...

Iranian energy minister: 70 percent of Lake Urmia dried up

Oil&Gas Materials 20 December 2013 13:20 (UTC +04:00)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec.20
By Fatih Karimov - Trend: Iranian energy minister Hamid Chitchian has said that 70 percent of Lake Urmia, in the northwest of the country, has dried up, the Mehr News Agency reported on Dec. 20.

He added that a plan for transferring water from the Caspian Sea or Aras River to Lake Urmia is being studied.

The country's High Water Council has held two sessions regarding the situation of Lake Urmia, and the third session will be held next week, he noted.

The plans for reviving Lake Urmia are almost finalized, the head of Iran's Environmental Protection Organization, Masoumeh Ebtekar said on Oct. 5.

She said these plans are unprofessional due to economic and environmental factors, adding that, Iran's Environmental Protection Organization is interested in a strategy that is compatible with the region's ecology.

Iranian MP, Mansour Hagigatpur has named the increased sowing areas from 110,000 hectares to 450,000 hectares, the construction of dams, and the occurrence of more than 30,000 water wells around Lake Urmia as the main reasons the lake has dissipated.

Hagigatpur also said that the drying up of Lake Urmia will put over half a million people, using the lake's waters, in danger.

On Aug. 19, the official website of the Iranian president reported that President Rouhani established a working group to tackle the issue of saving the lake.

North-west Iran is experiencing its worst drought in many years, and Lake Urmia has lost over 70 percent of its water. The level has been declining since 1995.

Officials have said if the current restoration efforts are not effective, the lake will become 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.

Latest

Latest