Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.7
By Fatih Karimov - Trend: Iran's environment department opposes transferring water from the Aras River to Lake Urmia due to insufficient studies and assessments, the Mehr News Agency quoted head of Iran's Environmental Protection Organization, Masoumeh Ebtekar as saying on February 6.
The plan not only will not be helpful for the economy, but also will harm agriculture in the region, Ebtekar said.
Experts will announce results of their studies regarding the revival of Lake Urmia by the end of spring. For the time being, the best solution is to release water from neighboring dams into the lake, she added.
Ebtekar also emphasized the need to modify previous methods for saving Lake Urmia, noting that a comprehensive plan is being developed, which includes all the factors such as climate change and agricultural activities in saving the lake.
On Oct. 5, Ebtekar said the department does not agree with plans of transferring water from the Caspian Sea to Lake Urmia.
Meanwhile, on September 24, 2013, the head of the West Azerbaijan province, Vahid Jalalzade, said "For 30 years, Lake Urmia has been deprived of attention. As a result of construction of dams and climate change, some 70 percent of the lake has dried up and all forces should be mobilized for rescuing the lake."
On August 19, 2013, the official website of the Iranian president reported that President Rouhani establish a working group to tackle the issue of saving the Urmia Lake.
The work group was commissioned to use the background of the already conducted studies and technical research work in the field and to present their proposals for saving Lake Urmia to the government within a two-month period.
Lake Urmia in north-west Iran is experiencing its worst drought in many years, where over 70 percent of its water has dried up. The level has been declining since 1995.
Officials have said if the current restoration efforts are not effective, the lake will be turned into a swamp within four years. Previous reports said Lake Urmia needs 3.1 billion cubic meters of water per year to survive.
Lake Urmia is the third largest salt water lake on earth with a surface area of approximately 5,200 square kilometers.