Home → Course Related Materials → Landsat Witnesses the Destruction of Mesopotamian Ecosystem
 
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Landsat Witnesses the Destruction of Mesopotamian EcosystemLandsat Witnesses the Destruction of Mesopotamian Ecosystem

No Strings Attached
Author:
,
Subject:
Science and Technology
Institution Name:
NASA
Collection:
NASA GSFC Scientific Visualization Studio
Grade Level:
Secondary, Post-secondary
Abstract:

In one of the greatest ecological disasters of our time, the ancient marshlands of Mesopotamia are systematically being converted to dry salt flats as a result of human mismanagement of the regions water resources. Landsat satellite imagery reveals that in the last 10 years, wetlands that once covered as much as 20,000 square km in parts of Iraq and Iran have been reduced to a small fraction of their original size. The authors of a new report released by the United Nations Environment Programmes (UNEP) at the 11th Stockholm Water Symposium on August 13, 2001, warn that the marshlands could completely disappear within the next 3-5 years unless dramatic steps are taken immediately to reverse the damage being done. The UNEP Executive Director described the wetlands condition as a major environmental catastrophe that will be remembered as one of humanity's worst engineered disasters. He noted that the tragic loss of this rare wetland has occurred in approximately the same period since world leaders pledged to safeguard the environment at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (the Earth Summit) held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Regarded by historians as one of the cradles of civilization, the Mesopotamian Fertile Crescent has supported Marsh Arab society for millennia. But through the damming and siphoning off of waters from the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, the countries of Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Syria have decimated the ecosystem and, with it, a culture rooted in the dawn of human history (dating back to ancient Sumeria about 5,000 years ago).

Course Type:
Learning Module
Languages:
English
Material Type:
Other
Media Format:
Graphics/Photos, Text/HTML, Video
Technical Requirements:
Real player
Conditions of Use:
Public Domain
Please give credit to NASA GSFC Scientific Visualization Studio
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