Urmia Lake in Iran has experienced environmental disasters due to lack of integrated natural resource management and human factors. The lake, once rich in biodiversity and home to migrating bird species, supported ecotourism. However, photos show the lake shrinking significantly between 2002 and 2009. This was caused by sectoral planning, policies encouraging agriculture in water-scarce areas, changing crops to more water-intensive varieties, dams constructed upstream without coordination, and overexploitation of groundwater through illegal wells. If not addressed, the drying of the lake threatens the health and safety of 5 million people in the region due to salt storms and disease. Prevention is needed to avert further environmental and humanitarian crises.

1. UrmiaLake Disasters
becauseof Lack of
IntegratedNarturalResource
ManagementStrategyin Iran
Seyed Abolfazl Mirghasemi
Lessons learnt: Knowledge sharing, M&E systems strengthening,
and groundwater management in the GEF MENARID program”
16-18 June 2014, Beirut, Lebanon

2. 2
In the past, Urmia Lake was rich in biodiversity and full of life
(migration of birds like Flamingo and Pelicans)
There was active ecotourism industry in the region especially for using
hyper Saline water for medical uses.
But how is it nowadays ….

3. 3
Photo from Ashk
island in Urmia lake
Upper photo in: 2002
Lower photo in: 2009

4. 4

5. 5

6. 6

7. 7

8. Manmade Disasters
Although the region is affected by climate change issue but
most of the problems are caused because of manmade
factors like:
• Sectoral planning
• Wrong policies (agricultural development in area with
water scarcity region from 150000 ha to 450000 ha)
• Changing crop pattern from low water requirement
(Grape) to high one (like apple & sugar beet)
• Construction and of 72 under-operation dams in upstream
(20 extra dams are under study and execution)
• Overexploitation of GW by drilling illegal wells (farmers
are using 53000 wells for iirigation without government
permission)
• Disturbing ecological system of the lake by contracting a
bridge in its middle part

9. Urmia Lake Basin(more than 5 million hectares)
Location
of under
operatio
n dams in
upstream
of Lake

10. Agriculturalactivitiesinneighborhoodoflake,overuseofwater

11. 11

12. 12

13. 13

14. 14
Area would be under salt storm disaster and
5 million people will be on danger (migration,
health care, DISEASE and ….)

15. Salt Storm

16. Map of the area under danger of salt tsunami
Wind direction

17. 17
Poor Artemia in the dried Urmia lake (Salt)

18. 18
Poor Artemia in the dried Urmia lake (Salt)

19. 19

20. 20

21. 21

22. 22
I hope we do something before it becomes too late
because common sense says:
PREVENTION is better than CURE

23. Thanks a lot
for your attention!