The “#SaveUrmiaLake” hashtag is slowly trending across social media platforms. Activists are worried about the consequences of 10 million tons of salt that would remain if the shrinking of the lake led to drying up. On September 28, 2021, a video report of the salt storm went viral on the internet in Iran. The video has warned that the health of millions of people will be endangered due to the drying of Lake Urmia, salt storms caused by the wind, and the activation of dust centers.
Lake Urmia
Lake Urmia is located in northwestern Iran, in the Iranian Azerbaijan region. It was the largest lake in the Middle East and the sixth-largest saltwater lake in the world. It is also known as the Jewel of Azerbaijan but unfortunately, ninety percent of Lake Urmia has dried up and has left billion of tons of salt. So the Jewel of Azerbaijan has turned into a ghost of Azerbaijan. Lake Urmia is surrounded by Azerbaijani populated cities. About 6 million Iranian Azerbaijanis live in these cities, based on the government census.
The lake’s total surface area was between 4750 and 6100 km2. Depending on evaporation and water influx the lake was about 87 miles (140 km) long and 25 to 35 miles (40 to 55 km) wide. Urmia Lake is fed by 13 main rivers. The most important rivers are Jagatai, Aji Chai, and Tataii. There were 102 distinct islands and each of them was home to a wide variety of animals.
A Remarkable Lake
Although the lake’s water level dropped sharply, the lake still is partly an important habitat for several species such as algae, bacteria, microfuge, plants, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals. Also, the most significant aquatic biota in the lake is a brine shrimp species, Artemia Urmia. The brine shrimp Artemia Urmia (Crustacea: Anostraca) plays an important role in Lake Urmia’s food chain. Every year migratory Flamingos come to this lake to eat Artemia. This lake has been selected as one of the 59 biosphere reserves by UNESCO because of its unique biodiversity.
Mismanagement Led to an Intensive Drop in Water Level
Lake Urmia has been shrinking extremely in the last decades. This lake was well-known for its wide natural areas and besides that, people from all walks of life widely benefited from it. This is because Lake was a tourist destination and the lake provided a remarkable natural area.
In the shore area of the sea, salt is crystallized because water has evaporated intensively during the last decades. Due to various variations, the level of water has fluctuated.
Studies have shown that the water level of lake Urmia declined to 1271.5 m in July 2020 due in part to drought, the digging of too many wells, increasing demand for agricultural water, climate change, and, most of all, bad management. For instance, the Lake Urmia causeway was built straight across the lake.
Although environmentalists have warned that building a 15-km long causeway in the middle of the lake would have catastrophic environmental consequences, the construction was completed in 2008. Dividing the lake into two separate parts with a causeway has accelerated the rate of the drying process. Therefore, the lake has changed into a salt marsh that has impacted the climate and agriculture of the region.
Another major problem is the cultivation of agricultural products that consume much water in drought-stricken periods. For example, the government encouraged farmers that surrounded lake Urmia to plant apples, apricot, grape, and beet, which are water-intensive products. As a result of the increasing demand for agricultural water in the Lake Urmia basin, the government started the construction of dams on rivers that have fed the lake. Research has shown that more than 70 dams have been constructed in The Lake Urmia basin which has influenced the lake critically. UNEP claims that in 2012 there were over 200 new dams and irrigation projects in the design or construction phase in the Lake Urmia catchment basin. Dams, unsustainable agriculture, and unsustainable water use for decades led to a decline in the water level of Lake Urmia. In addition, there are more than 24,000 wells that were dug illegally around Lake Urmia. These wells have seriously contributed to the demise of Lake Urmia.
Increasing Salinities to Saturation
As a consequence of the decline in water level, salinities increased to saturation (more than 300 g/L) and caused a catastrophic decline in brine shrimp (Artemia) and the birds that depend on them. Furthermore, the water decline in the lake caused losses of more than $1.6 million (2019) to eco-tourism, recreation (boating, sunbathing, therapeutic baths), cultural heritage, and educational activities(Bagherzadeh, 2012; UNEP, 2012).
Source: Animal Rights Watch
Consequences of Shrinking Lake Urmia
The excessive salinity of the Lake’s water is a crucial threat to the ecosystem.
The abundance of wildlife has been devastating by the shrinking of Lake Urmia. There is a deep concern that environmental disasters will continue after the complete shrinkage of the lake. This is because of the fact that the lake has left millions of tons of salt in the area. More than 400 km² of the salty desert has been created as a result of shrinking the Lake. The surface of the lake turned into a salty desert. People throughout the region have been suffering from windblown salt storms like the Aral sea basin.
Holding protests against Tehran policy toward Lake Urmia
Before the construction of the causeway, Azerbaijani environmentalists and activists warned the government about the catastrophic result of the construction of the causeway. However, environmentalists did not receive any response. The Iranian government’s failure to preserve and protect lake Urmia caused a grievance that resulted in some protests. Azerbaijani activists and environmentalists held protests against Iran’s policy over Lake Urmia in Tabriz, Urmia, and Ardabil cities. Many Azerbaijani environmentalists were arrested, and Protesters and environmentalists were sentenced to prison.
Activists are worried about the consequences of 10 million tons of salt that would remain if the shrinking of the lake led to drying up. They also claim that 10 million tons of salt would damage the environment and could cause illness among people who live around Lake Urmia. Although the government of Iran would like to show that the shrinking of Lake Urmia is mostly the result of natural processes, Azerbaijani environmentalists have claimed that this is the result of environmental injustice in Iran, and the government ignores the problems of non-Persian populated regions.
Then Claudia Roth, leader of the German Green Party, made a statement on the ecological status of Lake Urmia. This statement was written supporting the environmental protests in the cities of Urmia and Tabriz on Saturday (27 August 2011) and the arrested protesters. The statement added that the Iranian government accuses environmental activists and people protesting against government policy in Lake Urmia of separatism.
As a result of protests and International attention, 22 Azerbaijani members of parliament wrote a letter to the chairman of the Iranian parliament. They demanded that the Lake Urmia issues should be solved urgently and professionally. The writers of this letter said that the government will be responsible for any consequences of the shrinking.
Urmia Lake Restoration Program
In July 2013, the government of Iran established a ten-year program “Urmia Lake Restoration Program” (ULRP) to restore and preserve the lake. This Program started its project with seven billion US dollars. Unfortunately, this government attempt has not resolved the lake problems and the Lake water level has declined more than in the past.
Questioning the impact of Climate Change
Among Azerbaijani environmentalists, it is believed that the comparison of Lake Urmia’s condition with Lake Van in Turkey, which is located in similar geographic and climate conditions, can be a good approach to show the environmental discrimination in Iran. Lake Urmia and Lake Van are two close lakes that are located at the same latitude and have a 150 km distance from each other, in the nearly same climate conditions. Lake Van is the deep blue lake on the left in Turkey but has an unusual sediment color, and the shallow lake is Lake Urmia. Some researchers have demonstrated that climate change and dams that have been constructed on rivers that fed the lake lead to the shrinking of the lake. But climate change has not influenced Lake Van and Lake Sevan in the north of Lake Urmia as much as Lake Urmia. That is why Azerbaijani activists and environmentalists have been accusing the government of environmental injustice. They link the situation of lake Urmia to the systemic discrimination that Azerbaijanis as an ethnic group experience in Iran.
