Jazmourian Wetland's Relief Temporary

The flooding of Jazmourian Wetland in southeastern Iran is only temporary and the lagoon will most likely revert back to its near-desiccated state in just a month.

Relatively high rainfall in southern Iran over the past few months has partly revived the central area of wetland, with a local official saying some 15 million cubic meters of water have entered the marshland.

"But that happens pretty much every year; that amount of water is not sufficient to revive Jazmourian," Nayyereh Pourmolaei, the head of the Department of Environment's office in Sistan-Baluchestan Province, told ISNA.

Jazmourian, which had been ignored for not having any significant ecological and economic importance, has been on the edge of total desiccation for years as a result of DOE's neglect, climate change, unrestrained dam construction and depletion of groundwater resources due to excessive withdrawal from authorized and illegal water wells.

By the end of the first Iranian month (April 20), the wetland will nearly dry up once again.

"The wetland has never completely dried up due to occasional rainfall," she said, adding that precipitation in the region has never been adequate to revive Jazmourian.

The wetland is nestled between the provinces of Kerman and Sistan-Baluchestan in southeastern Iran, both of which are among the most severely drought-hit regions of Iran.

Like the trans-boundary Hamoun Wetlands on the Iran-Afghanistan border, Jazmourian was the main source of income for the locals, most of whom are fishermen.

However, gross mismanagement of water resources coupled with a warming planet have rendered both marshlands dry, turning them into massive hotspots for dust and sand storms. The wetland’s water right is estimated at 23 million cubic meters a year, which experts say is insufficient to restore the lagoon.

Two principal rivers, Bampur from the east and Halilroud from the west, flow into the basin. However, neither river brings much water to the central parts of the lake, as their waters are largely or totally withdrawn for agriculture on the way.

In its prime, the wetland hosted countless migratory birds and marine species.

The wetland last flooded in June 2007, when Cyclone Gonu dumped over 5 inches of rain over the basin and ended years of unusual drought.