Design Approaches to Ecotourism Facilities in Iraq Wetlands

The relevance of this study is determined by the implementation of a government program to revive the southern regions of Iraq, including the renowned Mesopotamian Marshes, which possess a unique ecosystem and cultural significance for the development of ecotourism. At the same time, there is a lack of theoretical research aimed at identifying innovative methods and flexible spatial and functional models that facilitate the development of sustainable ecotourism, taking into account the specific features of the wetland landscape of this region.

Purpose: The aim of this article is to propose design approaches and adaptive models for the formation of ecotourism facilities, taking into account the conservation of wetland biodiversity and the traditional life of local communities.

Green architecture principles are adopted as the methodological basis, including biointegration, compositional relationships, landscape autonomy, and energy efficiency. These principles define the organic interaction of ecotourism infrastructure with wetland landscape components and help to minimize environmental impacts.

Research findings: 1) classification of the wetland landscape of Iraq, 2) the author's roadmap for the strategy implementation of tourist complexes in wetlands, including approaches to their design: bioclimatic design, environmentally adaptive, modular and mobile design, socially oriented design and nature-preserving zoning; the use of local technologies of traditional construction, 3) types of buildings for tourists in wetlands; specific architectural and typological models of ecotourism objects: a) floating structures; b) elevated structures; c) prototype objects; d) builtin and integrated objects; d) temporary prefabricated structures; 4) autonomous tourist complex and a schedule for its design implementation and construction.

Value: Foundations are laid for the integrated approach to ecotourism development in Iraq's wetlands. This approach takes into account environmental, architectural, and socioeconomic aspects and includes strategy; adaptive, specific approaches, design and selection of optimal architectural models for ecotourism facilities.

1. Abdulhasan N.A., Salim M.A., Al-Obaidi G.S., Ali H.J., Al-Saffar M.A., Abd I.M., Minjil M.Sh. Classification and Description of Southern Iraqi Marshlands (National Park Area). Habitat Mapping and Monitoring Project. Sulaimani, Kurdistan, Iraq, 2009. 197 р.

2. Ali Al-Samawetli H.Sh., Skopintsev A.V. Formation of Green Architecture Objects in the Natural Environment with the Development of Eco-Tourism (on the example of wetland areas of Mesopotamia). Arkhitektura i dizain: istoriya, teoriya, innovatsii. 2021; (5): 7–12. (In Russian)

3. Desk Study on the Environment in Iraq. United Nations Environment Programme. 2003. 98 p.

4. National Report on Biodiversity in Iraq. Republic of Iraq, Ministry of Environment. July 2010. 153 р.

5. Destination Wetlands: Supporting Sustainable Tourism. 2012. Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, Gland, Switzerland, & World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Madrid, Spain.

6. Wetlands and the organization of their visits: approaches, examples and practices for the development of ecological and sustainable tourism. Available: https://bahna.land/ru/bolota/vodnobolotnye-ugodya-i-organizatsiya-ikh-poseshchenij-podkhody-primery-i-praktiki-razvitiya-ekologicheskogo-i-ustojchivogo-turizma (Accessed March 10, 2025). (In Russian)

7. Yankovskaya Yu.S., Gadzhiev G.A. Wetlands as Part of Cities. Problems of Conservation and Sustainable Development. Vestnik nauki. 2020; 3 (2 (23)): 141–147. (In Russian)

8. Zima A.G. Green Architecture as a Modern Relevant Architectural Direction. Inzhenernostroitel'nyi vestnik Prikaspiya. 2019; 4 (30): 74–79. (In Russian)

9. Esaulov G.V. Sustainable Architecture: from Approaches to Strategy of Development. Vestnik of Tomsk state University of Architecture and Building. 2014; (6): 9–24 (In Russian)

10. Slimak I.V. Conceptual Approaches to Ecovillage Architecture. Vestnik Tomskogo gosudarstvennogo arkhitekturno-stroitel'nogo universiteta – Journal of Construction and Architecture. 2022; 24 (1): 44–53. DOI: 10.31675/1607-1859-2022-24-1-44-53 (In Russian)

11. Dovbnja Ya.V., Astakhova E.S. Architectural Organization of Ecological Tourist Complexes (The South Russia case studies). Vestnik Tomskogo gosudarstvennogo arkhitekturnostroitel'nogo universiteta – Journal of Construction and Architecture. 2024; 26 (5): 113–126. DOI: 10.31675/1607-1859-2024-26-5-113-126. EDN: IVLSCX (In Russian)

12. Al-Samavetli A., Skopintsev A.V. Compositional Connections of Architecture and Landscape in the Formation of Ecotourism Complexes on the Territory of Southern Iraq. Inzhenernyi vestnik Dona. 2021; (6). Available: ivdon.ru/magazine/archive/n6y2021/7031 (In Russian)