The system of the Tigris-Euphrates Rivers is one of the great river systems of southwestern Asia. It comprises the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, which follow roughly parallel courses through the heart of the Middle East. The lower portion of the region that they run through is known as Mesopotamia, was one of the cradles of civilisation.

There are several environmental factors that govern the nature of the two rivers and shape the landscape the two rivers running through. Geological events create rivers, climate monitor the water supply, the surrounding land influences the vegetation and the physical and chemical features of water.

The Tigris-Euphrates system runs through the territory of four countries, Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria. Therefore, any scientific approach to the environment of these two rivers should include the natural history events in these countries.

The book "Tigris and Euphrates Rivers: Their Environment from Headwaters to Mouth" will be divided into nine parts. These parts deal with the issues of the environment, the status of the flora and fauna, the abiotic aspects, ecology, hydrological regime of the two rivers, the biotic aspects. Water resources, stress of the environment, conservation issues.

Since the book of Julian Rzoska "Euphrates and Tigris Mesopotamian Ecology and Destiny" in 1980, no book or major reference has been published that includes between its cover the facts and information that the present book will present. Therefore, the importance of the present book falls in stating the present status of the environment of the two rivers and the comparison of their environment between now and that of 37 years ago as given by J. Rzoska (1980).

The recent studies showed that there are a large number of natural and political events that happened within the last three decades in the area of the Tigris-Euphrates river system that for sure have done a great change to the environmentof the two rivers and consequently changing the biological and non-biological resources of the two rivers.

This book will be a reference book to both Academic and students across the Middle East in different disciplines of knowledge to use in their researches on Tigris-Euphrates river system. The scholars interested in this area will use this book as a guide to compare this freshwater system with other areas in Asia and the world. 

Laith A. Jawad obtained MSc in Fish Taxonomy from the Zoology Department, University of Bristol, UK, in 1980. He then worked as a fish taxonomist at Basrah University, Iraq, for more than 20 years before moving to New Zealand in 1997. During this time, he founded the biochemical taxonomy of fishes of Iraq and published over 400 scientific papers and book reviews in leading scientific journals. He is the author and co-author of several biology textbooks published in Arabic. Recently, he contributed five chapters to the book Coastal Fishes: Habitat, Behaviour and Conservation, published by Nova Publishers, Canada. He also authored the book Dangerous Fishes of the Eastern and Southern Arabian Peninsula, published by Springer in 2017. He served as a fish biodiversity expert and consultant at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries in Oman between 2008 and 2012, during which he co-authored two papers describing a new fish species in the Omani waters and reported over 80 fish species in Omani waters. He authored a guide to the fishes of the southern coasts of Oman published by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries in Oman in 2018. He also published over 90 papers on the fish fauna of Oman, Iraq, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. In 2013, he started research collaborations with over 100 scientists from more than 50 countries around the globe investigating various aspects of fish taxonomy and ichthyology.

Introduction.-Part I. Historical Perspectives.-Vertebrates of Upper Mesopotamia: Present Evidence and Archaeological Data.- Fishing Gears and Methods: A Comparison of Ancient Mesopotamia and Other Ancient Worlds.- Ichthyological Characteristics Available in the Fish Images Existed in the Art of the Ancient Mesopotamia.- The Effectiveness of Ancient Mesopotamian Medical Practices: The Example of ¨¨u-Licorice.-Part II. The Abiotic Aspects of the TigrisEuphrates River System.- Management of Water Resources Using Storage Reservoirs.- Estimation of Irrigated Agricultural Area and Water Consumption in Iraq.- The Nature of TigrisEuphrates Rivers Flow: Current Status and Future Prospective.- Streamflow Alteration Impacts with Particular Reference to the Lower Zab River, Tributary of the Tigris River.- Ecohydrology in Iraq: Challenges and its Future Pathways.- Oil Pollution in the Shatt Al-Arab River and its Estuary 19802018.- Pesticides in the Waters, Sediments, and Biota of the Shatt Al-Arab River for the Period 19802017.- Surface Water Salinity of the Euphrates, Tigris, and Shatt al-Arab Rivers.- Renewable Energy for WaterEnergy Nexus in Euphrates and Tigris River Basin: A Literature Review.- Impacts of Dams on Aquatic Biodiversity, Fisheries, Fishes and Their Environment: Problems that Could Be Present in Iraq with Recommendations.- Water, Politics and Dams in the Mesopotamia Basin of the Northern Middle East: How Turkey Instrumentalises the South-Eastern Anatolia Project for Political, Military and Strategic Interests.- Dams and their Impacts on Fishes in Iran.-Part III. The Biotic Aspects of the TigrisEuphrates River System.- Preliminary Review of the Aquatic Biodiversity in Al-Kahla River, Missan Province, Iraq.- Freshwater Fish Biodiversity in Iraq: Importance, Threats, Status, and Conservation Challenges.- Effect of Climate Changes on the Freshwater Biodiversity in the Mesopotamian Plain: Recommendations for Avoidanceand Plans for the Future.- River Corridors as a Refuge for Freshwater Biodiversity: Basic Information and Recommendations to the Policymakers for Possible Implications in Iraq.- Biodiversity of Fungi in Aquatic Environment of Iraq.- Potability of Drinking Water in Basra-Iraq.- Algal Studies in Iraqi Inland Waters. A Review.- The Distribution of Epilitic Diatoms in the Turkish Part of the Tigris-Euphrates River Basin.- Plant Biodiversity in Shatt Al-Arab Estuary and Ecological Variations.- Medicinal Plants of Shatt al-Arab River and Adjacent Area.- The Role of Plants as a Canopy in the Inland Waters: Basic Information for Application in Iraq.- The Zooplankton Fauna of the Turkish Part of the Euphrates-Tigris River Basin.- Kinds and Distribution of Icthyoplankton in Shatt Al-Arab River.- Rotifer Diversity in Iranian Waters: A Review.- Biodiversity of the Freshwater Amphipods in Iran.- The Freshwater Molluscs of the Mesopotamian Plain.- Freshwater Annelida of Iraq.- A Critical Checklistof the Inland Fishes Native to the Euphrates and Tigris Drainages.- Fish Fauna of Shatt al-Arab River, Basrah, Iraq: A More than Quarter a Century of Changes.- The Common Carp, Cyprinus carpio: Effect on the Environment and the Indigenous Fish Species in Iraq.- The Good and the Bad in Releasing the Grass Carp Ctenopharyngodon idella in the Freshwater System: Recommendations for the Policymakers in Iraq.- The Avifauna of Tigris and Euphrates River Basin.- The Feasible Approaches to Assist Migratory Birds Visiting the Southern Reaches of Mesopotamia.- A Proposal for Establishing Bird Observatory Centre in the South of Iraq.- The Potential Role of Waterbirds as a Vector in Dispersing Invertebrates and Plants in the South of Iraq.- The Wild Mammals of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers Basin.- The Amphibians and Reptiles of Euphrates and Tigris Basin.- A Preliminary Pictorial Guide to the Herpetofauna of Tigris and Euphrates River Basin.- Policy Guidance for Sustainable Aquaculture in the Inland Waters of Iraq.- How Possible to Use the Desert Area in Iraq for Aquaculture Industry: Basic Facts and Recommondations.- Aquaculture Industry in Iraq: Past, Present, and Future Perspectives.- Towards an Improved Tilapia Farming in Iraq: Recommendations for Future Application.- Information and Recommendations of Aquaculture Stress and its Source in Hatcheries: The Iraqi Aquaculture Industry Investors.- Exotic and Invasive Freshwater Fishes in the Tigris-Euphrates River System.-Part IV. Water Resources.- The Ecology and Modelling of the Freshwater Ecosystems in Iran.- Enhancing Rural Womens Participation in Fisheries in Iraq.- The Impact of Destructive Fishing Gear on the Fish Biodiversity in the Inland Waters of Iraq.- Evaluating Variations in Fisheries by Means of Fishers Information: Suggested Methodology to Improve Small-Scale Fisheries in Rivers in Iraq.- A Possibility to Apply a Traditional Fisheries Enforcement Programme in the Inland Waters of Iraq.- Market-ResourceRelations and Fish Seller Livelihood as Seen in Inland Waters of Iraq.- The Potential Impact of Deformities in Fishes upon Aquatic Production: Case of Iraq.- The Impact of some Social Taboos on Fisheries in Iraq.- Inland Water Fishes and Fisheries in Iran.- The Possibility of Introducing an Inland Fisheries Education in Iraq.- The Marine and Diadromous Fisheries of Iraq.-Part V. Stress of the Environment of the Two Rivers.-Fish Deformities in the Freshwater Fishes of Iraq: A Short Review and a Study Case on the Indian CatfishHeteropneustes fossilis.- The Phenomenon of Fluctuating Asymmetry: As Fish Welfare Indicator Represented by Case Study from the Freshwater Fishes of Iraq.- The Studies on Sediments Pollution by Different Types of Metals in Turkey.- Macroplastic and Microplastic in the Freshwater Environment of Southern Iraq: Evidences Obtained from Freshwater Fish Species.- Heavy Metals in Freshwater Invertebrates of Iran: A Review on the Bioaccumulation and Effects.- Fish Parasites of Tigris and Euphrates River Systems.- The Parasites of Fishes of the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers: Iraq and Turkey.- Ornamental Fishes: A Looming Danger for Inland Fish Diversity of Iraq.-Part VI. The Health of the Human Community Inhabiting Freshwater Zones.- Aquatic Snails as a Vector of Diseases to the Human in Iran.- Death by Drowning in Rivers in Iraq.- The Dangerous Catfish Species in the Freshwater System of Iraq: First Time Reports on Cases of Envenomation.- Fish Species of the Order Cypriniformes as a Source of Ichthyootoxin and Ichthyogallotoxin in Iraq: Cases Reports.- First Reports on Cases of Hallucinatory Fish Poisoning (Ichthyoallyeinotoxism) and Scombrotoxic Fish Poisoning in Iraq.-Part. VII. Conservation.- Freshwater Management and Conservation in Iran: Past, Present, and Future.- The Need of Biodiversity Conservation Strategies in Iraq: The State of Protected Areas.- Benthic Macroinvertebrates of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers inTurkey.- Freshwater Ecosystem Conservation in Iraq: Recommendations for Management.- Utilising Phenotypic Difference to Regulate Protection Value: A Scheme for Application of a Novel Approach to the Inland Water of Iraq.- Hatchery-Reared Fish Stocks Released into the Wild: A Conservation Problem as Seen in a Case Study from Iraq.-Part VIII. Social Perspectives.-Is the Glass Half Empty or Half Full? An Appraisal of the Four Decades of Turkeys Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP).-Part IX. Food Security.-How Possible to Build RiceFish Farming in Iraq in order to Support Food Security Plan: Positive and the Negative Aspects.- The Importance of Non-commercial and Small-Sized Fish Species: A Proposal for an Additional Revenue to Iraq.- Sociocultural Aspects Influence Food Consumption Habits in Iraq: Management of Food Security.- A Preliminary Investigation of Determinants of Food Security in Rural Areas of Basrah Province, Iraq.