Head of Iran’s Department of Environment instructed officials in southwestern Fars Province to prepare an urgent plan to revive the embattled Bakhtegan Lake in cooperation with a local university.
“A consistent plan should be devised, with the Shiraz University playing a central role, in two months for the restoration of Bakhtegan Lake, one that would be based on a scientific approach and take account of local livelihood concerns,” Isa Kalantari was quoted by ISNA as saying on Sunday.
He said the DOE faces no financial constraint on the project but the allocation of the funds is pending the completion of the study plan.
“Not a single penny will be spent until the plan is presented to the DOE,” which is expected to provide a detailed cost estimate, Kalantari stressed.
He asked Fars’ Governor General Esmail Tabadar to personally take charge of the study plan, noting “It should be devised in a way to ensure cost efficiency, efficacy and full implementation.”
Bakhtegan and Maharlou wetlands have experienced a more than 75% decline in surface water volume, recording the highest decrease in the plateau.
Poor Oversight
Kalantari criticized provincial officials for poor cultivation control policies that have led to inefficient use of renewable water resources for farming.
“Fars cannot channel water from the sources outside the province to help replenish its water bodies, but it can cut back on water consumption in the agricultural sector,” the environmental chief noted.
He said a similar project underway to revive Urmia Lake in the northwest of Iran could provide a model for the restoration of Bakhtegan. Located in one of the world’s most water-stressed regions, Iran’s average precipitation rate has been lower than the global average for at least 10 years.
The country’s nearly two-decade struggle with drought, combined with high consumption and waste, has led to renewable water resources dropping to under 120 bcm, and by some accounts to nearly 88 bcm.
Man-Made Damage
Kalantari said the climate change impact on the desiccation of Urmia Lake was trivial compared with the scale of man-made damage.
“While we previously tended to assume climate change was the major culprit behind the lake’s demise, unfortunately we found that 82% of the water loss is to blame on the locals’ greed and unwise policies.”
Urmia was almost completely dried up before the Urmia Lake Restoration Program was launched in 2014.
The level of the lake has increased substantially ever since.
Its area has also increased from 1,790 square km to 2,093 sqkm and its volume of water has risen from 1.1 billion cm to 1.64 billion cm during the period.
“Reviving and handling Bakhtegan Lake would be easier than Urmia Lake as the wetland’s whole catchment area is located within Fars Province,” Kalantari added.
