Japan's $4.5 Million Aid for Reviving Lake Urmia

Media in Iran reported the signing of a 'cooperation document' between the governments of Japan and the Islamic Republic, under which the Japanese government will allocate 690 million Japanese yen (approximately $4.5 million) to the Islamic Republic of Iran for a project aimed at 'developing a wetland protection system in Lake Urmia and other areas, including surrounding communities.' According to reports, this project will be implemented jointly with the cooperation of the Environmental Protection Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) from 2024 to 2028. This is the second collaboration between the two countries in the field of wetland protection in Iran, particularly for Lake Urmia. According to Ahmadreza Lahijanizadeh, the deputy for marine and wetland environments at the Environmental Protection Organization, who has experience managing the Iran-Japan cooperation project regarding Lake Urmia, Japan had previously allocated 'another $3 million aid' to this project three years ago. So far, no report has been made public regarding how these funds have been spent and their impact on improving the environmental situation of the lake. The drying of Lake Urmia and the intensification of its destructive trend have led to protests and gatherings by locals and lake enthusiasts in recent years, although they have faced repression or arrests. Eisa Kalantari, the former head of the Environmental Protection Organization, stated last June about the release of salty dust in the region: 'If the lake dries up, its salty dust will travel up to 400 kilometers; if the lake dries up, eventually people will have to evacuate Tabriz, as they cannot endure the salty dust for more than 10 years.' The head of the Urmia Environmental Protection Department mentioned on December 30 of last year that a Chinese company has requested a permit to extract 'brine from this lake,' and this company is seeking reserves of the element 'bromine' found in the lake's brine, not lithium. Iran has a total of 25 valuable wetlands, most of which have either completely disappeared or are at risk of destruction in the years following the 1979 revolution. Among the known wetlands and lakes that have dried up are Bakhtegan, Parishan, Jazmourian, Hamun, Gavkhouni, a large part of Shadgan, Urmia, Anzali, and Hoor al-Azim. Wetlands play a vital role in oxygen production, water storage, water purification, carbon sequestration and storage, nutrient production, and soil stabilization. The change in the color of Lake Urmia's water to red is due to ecological changes. The rise in Lake Urmia's level and the rescue of this lake from death after recent rains. A warning from a meteorological organization official: Iran has become drier due to reduced rainfall and warming. A civil activist: The result of excessive dam construction by the Ministry of Energy; the drying of Lake Urmia and the submergence of pastures and archaeological sites. An investigative report: Intensification of the water crisis in Iran coinciding with a decrease in the amount of water extracted from wells. A revelation from a former government official: We have no flowing rivers, living wetlands, or water-filled lakes. The continued destruction of Iran's environment under the mismanagement of the Islamic Republic; the Parishan and Bakhtegan wetlands have completely dried up.