Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 17
By Elnur Baghishov - Trend:
The project of transferring water from the Caspian Sea to Iran’s Semnan province is being explored, chief of Iran’s Department of Environment Isa Kalantari said, Trend reports via IRNA.
He said that this project will be decided upon completion of the technical studies.
He added that all environmental issues will be taken into consideration while implementing this project.
“It seems like the war for water supply is going on between Iranian cities,” he said. “The wildlife of Iran depends on water.”
“There has been no major improvement in waste management,” he noted. “The government has allocated $1.3 billion for waste management to the northern provinces of Iran. However, the Iranian MPs directed this money to other areas.”
“There is no fish in rivers adjacent to the Caspian Sea due to waste water,” he said. “Three provinces in northern Iran experience crisis in waste water management. The situation in Gilan province is even worse. Producing electricity from waste should be abandoned, because such kind of electricity is several times more expensive than other energy sources. In general, serious steps must be taken to protect the environment in the northern provinces of Iran.”
For the first time, the plan of transferring water from the Caspian Sea to Semnan province has been submitted for discussion in the Iranian parliament at the time of the 11th Iranian government (2013-2017). However, MPs from Iran’s Mazandaran province and environmental authorities objected this plan and it was removed from the agenda.
Discussions on this issue started again during the Iranian president’s visit to Semnan province in early December 2018.