Like Israel and Jordan’s Dead Sea, Iran has it’s own inland salty lake called Lake Urmia. Climate change and dam construction has caused its demise to about 10% of its of former glory.
Local protestors who have dared called on the government to fix it have been tied up, beaten and tortured. One trusted source I have in Iran says this is the country’s top 2 environmental “problem” to solve.
Lake Urmia before in 1998, taken by NASA
One young photographer Pedram Yazdani summarized the devastation in a photograph, above, which has just one recognition for an environmental prize by the the Atkins CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year, an international showcase for the very best in environmental photography and film.
Lake Urmia in 2011, taken by NASA
Yazdani won the prize for capturing The Salt Lake Urmia in Iran. Lake Urmia is the biggest salt lake in the Middle East, but it is now only a shadow of what it once was. This image demonstrates how dramatic impact land management decisions can be to our environment.
Continue learning more about Lake Urmia below by Youtube movies produced by Iranians.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9u1wR7WKrk[/youtube]
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjZR1l4rKII[/youtube]
More on Iranian Environmental Issues:
Saltier than the Dead Sea, Lake Orumiyeh is in Trouble
Iran Lacks Water Planning
Iran and Qatar Align to Help the Environment
Author: Karin Kloosterman
Karin Kloosterman is an award-winning journalist and publisher that founded Green Prophet to unite a prosperous Middle East. She shows through her work that positive, inspiring dialogue creates action that impacts people, business and planet. She has published in thought-leading newspapers and magazines globally, owns an IoT tech chip patent, and is part of teams that build world-changing products to make agriculture and our planet more sustainable. Reach out directly to [email protected]
That’s a really drastic environmental change in just 13 years. So sad. I’m just thinking about the ecosystem and how this will trickle down in so many ways.