By Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, December 18, 2013
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| Dr. Husein Khoroshi Isali |
"Seminars and conferences will not solve the problem of Lake Urmia. Project plans must be developed, and concrete actions must be taken," said Dr. Hüseyin Isali, a water basin management expert at Istanbul University, in an
interview with Voice of America. He emphasized that Lake Urmia has dried up not due to natural factors but because of mismanagement policies.
After Hassan Rouhani, who had promised during his election campaign to save Lake Urmia, became president, seminars and conferences were organized domestically and internationally about this ecological disaster affecting Iran's Azerbaijani provinces. However, according to Iranian media and the region's parliamentarians, no practical steps have been taken so far.
According to Hüseyin Isali, the reason no solution has been found to the Lake Urmia problem, which has persisted for years, is not a lack of scientific knowledge but the absence of a unified and consistent management system.
"To overcome this disaster, project plans must be prepared, and concrete actions must be taken. This problem will not be solved by holding seminars or organizing conferences," said the southern Azerbaijani academic.
"For the drying of Lake Urmia to be attributed to natural drought, we would have needed to witness a severe drought and major climate changes in the surrounding areas, similar to those in deserts and arid regions. However, such conditions have not occurred," he said, addressing those who argue that Lake Urmia dried up due to climate change and drought in the region.
The Iranian government has announced that no new dams will be built on the rivers flowing into the lake. However, the southern Azerbaijani expert argued that this is not enough and emphasized the need to dismantle previously constructed dams.
"It is shameful to announce that no new dams will be built when it is known that dams are among the primary causes of this ecological disaster. Of course, no new dams should be constructed, but in addition to this, existing dams must be dismantled to restore Lake Urmia’s rightful water supply," he said.
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Hüseyn İsalı: Urmiyə Gölü problemini seminar keçirməklə həll etmək olmaz
