grid 3 Accent 3&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;70&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Dark List Accent 3&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;71&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Colorful Shading Accent 3&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;72&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Colorful List Accent 3&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;73&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Colorful Grid Accent 3&quot;&gt; 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name=&quot;Medium List 1 Accent 4&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;66&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium List 2 Accent 4&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;67&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium Grid 1 Accent 4&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;68&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium Grid 2 Accent 4&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;69&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium Grid 3 Accent 4&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;70&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Dark List Accent 4&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;71&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Colorful Shading Accent 4&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;72&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Colorful List Accent 4&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;73&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Colorful Grid Accent 4&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;60&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Light Shading Accent 5&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;61&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Light List Accent 5&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;62&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Light Grid Accent 5&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;63&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium Shading 1 Accent 5&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;64&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium Shading 2 Accent 5&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;65&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium List 1 Accent 5&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;66&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium List 2 Accent 5&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;67&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium Grid 1 Accent 5&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;68&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium Grid 2 Accent 5&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;69&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Medium Grid 3 Accent 5&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;70&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Dark List Accent 5&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;71&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Colorful Shading Accent 5&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;72&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Colorful List Accent 5&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;73&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; name=&quot;Colorful Grid Accent 5&quot;&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked=&quot;false&quot; priority=&quot;60&quot; semihidden=&quot;false&quot; unhidewhenused=&quot;false&quot; 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	font-size:11.0pt; 	font-family:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;; 	mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; 	mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; 	mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; 	mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; 	mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;; 	mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} &lt;/style&gt; &lt;![endif]--&gt;  &lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom:5.0pt;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;b style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:12.0pt; font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;&quot;&gt;Symposium 1&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom:5.0pt;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;b style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:12.0pt; font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;&quot;&gt;Water and Peace: A holistic perspective on the ecological and cultural restoration of the Tigris Euphrates watershed.  &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom:5.0pt;line-height:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;b style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:12.0pt; font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-bidi-font-style:italic&quot;&gt;Abstract&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:12.0pt; font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-bidi-font-style:italic&quot;&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;&quot;&gt;The Tigris and Euphrates River Basin is vulnerable due to water scarcity (exacerbated by climate change), inequitable sharing of water rights, and high risk of desertification. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-style:italic&quot;&gt;Participants representing Turkey, Iraq and Kuwait will discuss the scarcity of water, upstream dam construction, and long term implications for sustaining ecosystem health and cultural integrity. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;&quot;&gt;The future trajectory appears catastrophic throughout the watershed: devastating ecological and social impacts are occurring which jeopardize regional stability. With at least 26 large dams under construction or planned in the Tigris River in Turkey, there is cause for alarm and immediate action is needed to assess cumulative impacts and to mitigate the loss of species and habitats, as well as basin-wide socioeconomic impacts. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; mso-bidi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi&quot;&gt;With good water years since 2003, approximately 58% of marshes had been rejuvenated, and people had returned to their lives in the marshes&lt;i style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-style: normal&quot;&gt;. &lt;/i&gt;Unfortunately, past water years and upstream water diversions have resulted in severe drought, and now the Mesopotamian Marshes are drying up. Water levels continue to drop; marshes recede; salinities increase; and the fish, reeds and water buffalo that embody the marshes are dying. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;&quot;&gt;With low flows, salinity in the Shat al Arab has increased from salinity levels of 1 ppt to 9-13 ppt. Low flows and impaired water quality is adversely affecting fish production and biodiversity in the Shat al Arab and northern Gulf. Loss of fisheries alone will have adverse impacts on local populations. An international system of basin planning and equitable allocation of water rights is urgently needed.&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin-left:12.0pt;text-indent:-12.0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;b style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal&quot;&gt;&lt;u&gt;Speakers&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin-left:12.0pt;text-indent:-12.0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun:yes&quot;&gt; &lt;/span&gt;Michelle Stevens and Dicle Tubaq Kilic, Doga Dernegi, Turkey. “Impacts on nature and culture of dam construction in Turkey on the Tigris River Watershed”.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin-left:12.0pt;text-indent:-12.0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;&quot;&gt;Nadia Fawzi and H.T. al-Saad, “Examining the Condition of Iraq’s waterways and their impact on the water quality of the north western Arabian Gulf”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin-left:12.0pt;text-indent:-12.0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;&quot;&gt;Faiza al Yamani, Kuwait Institute of Scientific Research (KISR), presented by Nadia Fawzi, “Impacts of reduced flows and impaired water quality in the Shat al Arab to fish productivity, biodiversity and socio-economics in the Northern Gulf”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;margin-left:12.0pt;text-indent:-12.0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;&quot;&gt;Nature Iraq. Movie on the Marsh Arabs and Azzam Alwash.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;br /&gt;</description><link>http://iraqmarshrestoration.blogspot.com/2011/09/society-of-ecological-restoration.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Michelle L. Stevens)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA4o2r1mBGyizapsOkPsRkh9-1juiUWhV-sh4wgDai9q-jYll6FO9M6v8Kl6hcR5zBM4LM-brMyxIUUj8fDxE3WaJeidsx1nFH0RNMtGgSlSh3xb1bv3w6ExDIaXkZAAKmaop3aMeY4D00/s72-c/Yucatan2+146.JPG" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740673484050288686.post-3257184182551792213</guid><pubDate>Sun, 14 Aug 2011 15:53:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-08-14T09:27:14.930-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Merida day 1</category><title>Merida, Mexico</title><description>&lt;a onblur=&quot;try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}&quot; href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlQ965plKUJhOyuQA5Z6WnBfY42tVaurPYdMJ7LeiDT1OFrXgELBsg-plOkWdDUWUr5bl6OAVwzAbDOWtJtwGHFtURJYsVtuPnsnVFkFw_J6SyninqtghLAQdHQMdT_HMY1I_UMKYl_YW6/s1600/Yucatan+024.JPG&quot;&gt;&lt;img style=&quot;float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlQ965plKUJhOyuQA5Z6WnBfY42tVaurPYdMJ7LeiDT1OFrXgELBsg-plOkWdDUWUr5bl6OAVwzAbDOWtJtwGHFtURJYsVtuPnsnVFkFw_J6SyninqtghLAQdHQMdT_HMY1I_UMKYl_YW6/s320/Yucatan+024.JPG&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; id=&quot;BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640748797658670850&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur=&quot;try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}&quot; href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOAtHyNyy6l3zdhoLEm9Yrc_OJHU4aLD74GMcoPcPBLko-gJ_ZgzlWDKk25Grt1eSybsbfjAlwsnoB3V0pTXhXrXGN8ONs_G6783yq_QmlQ2MUxfZ78FSYc-84UOfwkmjhbmWGvLVPakRH/s1600/Yucatan+035.JPG&quot;&gt;&lt;img style=&quot;float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOAtHyNyy6l3zdhoLEm9Yrc_OJHU4aLD74GMcoPcPBLko-gJ_ZgzlWDKk25Grt1eSybsbfjAlwsnoB3V0pTXhXrXGN8ONs_G6783yq_QmlQ2MUxfZ78FSYc-84UOfwkmjhbmWGvLVPakRH/s320/Yucatan+035.JPG&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; id=&quot;BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640746257988050898&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Yesterday Chris Oshiro and I visited Merida. I was here in the 1970&#39;s as a very young woman, camping on the beaches and taking cheap buses with a friend. It was very  rural, the town was very small.  In the mid 1990&#39;s, the town was growing, a lot of fast food chains and Walmart arrived, it was dirty and crowded and disappointing. This visit reveals a beautiful city, clean, beautiful old building built in the early 1900&#39;s in French, Moorish and Spanish architecture, renovated and colorful. The streets are wide, clean, and beautiful. It feels safe, and people seem very friendly. We went to the Anthropology museum, to see beautiful stone statues and remains from the Mayan culture. We decided to go to Chichen Itza on Tuesday to see the massive stone city ourselves. The historic part of the museum was sad, with pictures of firing squads and soldiers dead in battle.  I think in Mexico the Indian populations are still not treated with due respect, other than in reminders of ancient cities and ruins. The living Indios, the Mayans, tend to not be treated with due respect, nor their living cultures celebrated as much as they deserve. Our tour bus driver also told us this is so.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It bothers me to see the bones of the dead on display. I blessed them. If reincarnation is true, someone may be alive today whose bones are stores in a museum exhibit. Even so, their ritual funeral and burial was not meant to be on display in some day in the future. I&#39;m glad archaeology has evolved to not be so barbaric and disrespectful as it once was.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We went to Katun for dinner, serving Yucatecan food. We had sopa de lima and a Yucatan fish served in banana leaves. Great corn tortillas, home made!  It&#39;s easy  to spend a lot of money on good food!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Wildlife:  boattailed grackels, really noicy!  Royal palms lining the fancy estates. Ceiba tree, sacred, beautiful, emense, great presence.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;More adventures today, and preparation for the conference.&lt;br /&gt;</description><link>http://iraqmarshrestoration.blogspot.com/2011/08/merida-mexico.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Michelle L. Stevens)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlQ965plKUJhOyuQA5Z6WnBfY42tVaurPYdMJ7LeiDT1OFrXgELBsg-plOkWdDUWUr5bl6OAVwzAbDOWtJtwGHFtURJYsVtuPnsnVFkFw_J6SyninqtghLAQdHQMdT_HMY1I_UMKYl_YW6/s72-c/Yucatan+024.JPG" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740673484050288686.post-3121585416474123321</guid><pubDate>Sun, 14 Aug 2011 15:43:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-08-14T08:53:32.412-07:00</atom:updated><title>Symposia on dam construction and water conditions in Tigris Euphrates</title><description>&lt;a onblur=&quot;try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}&quot; href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidQbSbBqgHlPv9xFIBA5YzoqjkzVxzrIou1IeJ5T37siPk4J0zUkZbyYEz4IM__Y2Az_21sxFHd-0OtVVk3BrrBCLkPhoBRWbgf9dFiSQMV73hpauSyf2YzFX00S8tXNfZBxWtyE4o0Z74/s1600/Hama%255B1%255D.JPG&quot;&gt;&lt;img style=&quot;float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidQbSbBqgHlPv9xFIBA5YzoqjkzVxzrIou1IeJ5T37siPk4J0zUkZbyYEz4IM__Y2Az_21sxFHd-0OtVVk3BrrBCLkPhoBRWbgf9dFiSQMV73hpauSyf2YzFX00S8tXNfZBxWtyE4o0Z74/s320/Hama%255B1%255D.JPG&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; id=&quot;BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640738344984152706&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Our second symposia is &quot;Water and Peace: Creating a holistic perspective on the ecological and cultural restoration of the Tigris Euphrates watershed.&quot; on the water conditions in the Tigris Euphrates. Most of our invited symposia attendees could not come and sent presentations. Dicle Tubaz Kulic, Doga Dernegi, Turkey, could not attend due to lack of funds. She will be sending a presentation on the desperate condition of people on the Tigris River from dam construction (see information below). Dr. Faiza al Yamani, scientist at the Kuwait Institute of Scientific Research, was unable to attend and sent a powerpoint on conditions in the Kuwait. A port is proposed which will severely damage the  area around Bubyon Island, a key  production areas for fish and macro-invertebrates for the Gulf and Mesopotamian Marshes. We will include information on the Mesopotamian Marshes by Nature Iraq by showing a movie on the marshes. Nadia Fawzi will give an overview of the watershed.  Unfortunately, only one of the guest speakers was able to attend.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; It has been very frustrating, as the last UNESCO Conference in Basrah, Iraq, did not consider the boundary conditions of the water coming into the country via the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.  Another branch  of UNESCO (United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights)  voiced its deep concerns about the construction of Ilusu dam as well as approximately 2,000 additional dam projects proposed in Turkey. The Committee released a report in May 2011  urging the Turkish government to review its legislative policies on evictions, resettlement, and compensation. Communities in Southeastern Turkey, primarily Kurdish, have been evicted from their homes receiving token compensation; they&lt;br /&gt;have been settled in villages with no hope and no future.&lt;br /&gt;The Ilusu dam on the Tigris River in Southeast Turkey will affect up to 78,000 mainly Kurdish people in Turkey and many thousands more downstream in Iraq. Almost half of the affected villagers and further affected 30.000 nomads have no land or land titles. The affected people face a future in extreme poverty, the loss of their livelihoods and history, and the disruption of their&lt;br /&gt;village and family structures.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Additionally, Ilusu dam and other HEPP projects will have major environmental impacts resulting in irreversible conversion and degradation of critical natural habitats on the Tigris River. It will inundate 400 km of riverine ecosystem hosting dozens of threatened species, 300 archaeological sites and the 12,000- year- old town of Hasankeyf. Priority Areas for bio-diversity&lt;br /&gt;forming a single integral ecosystem lie along the Tigris River between the Devegeçidi River and the international frontier with Syria and Iraq. This is, as yet, an unaltered stretch of river and, despite dams further down- and upstream, it still has a full complement of riverine habitats and, all importantly, variable water levels and seasonal flows, according to Aysegul Ozpinar, Organizer of the Great March of Anatolia, a protest march from Hasenkeyf to Ankara. For several weeks, activists and dam affected people from all parts of the country marched towards the capital to demonstrate against the destruction of nature in Anatolia.“The right to a healthy environment is a fundamental human right. We will not cease to resist the complete destruction of our waters which the government currently pushes for”.&lt;br /&gt;</description><link>http://iraqmarshrestoration.blogspot.com/2011/08/symposia-on-dam-construction-and-water.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Michelle L. Stevens)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidQbSbBqgHlPv9xFIBA5YzoqjkzVxzrIou1IeJ5T37siPk4J0zUkZbyYEz4IM__Y2Az_21sxFHd-0OtVVk3BrrBCLkPhoBRWbgf9dFiSQMV73hpauSyf2YzFX00S8tXNfZBxWtyE4o0Z74/s72-c/Hama%255B1%255D.JPG" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>1</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740673484050288686.post-3114671815254211509</guid><pubDate>Sun, 14 Aug 2011 15:40:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-08-14T08:43:35.327-07:00</atom:updated><title>Chapter on Eco-Cutlural Restoration of Mesopotamian Marshes publishes</title><description>Our book and an article by Tova Fleming will be out in early  Sept!!  &quot;Michelle Stevens with Dr. Hamid K. Ahmed, 2011, Chapter 20: Eco-cultural Restoration of the Mesopotamian Marshes,&lt;br /&gt;Southern Iraq, In Dave Egan, Evan Hjerpe, and Jesse Abrams&lt;br /&gt;(editors). Integrating Nature and Culture: Exploring the Human&lt;br /&gt;Dimensions of Ecological Restoration. Island Press&quot;  (In Press,&lt;br /&gt;scheduled publication August 2011)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Tova Fleming and Michelle Stevens, August 2011, Ending the&lt;br /&gt;Silence: Ecocide and Renewal in Iraq’s Marshlands. Earth First!&lt;br /&gt;Journal (In press)&lt;br /&gt;</description><link>http://iraqmarshrestoration.blogspot.com/2011/08/chapter-on-eco-cutlural-restoration-of.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Michelle L. Stevens)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740673484050288686.post-1868309053293337767</guid><pubDate>Sun, 14 Aug 2011 15:24:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-08-14T08:40:18.354-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Plight of Marsh Arabs and water buffalo from lack of water</category><title>Society of Ecological Restoration in Merida Mexico</title><description>&lt;a onblur=&quot;try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}&quot; href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBnSgywQFEe_0oZR2iSHToiJY5GlU8AR9XLklT4tNqsRoMpYeK4h7HpIoSskOubLSyYy7oK6bxS_npuc_eRwGRw8Bij1P5euBAL8hfFsQrjWgjIqAv8S03muBz_NCCFOmS3He-04qN-5Z4/s1600/driedMarsh1%255B1%255D.JPG&quot;&gt;&lt;img style=&quot;float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBnSgywQFEe_0oZR2iSHToiJY5GlU8AR9XLklT4tNqsRoMpYeK4h7HpIoSskOubLSyYy7oK6bxS_npuc_eRwGRw8Bij1P5euBAL8hfFsQrjWgjIqAv8S03muBz_NCCFOmS3He-04qN-5Z4/s320/driedMarsh1%255B1%255D.JPG&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; id=&quot;BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640736822667623122&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur=&quot;try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}&quot; href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuYDse0VIgA9wSuaLazwTTg_NMnpxR55kxQhghqJUd0ZdKcsgGq8CEx5_6lqu0DhqjqvDSVePNb6toljUslumxNBzpHCCmsGfr9PRDvsRfdtpNKoqi5ng3pW84q1QvjQeAX_iVVASIF6bp/s1600/Water+BuffaloFav%255B1%255D.JPG&quot;&gt;&lt;img style=&quot;float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuYDse0VIgA9wSuaLazwTTg_NMnpxR55kxQhghqJUd0ZdKcsgGq8CEx5_6lqu0DhqjqvDSVePNb6toljUslumxNBzpHCCmsGfr9PRDvsRfdtpNKoqi5ng3pW84q1QvjQeAX_iVVASIF6bp/s320/Water+BuffaloFav%255B1%255D.JPG&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; id=&quot;BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640734439014545122&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We have arrived in Merida, Mexico.  The first week is vacation, the next is the conference where we have two symposia on the Mesopotamian Marshes. Dr. Nadia Fawzi, University of Basrah Marine Science Center, and I are co-facilitating two symposia. Unfortunately, our invited speakers and proposed two symposia. One is on the socioeconomics of the marshes, discussing the Marsh Arab culture, prospects for restoration, and the disabling lack of water and loss of livelihood now occurring in the marshes.  For this symposia, Dr. al Fartosi, Iraqi expert on water buffalo, was unable to attend. He sent pictures and text, and Monica Dean and David Kelly helped prepare the powerpoint. Water  buffalo are cultural icons to the indigenous marsh arab culture, as well as integral sources of livelihood in modern Iraq.  Without water in the marshes, the reeds die, the villages are dusty, and conditions deteriorate rapidly.  Talks by Dr. Nadir Salman and Dr. Nadia Fawzi show the people in the marshes suffer from poor health, inadequate sweet, clean water, high unemployment (including inability to support themselves through subsistence economies), and poor education especially for women.  I will give the presentation for Dr. Nadir, who was unable to come.&lt;br /&gt;</description><link>http://iraqmarshrestoration.blogspot.com/2011/08/society-of-ecological-restoration-in.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Michelle L. Stevens)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBnSgywQFEe_0oZR2iSHToiJY5GlU8AR9XLklT4tNqsRoMpYeK4h7HpIoSskOubLSyYy7oK6bxS_npuc_eRwGRw8Bij1P5euBAL8hfFsQrjWgjIqAv8S03muBz_NCCFOmS3He-04qN-5Z4/s72-c/driedMarsh1%255B1%255D.JPG" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740673484050288686.post-5792985627023421282</guid><pubDate>Mon, 25 Jul 2011 22:23:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-07-25T15:25:14.862-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Update of July 2011 newletter and Hima web</category><title>Updated July 2011 newletter and web site</title><description>We just published our July 2011 newsletter, and are updating our web site at www.hima-mesopotamia.org.  Please visit our HIMA web site and get the latest updates on the Mesopotamian Marshes and Tigris Euphrates watershed.</description><link>http://iraqmarshrestoration.blogspot.com/2011/07/updated-july-2011-newletter-and-web.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Michelle L. Stevens)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item></channel></rss>