Ambiguity in the Dangerous Situation of Lake Urmia; Local Sources: 'Mulching' on the Lake Bed; Environment Officials: It's a Laboratory Action!

Some news sources in Iran have confirmed the implementation of the 'mulching' project on parts of the Lake Urmia bed, which many have called an 'anti-environmental' action, but a senior government official denied this action. Ali Aroohi, a wetland management expert, told the 'Khabar Online' website: 'The saline bed of Lake Urmia is not a thin layer that can be easily stabilized with mulching; I think it is very unlikely that mulching in Lake Urmia will help prevent the spread of saline dust.' According to this expert, 'the burden of drought' should not only fall on Lake Urmia but should be distributed among 'other uses' from agriculture to industry. The drying of Lake Urmia and concerns about the spread of 'saline dust' have reached a point where some have turned the idea of 'mulching' into action. The provincial network 'Sahand' also reported a few days ago on 'mulching' in parts of Lake Urmia. Eisa Kalantari, former head of the Environmental Protection Organization, stated in June of this year regarding the spread of these saline dusts: 'If the lake dries up, its saline dust will travel up to 400 kilometers; if the lake dries up, people will eventually have to evacuate Tabriz, as they cannot endure saline dust for more than 10 years.' On the other hand, Ali Aroohi emphasized that as long as 'the lake's water rights' are not provided and 'water resource management' is not appropriate, the situation of Lake Urmia will not improve. Meanwhile, Ali Salajegheh, head of the Environmental Organization and deputy of Ebrahim Raisi, claimed during a session of the Islamic Republic's government on Wednesday, January 20, in response to a question about 'mulching in Lake Urmia,' that this matter pertains to 'the scientific work of an environmentalist friend' who conducted 'laboratory work' over an area of 60 square meters and that 'this news is not correct.' The drying of Lake Urmia and the intensification of its destructive process have led, in recent years, to warnings from experts and environmental activists, as well as protests and gatherings by locals and supporters of the lake, although they have faced repression or arrests. In this context, Sina Yousefi, a lawyer, stated on December 9 in an interview with Voice of America that extensive 'arrests' related to the 'deliberate drying' of Lake Urmia occurred in various cities of Azerbaijan, including Tabriz, at the end of September, and that civil activists who were arrested were charged with 'forming a group' and 'conspiracy and assembly.' Earlier, images had circulated on social media showing trucks operating on the dried bed of Lake Urmia and extracting materials. Some social media users claimed that these trucks were extracting 'lithium' from the dry lake bed for the benefit of 'the Chinese government.' However, shortly after, the director-general of the environmental protection agency of West Azerbaijan denied this, claiming that the lake does not contain lithium and that 'no mineral other than dry salt is extracted from Lake Urmia.' Nevertheless, the head of the Urmia environmental protection department stated on January 9 that a Chinese company had applied for a permit to extract 'brines from this lake' and that this company is looking for reserves of the element 'bromine' found in the lake's brines, not lithium.