صفاء خلف | Safaa Khalaf
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safaakhalaf.bsky.social
صفاء خلف | Safaa Khalaf
@safaakhalaf.bsky.social
4 followers 44 following 8 posts
Award-winning Iraqi investigative journalist and independent researcher covering political, environmental, and social issues in Iraq and the Middle East.
www.safaakhalaf.com
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Reposted by صفاء خلف | Safaa Khalaf
newdemocracy.bsky.social
I swam in the al-Ahwar (Iraq's marshes) in May of 1980. The water, which was filtered by papyrus, was so pure you could drink it. Between Saddam, post Saddam corruption fueled by greed for oil wealth, Turkey's damning the Euphrates & climate change, the marshes seem like they will never recover
safaakhalaf.bsky.social صفاء خلف | Safaa Khalaf @safaakhalaf.bsky.social · 1d
#Oil is wiping out the Hawizeh Marsh in southern #Iraq. Once a #UNESCO-listed wetland, it has been turned into a drained, militarised industrial zone through cross-border water policies, oil expansion, and security zoning, destroying its social and #cultural heritage.📗EN: goo.su/m9ar
Oil wipes out the Hawizeh Marsh in southern Iraq [When the marshes are erased… not only the water disappears, but also memory, history, people, and the future.] This study presents the process by which the Hawizeh Marsh in southern Iraq is disappearing. It is the result of a complex interaction between cross-border drainage policies, the expansion of oil exploitation, institutional and legal fragility, and the militarisation of the area, leading to the destruction of the social and cultural fabric. In 2016, the ancient and exceptionally large historical marsh, which is closely linked to the wetlands of the Tigris and Euphrates delta, was partially listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Since the 1990s, and at a faster pace since 2010, Hawizeh has gradually been transformed into a drained industrial area, dominated by Chinese-French-Malaysian oil consortia operating in partnership with the state. This transformation has taken place under the cover of ambiguous legislation, which has allowed the marsh to be appropriated and divided into ‘security zones’ and commercial zones, limiting the free movement of inhabitants and restricting their access to water.
February 15, 2026 at 1:13 AM
Reposted by صفاء خلف | Safaa Khalaf
wammezz.bsky.social
Two new reports by @ccfd-tsolidaire.bsky.social highlight the environmental costs of continues oil exploration and extraction in southern #Iraq that affects marshes, part of the @unesco.org protected sites.

ccfd-terresolidaire.org/wp-content/u...

ccfd-terresolidaire.org/wp-content/u...
January 27, 2026 at 2:26 PM
safaakhalaf.bsky.social
محو هور الحويزة بفعل مشاريع نفطية لشركات فرنسية وماليزية وصينية فضلاً عن وزارة النفط العراقية، بات موثّقاً في دراسة: "النفط يمحو هور الحويزة في جنوب #العراق: حين تدمّر الشركات موقعاً مُدرَجاً على قائمة التراث العالمي"، تستند إلى وثائق سرّية، من بينها عقود التشغيل والاستيلاء على الارض والمياه.
goo.su/ADB1q0
February 14, 2026 at 1:02 PM
safaakhalaf.bsky.social
Two new CCFD reports by Safaa Khalaf highlight the environmental costs of ongoing oil exploration and extraction in southern #Iraq, and their devastating impact on the Marshes, part of the UNESCO protected #heritage sites.
📗 Executive Report: goo.su/wb20sw
📗 The full study: goo.su/m9ar
February 14, 2026 at 12:51 PM
safaakhalaf.bsky.social
#Oil is wiping out the Hawizeh Marsh in southern #Iraq. Once a #UNESCO-listed wetland, it has been turned into a drained, militarised industrial zone through cross-border water policies, oil expansion, and security zoning, destroying its social and #cultural heritage.📗EN: goo.su/m9ar
Oil wipes out the Hawizeh Marsh in southern Iraq [When the marshes are erased… not only the water disappears, but also memory, history, people, and the future.] This study presents the process by which the Hawizeh Marsh in southern Iraq is disappearing. It is the result of a complex interaction between cross-border drainage policies, the expansion of oil exploitation, institutional and legal fragility, and the militarisation of the area, leading to the destruction of the social and cultural fabric. In 2016, the ancient and exceptionally large historical marsh, which is closely linked to the wetlands of the Tigris and Euphrates delta, was partially listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Since the 1990s, and at a faster pace since 2010, Hawizeh has gradually been transformed into a drained industrial area, dominated by Chinese-French-Malaysian oil consortia operating in partnership with the state. This transformation has taken place under the cover of ambiguous legislation, which has allowed the marsh to be appropriated and divided into ‘security zones’ and commercial zones, limiting the free movement of inhabitants and restricting their access to water.
February 14, 2026 at 12:44 PM
safaakhalaf.bsky.social
In #Iraq, #women are losing water, livelihoods, and #cultural heritage. My study in the #Hawizeh Marshes finds that it is not a temporary #environmental crisis, but a systematic process driven by drainage, #oil expansion, and militarisation. Changes place the greatest burden on women.
goo.su/XO4nhyn
February 14, 2026 at 12:08 PM