Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 2
By Fatih Karimov - Trend: Human involvement is the main cause of drying wetlands in Iran, said Masoud Baqerzadeh-Karimi, an official at the Environment Protection Organization of Iran.
Drought has also worsened the situation, Iran's IRNA news agency quoted Baqerzadeh-Karimi as saying on August 2.
Some seasonal wetlands, which used to be dried up for one or two months during summer, have remained dried for about 8 months, he added.
Based on statistics, some 40 wetlands have been dried between 50 percent and 90 percent, for example, Urmia Lake has been dried up by 90 percent, Gavkhoni wetland has been dried up by 90 percent, Parishan Lake has been dried up by 80-90 percent, and Maharloo Lake has been dried up by 100 percent, he noted.
The Islamic Republic is located in an arid zone and the country faces a serious water shortage crisis. However, many experts believe that the current water shortage problem is a result of water resources mismanagement, rather than the drought.
Sattar Mahmoudi, the Islamic Republic's deputy minister of energy said in May that recovering the used groundwater reserves in Iran is impossible.
The level of the country's aquifers has fallen by 20 meters due to inappropriate use of water resources during the past few years, Mahmoudi said.