Anna Bachmann The launch of the Children's Bird Guide of Iraq is a major development in the conservation education of Iraq's next generation Zoom In

Iraq bird book for children launched

31-01-2008

With support from the Italian Ministry of Environment, Land and Sea, the Ministry of Environment - Kurdish Regional Government, Nature Iraq in partnership with the Iraqi Ministry of Environment and BirdLife International has just released a new book on birds for the children of Iraq written in the country's two main languages, Arabic and Kurdish.

Released one year after the first field guide on birds, the Birds of Iraq, was published, this book has the information that will enable children to learn to observe and properly identify the birds of Iraq. It contains information on over 35 species of birds that could be commonly seen in wetlands, deserts and arid lands, mountains and woodlands, and towns and gardens.

“The natural curiosity of the children is a potent tool that can help build the next generation of environmental activists in Iraq.  The children’s guide is aimed at the natural curiosity to make the children more aware to the treasures that surround them”, said Azzam Alwash, CEO of Nature Iraq.

"This is a major step in developing the future of nature conservation in Iraq. Once you know and can identify the biodiversity you coexist with, you are far more likely to care about its fate" —Dr Mike Rands, BirdLife International

Using illustrations from the original Birds of Jordan book by the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (BirdLife in Jordan), as well as images from Birds of the Middle East by R.F. Porter, S. Christensen, & P. Schiermacker-Hansen, the Children’s Bird Guide of Iraq attempts to introduce Iraq’s next generation to the beauty of birds and use their own language (Arabic & Kurdish) to educate children about the natural world and the biodiversity that surrounds them.

"This is a major step in developing the future of nature conservation in Iraq. Once you know and can identify the biodiversity you coexist with, you are far more likely to care about its fate", said Mike Rands, CEO of BirdLife International.

Nature Iraq working in concert with the Iraqi Ministry of Environment has been conducting surveys on biological diversity both in the recently restored Mesopotamian Marshlands of southern Iraq and in the mountains and valleys of Kurdistan, Northern Iraq. Iraqi ornithologists, Omar Fadhel Abd Al Rahman, Koresh Arrarat and Mudhafar Abd Al Baqi Salim, who have worked on these surveys, participated in developing this book for children.