Urmia Sand Stabilization Successful

Moving sand in most dust storm hotspots of Lake Urmia’s basin has been successfully stabilized to prevent wind-blown sand and dust, a provincial official said.

“The project, which has been carried out despite a lack of funds, is now paying off,” Rahman Vahabzadeh, director of the office of Forests, Range and Watershed Management Organization in West Azarbaijan Province, said.

 “Given the current ecological conditions and the windy climate of the region, sand stabilization is the most efficient approach to prevent sand storms.”

However, the official said more financial support is needed to implement the project in other hotspots along the lake’s banks.   

Vahabzadeh also said lack of planning in the past few years has rendered the area of approximately 30,000 hectares within the Urmia drainage basin highly vulnerable to sand instability.

Since March 2012, to counter wind and dusts storms caused by the drying-up of Urmia Lake, a series of measures have been implemented in West Azarbaijan Province.

“Special zones to combat wind-blown sand and dusts have also been established in five counties of the province. Restoration and inundation measures have been implemented over 3,200 hectares of Urmia drainage basin,” he said.

Wind-blown sand and dusts driven by dried-up Urmia Lake is a serious environmental issue in this region.