Euphrates River

• Category: Inland Aquatic Biomes.
• Geographic Location: Middle East.
• Summary: The Euphrates, part of the Mesopotamian “cradle of civilization,” includes a unique wetland ecosystem; the river is threatened by the construction of dams and irrigation canals.

The Euphrates River is the longest river in southwest Asia, exceeding 1,678 miles (2,700 kilometers) in length. It flows through Turkey, Syria, and Iraq, and is one of the area's two major rivers. Together with the Tigris, they constitute the largest and the most important river system in the Middle East. The construction of dams and irrigation canals across the Euphrates has reduced the river's outflow and drained its lower reaches, especially the marshes, and threatened its biota.

The Euphrates River emerges from the confluence of two major headstreams, Murat Nehri and Karasu, near the city of Keban in Turkey. It flows through steep canyons and narrow gorges in the river's upper reaches, then enters Syria near Jerablus, where it receives water from two tributaries: Nahr al-Khabur and Nahr Balikh. The Euphrates continues its flow in a southeasterly direction until it enters Iraq. Northwest of Basra in southern Iraq, the river unites with the Tigris to form the Shatt-al-Arab, running about 124 miles (200 kilometers) in a southeastward direction before it drains into the Persian Gulf.

Before merging with the Tigris, the Euphrates flows in an alluvial low basin. It forms a unique wetland area called the Hammar Marsh, the largest water body on the lower Euphrates, which encompasses 1,081 square miles (2,800 square kilometers). The river floods to 1,737 square miles (4,500 square kilometers); the marsh is about 75 miles (120 kilometers) long and 16 miles (25 kilometers) wide. Hammar Marsh is a eutrophic swamp with a major area of open water, forming Lake Hammar. It is one of three marshes that constitute the Mesopotamian Marshes.

The other two marshes are the Central (Qurnah) and the Hawizah, both fed by the Tigris and its distributaries. Encompassing an area of about 6,564 square miles (17,000 square kilometers), the Mesopotamian Marshes are among the top 10 marshlands in the world. Located in the lower portion of an area between the Tigris and Euphrates, this area epitomizes Mesopotamia, “the land between the two rivers,” which has long been known as a moist and fertile place, attracting and sustaining a series of early civilizations.

Flora and Fauna

The Euphrates River is a unique watercourse with different aquatic biomes: rivers, streams, lakes, and wetlands. It provides various habitats for aquatic floral and faunal elements. Aquatic vegetation includes emergent plants, the most dominant of which are the common reed (Phragmites australis) and reed mace (Typha domingensis). In addition, there are floating and submerged plants such as hornwort, eelgrass, pondweed, duckweed, stonewort, and water lilies. Papyrus (Cyperus spp.) has both grown naturally and been cultivated here since the earliest historical records.

Mammals of the marshes include the signature subspecies smooth-coated otter (Lutra perspicillata maxwelli). A variety of amphibians, such as toads and frogs; reptiles, such as turtles, including the critically endangered softshell turtle (Rafetus euphraticus); and crustaceans, such as Potamon crabs are found in the rivers and wetland areas here. The shrimp Metapenaeus affinis is both commercially and ecologically important in the river and marshlands.

Approximately 66 fish species exist in the Tigris-Euphrates river system, most of which are types of freshwater carp, barbel, and minnow. The Iraq blind barb (Typhlogarra widdowsoni) is endemic, meaning that they evolved specifically in this habitat and are found nowhere else. Another endemic species is a local form of the catfish Glyptothorax steindachneri.

A few Euphrates fish are of marine origins, such as the yellowfin seabream (Acanthopagrus latus); several are anadromous species, including Hilsa shad (Tenualosa ilisha).

Many kinds of birds, such as pelicans, cormorants, herons, waders, storks, ducks, and waterfowl, reside along or migrate via the river and the marshes, feeding on fish, amphibians, and reptiles. Characteristic avians here include the Basra reed warbler (Acrocephalus griseldis), an endangered endemic species with a range now thought to be limited to the marshlands. Two other endangered endemic waterfowl species here are the Iraq babbler (Turdoides altirostris) and grey hypocolius (Hypocolius ampelinus). Among those birds making migratory stopovers in the southern reaches of the Euphrates River biome are marbled teal, white-headed duck, and Dalmatian pelican.

Effects of Engineering Projects

In an attempt to divert water from the Euphrates River for irrigation, drinking, hydroelectric power generation, and other purposes, Turkey, Syria, and Iraq have ,over the years, initiated water development and drainage projects. Construction of the first modern water diversion structures started in Iraq with the disposition of the Hindiyah Barrage, which diverted the water of the Euphrates into irrigation canals. Another dam, Ramadi Barrage, was erected in 1951, diverting water from the Euphrates into Lake Habbaniyah. Following that, the Haditha Dam and others were built on the Euphrates in Iraq.

Later, Turkey and Syria began constructing their own dams, such as the Keban and Atatürk in Turkey, and Tabqa in Syria, on the Euphrates and its tributaries. Turkey's ongoing Southeast Anatolia Project, known as GAP, planned to construct 22 dams, 19 hydroelectric facilities, and a large irrigation network across the Tigris-Euphrates River Basin. The project was proposed in 1989 and is projected to be completed in 2040.

Aside from barrages and dams, the construction of the Main Outfall Drain (MOD), later called the Third River/Saddam River project, began in 1953 to drain the area between the Euphrates and Tigris south of Baghdad. Two other canals were constructed near the MOD, the Mother of Battles Canal and Fidelity to the Leader Canal. The former was used to divert the flow of the Euphrates southeast to the Hammar Marsh, and the latter transported water from the MOD to the south of Basrah.

To reclaim land for agriculture and suppress Saddam Hussein's opponents, who used the marshes as a refuge, drainage of the marshes began with the erection of a dike to divert Central Marsh overflow away from Hammar Marsh. This was aggravated by dam construction in Turkey and Syria. The Iran–Iraq War also played a role in damaging the wetlands, and by 2001, 94 percent of Hammar Marsh had been converted to bare ground.

The construction of dams and canals decreased the water flow of the Euphrates, especially in its lower reaches, by 60–90 percent, reducing the amount of water available for human and habitat use, and increasing its salinity. This led to tension between Turkey on the one hand and Syria and Iraq on the other hand. The building of numerous dams and irrigation projects also led to the displacement of a large number of people, changing their way of living.

In addition, it posed serious threats to the Mesopotamian marshes and their biota. The destruction of Hammar Marsh was a major ecological disaster, putting several bird populations—such as the marbled teal, Basra reed-warbler, sacred ibis, and African darter—at risk. Also, 28 percent of the historic number of fish species was lost. After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, efforts were undertaken by the new Iraqi government, the United Nations, and various US agencies to restore the marshland and its ecosystem. Partial recovery of the wetland is underway. By 2005, the Al-Hammar Marsh had been restored to half of its original size.

Climate Change

In addition to the dams and other water diversion projects, climate change makes the water supply sensitive to variations in rainfall and availability. Rising sea levels, due to warming waters, could have an immediate and devastating impact on coastal areas, including saltwater incursion on habitats at the mouth of the Shatt-al-Arab, and in the marshlands farther inland. Extended drought could affect agricultural output and further stress water availability and food supply in the Middle East, which could further destabilize the social and political fabric of the area. In 2022, Iraq's Ministry of Water Resources warned that the river could dry up by 2040. The Euphrates runs a true risk of drying up as a result of climate change without drastic intervention and careful management.

Bibliography

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Coad, Brian W. Freshwater Fishes of Iraq. Pensoft Publishers, 2010.

"The Future of the Euphrates River in Syria." Center for Strategic and International Studies, features.csis.org/the-future-of-the-Euphrates-River/. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Al-Gburi, Hind Fadhil Abdullah, et al. "Environmental Assessment of Al-Hammar Marsh, Southern Iraq." Heliyon, vol. 3, no. 2, 2017, doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2017.e00256. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

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Scott, Derek A., editor. A Directory of Wetlands in the Middle East. International Waterfowl and Wetlands Research Bureau, 1995.