Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 13
By Umid Niayesh- Trend:
Currently, Iran is facing several economic problems such as a high rate of inflation, unemployment as well as stagnation which officials used to link to foreign factors such as western imposed sanctions. However, there is another problem which has very little to do with outside forces. It is the threat of losing any remaining water resources.
The country ranks first in the world for wasting water resources, head of Environmental Protection Organisation Massoumeh Ebtekar said on Jan. 9.
Iran is suffering droughts as well as a dry climate and 84 percent of Iran's total area is either dry or semi-dry, according to the Deputy Energy minister of Iran, Sattar Mahmoudi.
Iran's underground water resources have decreased from 92 billion cubic meters to 48 billion cubic meters in the past 10 years which indicates a fall of 50 percent, Keyhan newspaper quoted the official from the Iranian Energy Ministry, Hedayat Fahmi on Dec. 16, 2013.
Rivers input about eight billion cubic meters per year in normal conditions of which 5.5 billion cubic meters of that figure is consumed.
The country's average yearly rainfall stands at 250mm. Meanwhile evaporation is about 900mm. Half the country's water demand is supplied by underground sources. In the other words, four billion cubic meters of non-renewable underground water sources is used annually.
The Iranian Forests, Range and Watershed Management Organisation reported in 2013 that around two thirds of Iran's area is rapidly changing into desert.
The country's renewable water sources per capita has fallen from 5000 in 1961 to 1750 in 2006, former Iranian deputy energy minister, Mohammad Reza Attarzadeh said, adding that if the current trend continues, Iran will suffer a water crisis in 2025.
Mismanagement of water sources as well as a drought has led to another environmental crisis. About 45 lakes and lagoons in the country are facing eight to 40 percent damage.
Lake Urmia drying up is a serious problem where some 70 percent of its water surface has dried up.
On Jan. 7, Rouhani criticised previous policy on the lake, saying that it's necessary to pursue projects for the lake's survival.
"If the lake dries up, this kind of threat will not be comparable to any other threat," he said, adding that millions of citizens will be forced to emigrate from the nearby areas.
Greenhouse gases are also worsening the climatic situation in the country.
Iran is the seventh bigger greenhouse gas producer in the world and because of this situation the country's climate has become 1.5 to 3 degrees warmer than several years ago, According to the Ebtekar. Iran had 646 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gas emission in 2010.
The country is also worst hit by air and water pollution.
Iran's Ahwaz City is the most polluted in the world, according to a report of the World Health Organisation (WHO) based on database 2003-2010.
Ahwaz's measure of airborne particulate matter (PM10) is 372 ug/m3, which is a third more than the world's second most polluted city, Mongolia's capital Ulaanbaatar and the only city in the world where average PM10 levels rise above 300 ug/m3.
Iran ranks 114 out of 134 countries in the 2012 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) report.
The index ranks countries on 25 performance indicators covering both environmental public health and ecosystem vitality.
Iran's rank in the 2006 EPI report was 40 which indicates a fall by 74 places during ex-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad`s administration (2005-2013).