The Marshes became a battle ground during the Iran-Iraq war, and Saddam Hussein later drained them to punish the Marsh Arabs for participating in uprisings against him. It took decades for the delicate ecosystem of the marshes to begin to recover, and they were named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2016. From his studio…

The eastern and western banks of the river Tigris that runs around Baghdad are known as Karkh and Rusafa. They serve as the starting point for the Baghdad-based artist Aqeel Khreef’s exploration into the effects of climate change on Iraq’s southern marshes, which the ancient Tigris river feeds into. In the footage below, Khreef crosses…