Iran Set to Revive Lake Oroumiyeh: VP
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s first vice-president expressed the administration’s determination to carry out the plans for resuscitating the endangered Lake Oroumiyeh in northwest of the country, which has shrunk by some 60 percent in recent years.
Speaking to reporters upon his arrival in the northwestern city of Oroumiyeh on Saturday, Eshaq Jahangiri reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to dealing with the environmental problems that have gripped the lake.
Saving Lake Oroumiyeh is a national demand, he stressed.
As Lake Oroumiyeh is shrinking and deserts of salt are expanding, Iranian officials are trying to find ways to avert an imminent disaster and to stop the salt lake from drying up.
One of the largest salt lakes in the world and classified as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO, Lake Oroumiyeh has lost more than 60 percent of its surface over the last two decades due to drought and the damming of rivers feeding it.
The disappearance of the lake could leave behind billions of tons of salt which in turn displace millions of people and endanger the ecosystem of all surrounding areas, whose economy relies on agriculture and tourism.