In recent years Lake Urmia, the largest saline lake in the Middle East located in northwestern Iran has\r\nundergone severe environmental changes. As a result of drought and anthropogenic impacts, the area\r\nof the Lake has been shrunk and the water level has been dropped. In this article the environmental,\r\npolitical and socio-economic impacts of drought in Lake Urmia basin has been reviewed and the\r\nobstacles regarding institutional water frameworks in national and regional levels has been studied and\r\nassessed. Furthermore, lack of sufficient mitigation and adaptation policies and inadequate attention to\r\nthe environmental impact assessment during megaprojects has been discussed. The most crucial\r\nimpacts have been realized as ecological and environmental consequences of lake drying up on all over\r\nthe Lake Urmia catchment. In associated with these consequences, several scarce species of flora and\r\nfauna are exposed to the danger of extinction, and polluted air ensued by the salt storms affect the\r\ndaily life of people in the region. In addition, this event has a direct influence on the economy of the\r\nregion. Therefore, the implementation of a holistic institutional-based remediation program to\r\naccomplish lake restoration seems to be inevitable.
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