Current view: Text account
Site description (1994 baseline):
Site location and context
Shown on maps as a seasonal freshwater lake c.10 km east of the River Euphrates and c.130 km south of Baghdad. No further information is available.
2014 updates.
Located in Babel Governorate, in the triangle between Babel, Qadissiya, and Najaf but the original body of water at Hor Ibn-Najm had shrunk to scattered marshes. After a period of intense agricultural expansion, these lands were used as rice farms and date-palm orchards. The geology of the area is Mesopotamian alluvium, mainly silts.
The site appears never to have been visited by an ornithologist, though it was considered by Scott and Carp (1982) to be possibly of great importance for wintering waterbirds, and Vant Leven (1968) provides good evidence for this (see ‘Conservation issues’). The haur was listed as a wetland of international importance by Carp (1980).
Non-bird biodiversity: No information available to BirdLife International.
2014 updates.
Additional Important Bird Observations: A total of 54 bird species were observed. Additionally, the site supported eight breeding Sahara-Sindian Desert biome-restricted species but this did not trigger inclusion under the A3 criterion. The endemic race of Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis iraquensis and endemic race of Hooded Crow Corvus cornix capellanus(also known as Mesopotamian Crow) breed regularly at the site. Although not an IBA species, it is noteworthy that Black-shouldered Kite Elanus caeruleus, which appears to be slowly colonizing Iraq, has recently started to bred in this area (Salim, 2002).
Other Important Fauna: Information was not collected at this site, but the teamobserved one Small Asian MongooseHerpestes javanicus.
Fish: Information was collected for 2008& 2009, during which 14species were observed. According to Coad (2010)significant species were: Acanthopagrus cf. arabicus, Acanthobramamarmid, Alburnusmossulensis, Carasobarbusluteus, Carassiusauratus,Ctenopharyngodonidella,Cyprinuscarpio, Leuciscusvorax, Liza abu,Heteropneustesfossilis, Luciobarbusxanthopterus, Mesopotamichthyssharpeyi, and Silurustriostegu. Mastacembelusmastacembelus was also reported but is of no economic importance though their conservation status in Iraq is unknown
2014 updates.
There were well-developed reed beds of Phragmites and Typha in addition to submerged vegetation such as Hydrellaverticillata, Myriophyllumverticillatum, and Ceratophyllumdemersumand free-floating plants such as Lemnasp.T here are also shrub woodlands within the site.
Some patches among the reed beds form suitable habitat for birds to feed and shelter. Most of this region is now agricultural fields and orchards, and few patches remained as small ponds that receive water draining mainly from the surrounding rice fields. This is the largest pond in the area, dominated by Typhaand reed beds. During the summer 2008 survey, the marsh was found to be almost dry (a network of canals and embankments has disfigured the original landscape) and the reed and Typha areas were generally dry, except close to the drainage canals. The site has been under severe threat of drought since a large-sectioned drainage canal was dug in the middle of the area. No water has returned to the marsh since; it remains dry and the reed beds also started to dry up. It seems that large regulator was under construction at the newly-dug draining canal at the time of the summer 2010 visit, but no further information was gained after that survey.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
No conservation measures are known to have been taken. The site has presumably suffered badly from the decreasing flow of the Euphrates since the 1970s (see site 039); the 'Third River' canal presumably passes at least fairly nearby and there may thus be a threat of drainage. Vant Leven (1968) estimated that hunting accounted for c.31% of the ducks and c.56% of the coots wintering at this site, with 20,000 sold in the markets of Najaf and Shamiya in one winter. No conservation measures are known to have been proposed.
2014 updates.
Three threats were ranked as ‘Very High’, starting with natural systems modifications due to continued efforts to drain the wetland for agricultural uses. The large drainage canal that cuts the area into two parts has severely affected the natural status of this wetland and may eventually turn it into a dry area. The others are overhunting and overfishing; human disturbance, especially during the breeding season, and agricultural expansion. Agriculture is very active in this area to the point that the original Ibn-Najm has turned into very small patches among the paddy-fields and palm orchards. During the 2010 survey, most of the marsh was dry due to the excavation of new draining canals. Three threats ranked ‘high’,including urban expansion, road construction, and pollution. The introduced invasive fish (Tilapia zillii) is an additional threat and was found in the area as well as frequently reported by locals.
Information compiled by D. J. Brooks, reviewed by Dr Khalid Y. Al-Dabbagh and Dr Hanna Y. Siman.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Ibn Najm (Iraq). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/ibn-najm-iba-iraq on 23/11/2024.
