Lecturer to discuss restoration of marshes of Iraq

The destruction and future of the Mesopotamian wetland ecosystems will be the subject of a talk by an Iraqi engineer who has returned to his homeland to testify against Saddam Hussein.

Azzam Alwash, director of Eden Again, will deliver "The Marshes of Iraq: Past, Present and Future," at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday (5/11) at 103 Kottman Hall, 2021 Coffey Road. The lecture is sponsored by Ohio State's School of Environmental and Natural Resources and its Olentangy River Wetlands Research Park (ORWRP).

Alwash will be available for media interviews. To arrange, please contact Bill Mitsch, director ORWRP, at (614) 292-9774.

The Mesopotamian wetland ecosystems were mostly destroyed in the 1990's. The U.N. has described the destruction of the marshes as "one of humanity's worst engineering disasters." The marshes represent were home to ancient communities where human civilization began more than 5,000 years ago. Scholars regard the marshes as the site of the biblical &ldquoGarden of Eden," the "Great Flood" and the birthplace of Abraham.

Alwash will be an expert witness in the trial against Saddam Hussein regarding the destruction of the ancient marshlands. He was born in Kut, Iraq and spent much of his youth in Nasseriya on the fringes of the marshlands of Mesopotamia. In 1978, he left Iraq as a result of harassment by the Baathist Regime. He earned his B.S. and Ph.D. in California and worked there for 20 years before returning to his homeland after Iraq's liberation. He now directs Eden Again, which is focused on building support for Iraq to assure survival of the marshes.

WHAT:Azzam Alwash, director of Eden Again, will deliver "The Marshes of Iraq: Past, Present and Future."

WHEN:3:30 p.m. on Thursday (5/11)

WHERE:Room 103, Kottman Hall, 2021 Coffey Road.