About half of the marshlands area of Iraq has been restored to its 1970s condition, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep).
UN officials and Iraqi ministers told a seminar in Japan that drinking water supplies for the local population had improved, but remained a concern.
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The Iraq marshes lie between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. They once covered an area twice the size of the Florida Everglades, and were famous for their biodiversity and cultural heritage.
A study in the 1970s said the marshlands were home to more than 80 species of birds, including about 90% of the world's population of the Basra reed warbler (Acrocephalus griseldis).
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6217240.stmNot all the news from Iraq is bad... file this with other environmental recovery stories born of human misery: Chernobyl, the border between North & South Korea, etc.