For immediate release: November 1, 2004

Rebecca Zimmermann speaks at
Harvard GSD Iraq wetlands symposium

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS — Rebecca Zimmermann, head of the Strategic Services team at Design Workshop, was a featured speaker at a symposium on the destruction of the Mesopotamian marshes that was hosted by the Graduate School of Design at Harvard Oct. 28-31.

The symposium focused on the tragic loss of the 7,500-square-mile Mesopotamian marshes, also known as the Arab Marshes, located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in southern Iraq. Thought by some to be the original Garden of Eden, the area has served as habitat for millions of migrating birds and has been inhabited by humans since ancient times. The area was devastated in the 1990s by deliberate water diversions and dam construction that destroyed the 5,000-year old way of life of the marsh dwellers. The symposium highlighted successfully implemented wetlands projects from around the world that could be adapted to Iraq and other locales. Zimmermann spoke about the successful restoration of the Las Vegas Wash.

“It was a great honor to speak at the symposium,” said Zimmermann, “and to contribute what we learned to the ongoing efforts to salvage the Arab marshes.”

Zimmermann was project manager of the team that transformed the much-eroded Las Vegas Wash into the Clark County Wetlands Park in the mid-1990s. This 2,900-acre oasis in the eastern Mojave Desert was created out of a mostly dry streambed that initially prospered from urban runoff from the city of Las Vegas. When the area’s growth skyrocketed, the wetlands that had taken root were largely wiped out and the area deteriorated until it was used only for dumping, target practice and camping by vagrants. In 1991, Nevada voters approved $13 million to restore the area and to create a wetlands park there. Design Workshop was commissioned to lead the design and restorative efforts.

In her presentation, Zimmermann focused primarily on the human resources needed to bring such restoration about, including collaboration of agencies, community involvement, crafting and holding the vision for a place, and implementation and maintenance. In order for such projects to succeed, says Zimmermann, “People must have a sense of ownership in the transformation of a place. They must be empowered to serve as stewards of the land and must be passionate about the outcome.”

The Clark County Wetlands Park has won numerous design and environmental stewardship awards. It was the only U.S. wetlands restoration project that was featured at the Harvard symposium, which also included presentations on wetlands in Jordan, Israel, Panama and Mexico, as well as the current project to revive the Mesopotamian marshes. Other speakers included officials from the United Nations, the Iraqi government and the Jordanian Royal Society for Conservation of Nature, as well as representatives of the Earth Watch Institute, Ducks Unlimited and various universities. For more information on the marshes, please go to http://projects.gsd.harvard.edu/mesomarshes/home.html.