The Iraq Marshlands Restoration Program (IMRP) is an example of what U.S. government engagement can achieve, even in the most demanding of circumstances, when backed by appropriate contractor expertise and committed host-country institutions.The marshlands of southern Iraq were once a major flyway for billions of birds, a source of fish and dairy products for much of Iraq, and a natural filter for the waters of the Persian Gulf. But the wetlands were heavily drained as retaliation for their inhabitants' uprising against Saddam Hussein following the Gulf War. When Allied forces entered Iraq in 2003, the marshes were only 7 percent of their original size and the area's population had dwindled from 500,000 to 125,000.
