A group of Iranian MPs is trying to prepare a plan to transform part of Lake Urmia into a national park. A member of Parliament’s Agriculture Commission told Iska News: “Replenishing Lake Urmieh by transferring water from the Aras River is not possible and, therefore, parts of it should be transformed into a park with various forms of vegetation.”
Currently, Lake Urmia is drying at a rapid pace, and the latest reports indicate that 93 percent of the country’s inland lake is lost.
It appears that the government has considered transferring water from Aras River as one of the last resorts for saving the lake.
Mohammad Taghi Tavakoli said, however, that the Aras River has gone down to an unprecedented level, adding that siphoning water from Aras would not help save the lake and could lead to the destruction of the Aras River.
Tavakoli said in his opinion it is not possible to save Lake Urmia, and while large budgets have been allotted to the project, no practical steps have been taken so far.
Iran’s power minister had said earlier that the replenishment of Lake Urmia would take a minimum of 15 years.
