Klaus Toepfer Iraqi Quotations

While the re-flooding bodes well for the Iraqi marshes, their recovery will take many years, ... We must continue to monitor the situation carefully and make the necessary long-term investment in marshlands management.

Wars, conflicts, instability and the poor environmental management of the previous regime have left their scars on the Iraqi people and the Iraqi environment,

The near total destruction of the Iraqi marshlands was a major ecological and human disaster, robbing the Marsh Arabs of a centuries-old culture and way of life,

The near-total destruction of the Iraqi marshlands under the regime of Saddam Hussein was a major ecological and human disaster, robbing the Marsh Arabs of a centuries-old culture and way of life as well as food in the form of fish and that most crucial of natural resources, drinking water,

The evidence of their rapid revival is a positive signal, not only for the environment and the local communities who live there, but must be seen as a contribution to wider peace and security for the Iraqi people.