Revival of Iran's Lake Urmia (Once Largest Lake in the ME)

[Persian Gulf 1906]

Lake Urmia, a lake in north Iran, was once the largest lake in the Middle East, with a surface area of over 5,000km^2.

Since 1995, however, the lake has shrunk to 10% of its former size, due to incompetence (dams being built across its rivers and a massive bridge negligently built across the lake).

The lake shrunk drastically to just 700km^2 in 2013, but recent news shows the lake grew back to 2,300km^2 last year (levels last seen in 2011):

"It is one of the worst ecological disasters of recent decades, but the shrinking of Iran's great Lake Urmia finally appears to be stabilising and officials see the start of a revival.

The lake has been shrinking since 1995, according to the UN Environment Programme, due to a combination of prolonged drought, over-farming and dams.

By August 2011 the lake's surface was 2,366 square kilometres (914 square miles) and shrank drastically to just 700 km2 in 2013, according to the United Nations.

That finally triggered a coordinated effort to save the lake in 2013—with a joint programme between Iran and the UN Development Programme funded by the Japanese government.

The project became a priority for the incoming administration of President Hassan Rouhani.

Some positive results are finally emerging and the lake's surface area reached 2,300 km2 last year, according to UN Development Programme figures.

"This is the beginning of the lake's revival," said Abolfazl Abesht, who heads the wetlands unit of Iran's environment department.

He warned it would take "decades" to return to the 5,000 km2 it once covered, but at least "now the trend has stopped"."

Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-12-iran-revival-imperilled-lake-urmia.html#jCp

 

[KediKesenFare3]

It's way too early to speak about a revival. However, I wish all the best for the future.

 

[GHALIB]

that's really good news .

 

[CAN_TR]

Lake Urmia

 

[Persian Gulf 1906]

It's way too early to speak about a revival. However, I wish all the best for the future.

Well, they stopped the rapid decline and boosted it back to 2011 levels and the signs are good, but yes, it will be a long process and it's too early to celebrate now, much more hard work needs to be done.

 

[Yankee-stani]

I hope the best at least Iran is preventing another Aral Sea problem which the USSR caused

 

[Hack-Hook]

we were lucky they started the revival program before the bed of the lake dry out , if that had happened then there was no hope for its revival.

 

[mangekyo]

Cant belive it took them until 2013 to do anything about it. Whats worse is that Tehran is sinking and according to many, its too late to recover. But the sadest part of all, is that a oil and gas rich country like Iran, needs funding from Japan to revive its own lake.

 

[CAN_TR]

Cant belive it took them until 2013 to do anything about it. Whats worse is that Tehran is sinking and according to many, its too late to recover. But the sadest part of all, is that a oil and gas rich country like Iran, needs funding from Japan to revive its own lake.

 

[Persian Gulf 1906]

Cant belive it took them until 2013 to do anything about it. Whats worse is that Tehran is sinking and according to many, its too late to recover. But the sadest part of all, is that a oil and gas rich country like Iran, needs funding from Japan to revive its own lake.

Japan is the third biggest economy in the world, the oil and gas doesn't matter if you can't sell it

 

[Pakhtoon yum]

Lake Urmia

That seems more then 10%, it's more like 60% shrinkage.

 

[Persian Gulf 1906]

That seems more then 10%, it's more like 60% shrinkage.

I wrote down to 10% of its former size, i.e. 10% left, not 10% decrease in volume/surface area.

 

[Pakhtoon yum]

I wrote down to 10% of its former size, i.e. 10% left, not 10% decrease in volume/surface area.

Whoops, by bad. Sorry

 

[zartosht]

angekyousharingan, post: 11062900, member: 182509"d]Cant belive it took them until 2013 to do anything about it. Whats worse is that Tehran is sinking and according to many, its too late to recover. But the sadest part of all, is that a oil and gas rich country like Iran, needs funding from Japan to revive its own lake.

oil and gas is not the strategic commodity it used to be even a couple decades ago...

iran also doesn't produce anywhere near enough compared to its reserves, and uses a large percentage of the oil/gas that it produces domestically. and gives the Iranian people some of the cheapest energy prices on earth.

which has a MASSIVE trickle down effect boosting virtually all other sectors of the economy.

also iran is facing some of the strongest levels of economic warfare in recorded history.... id say given the circumstances, and the fact that drought/global warming/ drying lakes are a problem everywhere (including the great American state of California)

id say the government deserves a little bit of slack and (god forbid) praise on the urmia lake. They have tried, pumped a lot of money and resources into it.

and if a rich country like japan wants to use some of their foreign assistance capital to help us fund it? why not? thank you japan..... whats wrong with that? Japan has allocated a certain budget to help out globally with environmental issues. And have taken an interest in urmia's revival.. Do you think it would be smart for the Iranian government to reject this help?

 

[ای ایران]

Lake Urmia

A great catastrophe.