Aziz Art May 2016

turning it into a salt marsh which
will directly affect the climate of
the region.
Lake Urmia has been shrinking for a
long time, with an annual
evaporation rate of 0.6m to 1m
(24 to 39 inches). Although
measures are now being taken to
reverse the trend the lake has
shrunk by 60% and could disappear
entirely.Only 5% of the lake's water
remains.
Bridge construction over Lake
Urmia in 2005
On 2 August 2012, Mohammad-
Javad Mohammadizadeh, the head
of Iran's Environment Protection
Organization, announced that
Armenia has agreed on
transferring water from Armenia
to counter the critical fall in Lake
Urmia's water levels, remarking
that "hot weather and a lack of
precipitation have brought the lake
to its lowest water levels ever
recorded". He added that recovery
plans for the lake include the
transfer of water from Eastern
Azerbaijan Province. Previously,
Iranian authorities had announced
a plan to transfer water from the
Aras River, which borders Iran and
Azerbaijan; the 950-billion-toman
plan was abandoned due to
Azerbaijan's objections.
In July 2014, Iran President Hassan
Rouhani approved plans for a 14
trillion rial program (over $500
million) in the first year of a
recovery plan. The money is
supposed to be used for water
management, reducing farmer's
water use, and environmental
restoration. Several months earlier,
in March 2014, Iran's Department
of Environment and the United
Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) issued a plan to save the
lake and the nearby wetland, which
called for spending $225 million in
the first year and $1.3 billion
overall for restoration.
The Silveh Dam in Piranshahr
County should be complete in
2015. Through a tunnel and canals
it will transfer up to 121,700,000
m3 (98,700 acre·ft) of water from
the Lavin River in the Little Zab
basin to Lake Urmia basin annually.
In 2015, president Hassan
Rouhani’s cabinet approved $660
million for better irrigation systems
and steps to combat
desertification.