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Norwegian institute to study Iran’s Lake Urmia restoration plan

Business Materials 30 December 2014 13:16 (UTC +04:00)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 30

By Fatih Karimov - Trend:

The Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) will carry out environmental studies of Lake Urmia restoration plan in Iran, Iran's Mehr news agency reported on Dec. 30.

Issa Bozorgzadeh, an official with Iran Water and Power Resources Development Company, said that a memorandum of understanding has been signed in this regard.

Negotiations with the Norwegian company are underway for transferring water from the Caspian Sea to Lake Urmia, he said.

Bozorgzadeh added that the plan has both supporters and those who are against it, due to plan's effects on the environment.

Lake Urmia is in north-west of Iran. Over 70 percent of its water has dried up. The level has been declining since 1995.

The Iranian administration has approved to have $225 million allocated for the implementation of a plan to restore the lake.

Officials have said if the current restoration efforts are not effective, the lake will be turned into a swamp within several years. Previous reports said Lake Urmia needs 3.1 billion cubic meters of water per year to survive.

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