"The battle for sustainable development, for delivering a more environmentally stable, just and healthier world, is going to be largely won and lost in our cities, " said Klaus Toepfer, Unep's executive director.

BBC: NEWS | Science/Nature | Changing planet revealed in atlas

"An early study in Iraq could either lay these fears to rest or confirm that there are indeed potential risks, which could then be addressed through immediate action, " UNEP Executive Director Klaus Toepfer said.

CNN: Food, medicine convoys enter Iraq

"The near-total destruction of the Iraqi marshlands under the regime of Saddam Hussein was a major ecological and human disaster, robbing the Marsh Arabs of a centuries-old culture and way of life as well as food in the form of fish and that most crucial of natural resources, drinking water, " according to Klaus Toepfer, the agency's executive director, whose comments are included in the report.

CNN: U.N.: Iraq's marshlands recovering