Iraq’s marsh village

This is Iraq’s marsh village in 1974, which Saddam Hussein drained as a punishment to the region’s Marsh Arabs who had backed an uprising. Two decades later, one courageous US Iraqi, Azzam Alwash, is leading efforts to restore them. As he punts through the war zone in a wooden boat, his biggest concerns are a missing otter, poisoned water and endangered birds. Who thinks about the environment in southern Iraq, and who is willing to risk his life to save a marsh?

- Der Spiegel: Restoring the Paradise that Saddam Destroyed