After years of drought that left large swathes of Iraq's historic marshes cracked and empty, rising water levels are beginning to revive the wetlands, drawing buffalo herders and fishermen back to areas once abandoned.

In Chibayish marshes in southern Iraq, canoes once again glide through waterways that had dried up in recent years, while water buffalo wade through restored marshland and patches of green pasture have reappeared.

"Some time ago, all our livestock died and there was no water at all," said Haidar Qassem, a farmer raising water buffalo in the central marsh.

“Many of our people migrated because of the drought,” Qassem said, adding that water had returned this year, livestock numbers were recovering and some families had come back.

The change in the region's fortunes follows heavy winter rainfall that boosted reservoir levels, enabling Iraq’s water resources ministry to release growing volumes into the marshes.

Residents are still hoping for further water releases.

Iraqi marshland expert Jassim al-Assadi said the Ishan Hallab area — part of Iraq's marshes, believed by some to be the biblical Garden of Eden and designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2016 — had dried up completely between 2021 and 2025, forcing herders to abandon it.

In recent months, the wetter conditions have helped restore the Ishan Hallab area, reviving pastureland and allowing some residents to make their way back to the area.

Al-Assadi said the proportion of submerged marshland had risen to between 32% and 36%, compared with no more than 8% over the past five years, a view Iraqi water resources officials confirmed.

The higher water levels were also supporting a gradual recovery in biodiversity, including fish stocks, vegetation growth and reeds used by residents to build traditional homes.

The marshes have been inhabited for thousands of years by the Marsh Arabs, whose livelihoods and traditions are closely tied to the water.

Mazin Wadai, a water resources official, said larger inflows, improved water management and stronger seasonal rainfall had boosted reserves in dams and increased flows in the Tigris and Euphrates, allowing more water to reach the marshes.

The water resources ministry said Iraq's strategic reserves have increased by about 6 billion cubic metres this year, giving authorities greater flexibility to manage supplies during the summer months.

Iraq's marshes, once stretching across more than 3,600 square miles (9,500 sq km), were heavily drained in the 1990s by Saddam Hussein, who accused the Marsh Arabs of treachery during a 1980–1988 war with Iran, in a bid to root out insurgents.

Many residents fled, but since Saddam's overthrow in 2003 parts of the wetlands have been reflooded by the government, with around 250,000 Marsh Arabs gradually returning.

For residents like buffalo herder Raheem Abdul Zahra, the recent improvements have transformed daily life.

"The land was dry, but now it's alive again," he said.

-Reporting by Mohammed Aty in Basra; Writing and additional reporting by Ahmed Rasheed, Editing by William Maclean/Reuters