WHO Project Proposal

UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT GROUP IRAQ TRUST FUND

PROJECT DOCUMENT SUMMARY SHEET

Participating UN Organisation:
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) / Cluster: A
Agriculture, Food Security, Environment and Natural Resource Management
Programme/Project Title:
Support for EST (Environmentally Sound Technology) Applications in the Iraqi Marshlands
Programme/Project Number: A5-11 / Programme/Project Location:
Southern Iraq (Iraqi Marshland area), Basrah, Misssan and Thi Qas
Programme Project Description:
Provide training, technical assistance, and information to build capacity for EST management, and to identify and implement suitable ESTs in the Iraqi Marshlands on a pilot basis to help reduce negative impacts on human health and environment. / Programme/Project cost:
US$11,000,000
Govt of Iraq Line Ministry Responsible:
Ministry of Environment / Programme/Project Duration:
1 year (July 2004 – June2005)
Development Goal
The development goal of this project is to support the sustainable development of the Iraqi Marshlands by strengthening the capacity to address environmental threats through EST (environmentally sound technology) applications, with the following immediate objectives:

To build capacity of Iraqi policy makers and experts in EST applications and ecosystem management
To assess and report on the conditions of the marshland system and water quality
To identify EST options that are suitable for providing drinking water and sanitation services, as well as wetland management, and implement them on a pilot basis
To stimulate decision-making on marshland management based on the integrated water resource management (IWRM) concept as a basis of long-term planning for marshland management
To provide objective and up-to-date information on EST options suitable for mitigating environmental threats in the marshlands, and disseminate tools for EST assessment and management

ESTs are an integral component of approaches, policies, and technologies for marshland management, and their applications are necessary to meet the immediate and longer-term environmental and humanitarian needs in the Marshland community. The project is expected to raise the basic capacity for EST management, and to identify suitable EST options and generate performance data from pilot applications. Such expertise and knowledge provide valuable input for the eventual development of a master plan for the Iraqi Marshland, and their subsequent implementation by domestic institutions.
Outputs, key activities and procurement:

Capacity building: build basic expertise of policy makers and environmental experts in topics that are fundamental for marshland management, including integrated water resource management (IWRM), IWRM policy integration, wetland management, and community level environmental management, and provide training materials in Arabic.
Information network and management: set up the Marshland Information Network that consolidates and provide access to data on marshland management activities (Arabic and English), and to provide tools and methods for EST assessments. Establish a regional information network and nodes in the southern governorates for information exchange. Monitor and report on reflooding and ecological changes.
Raising public awareness: organize public meetings and distribute information materials to raise awareness on the state of Marshlands and restoration initiatives, and provide support community-level initiatives for awareness raising.
Promoting ESTs: build capacity of policy makers and experts in specific topics that enable EST implementation, including EST assessment and implementation, ESTs for drinking water, water quality management, phytotechnologies, and ESTs for sanitation. Conduct EST feasibility analysis, select and assess EST portfolio for drinking water, sanitation and marshland management, implement suitable ESTs on pilot scale (worth $2.1 million), and utilize trained experts for the actual implementation within this project.
Coordination of international efforts for marshland management: engage in coordination with donors and Iraqi counterparts, and promote the adoption of ESTs as viable options for immediate and longer-term marshland management strategies.

Project UNEP A5-11