Shahin Mouludi - Radio Zamaneh - August 8, 2022
This report is based on interviews with several residents of the villages surrounding Lake Urmia, who are primary witnesses to the situation.
The threat of Lake Urmia drying up has been a pressing environmental concern for years. This threat has now gone beyond speculation, evolving into a crisis and an environmental catastrophe. Such a crisis will undoubtedly have long-term, far-reaching consequences for the entire country. However, those living near the lake, whose livelihoods and homes depend on it, have experienced the impacts of its drying far more directly and sooner than others.
Now that the lake is on the verge of complete desiccation, the nightmare is much closer and more tangible. This report is the result of conversations with several local residents, who, in addition to living near the lake, have closely followed its drying and replenishment over the years. With a heightened sensitivity to the lake’s fate, they have both witnessed and experienced its consequences firsthand.
Destruction of Livelihoods
One of the most significant consequences of Lake Urmia’s drying has affected the residents of villages around the lake. These communities relied on water from wells, springs, and rivers that once flowed into the lake. However, due to extensive dam construction along these rivers and reduced rainfall, neither the rivers, springs, wells, nor the lake itself remain as sources of water.
Local sources report that 36 cities and more than 3,000 villages are directly threatened by the consequences of Lake Urmia’s drying. The estimated population of these areas exceeds 5 million people, 60% of whom reside in villages surrounding the lake. These include areas such as Nazlu, Taltapeh, Anzal, Bakeshlu Chay, Bash Qaleh, Baranduz Chay, Dol, Turkman, and Marhamatabad, each encompassing dozens of smaller villages. The primary livelihoods in these regions are agriculture and livestock farming. Although some residents also engage in other occupations in services and small industries, agriculture and livestock farming—both heavily dependent on water—remain predominant.
The average age of residents in these villages ranges between 40 and 45, meaning most are middle-aged or elderly, with young people comprising only a small percentage of the population. A significant number of residents were also involved in tourism-related services tied to the lake, whose businesses ultimately depended on the lake's water.
These three groups—farmers, livestock herders, and those in tourism—have all been grappling with the increasing dryness of the lake in various ways. Farmers, in particular, have borne the brunt of this crisis.
Ilya and his family have lived near the lake for years, relying on agriculture for their livelihood. They are residents of Nezamabad in Miandoab. Now, Ilya and his relatives are considering migration. He explains that for years, they cultivated alfalfa and onions on a large scale, making a living from their harvest. But now, there is neither a resource nor hope to remain. Drilling new wells is no longer a viable option since groundwater has either become brackish or has receded significantly.
Lack of Agricultural Infrastructure
Alfalfa, grapes, wheat, sugar beets, peaches, and onions were traditionally the most common crops grown by farmers in the plains of Maragheh, Urmia, Tabriz, Miandoab, and Mahabad. However, the lake’s drying has disrupted their activities in two ways: through the drying of irrigation sources and the dust storms spreading across the region, which damage crops and spread infestations.
The current dust storms serve as a warning and a precursor to looming salt storms, which will impact agriculture and life across the lake's watershed. Since late 2015, these storms have occurred periodically.
Local residents report a steady annual decline in the population of villages around Lake Urmia. Young people, in particular, are leaving as jobs and sources of income vanish.
The output of deep and semi-deep agricultural wells has sharply decreased, and the diversity of cultivated crops has diminished. Ilya and his family, who have relied on agriculture for their livelihood for many years, now see migration as their only option. He recounts that they cultivated alfalfa and onions extensively for years, but now, neither resources nor hope remain. Drilling new wells is no longer viable, as underground water has become either saline or has significantly receded.
Official statistics reveal that in the past 15 years alone, 60,000 illegal wells have been drilled around the lake, leaving no water left to extract. As a result, migration appears to be a more accessible solution.
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| The "Shahid Kalantari" highway bridge spans the dried-up lake. |
Migration
One of the immediate consequences of the destruction of irrigation resources and the conversion of farmland into barren salt flats has been individual and family coping strategies among farmers and livestock herders in the region.
Local residents report a yearly decline in the population of villages around Lake Urmia, particularly among young people who, with no jobs or sources of income left, leave their villages. Their typical migration destinations are large cities in the northwest, such as Urmia, Tabriz, Mahabad, Miandoab, Salmas, Oshnavieh, or Naqadeh. Migration, naturally, brings its own set of consequences for both the origin and destination.
Those who leave the areas around the lake often struggle to find suitable jobs in their new locations and end up joining the urban marginalized populations. Additionally, given the ethnic composition of the region, such migrations can create a host of social tensions in urban centers.
Rising Conflicts
The depopulation of the villages weakens agricultural production and other productive activities. The remaining residents face worsening living conditions and reduced resources, leading to disruptions in social tolerance and coexistence. Some villagers report that as water resources and cultivable land have diminished, tribal and inter-village disputes have intensified. Disputes that had been diminishing due to the abundance of water and the rise of new income sources like tourism are now reemerging, reproducing various forms of violence.
Migration itself also has repercussions at the destinations. Migrants frequently fail to secure suitable employment and end up in urban slums. Moreover, the migration of populations with distinct ethnic identities often results in further social frictions in cities.
For example, residents of a Turkic-speaking village may migrate to a Kurdish-majority city, or Kurdish-speaking villagers may move to a Turkic-majority city for economic reasons. Experiences in the region’s cities, which are a mix of these two identities, show that coexistence and mutual acceptance are not always straightforward. Ethnic tensions, especially among rural migrants in lower-income urban neighborhoods, remain part of everyday life.
Pollution and Illness
The expansion of Lake Urmia's salt deserts does more than scatter dust and dirt in the surrounding areas. Since the lake began drying up and the salt flats expanded, cancer-related deaths in nearby villages have significantly increased, particularly from cancers directly linked to salt storms.
Doctors describe the salt particles as toxic and have identified a clear link between the rise in cancers—especially among children and young people—and the drying of Lake Urmia.
Similarly, respiratory and skin diseases in the region have increased as a direct result of the growing frequency of salt storms affecting villages near the lake.
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| One of the constant scenes in the villages around Lake Urmia: an abandoned house (Bari village, Tasnim News Agency, photographer: Sahand Ahmadzadeh). |
Livestock and Grazing Land Destruction
Livestock farming, a common economic activity in the region's villages, has also suffered as the plains and grasslands around the lake have dried up, leaving no capacity for herding.
With the sharp decline in the cultivation of alfalfa and other types of grass in the area’s plains, herders must now travel long distances to procure feed for their livestock during winter.
In recent years, some herding families have sourced their livestock feed from Ardabil because no local supplies remain available.
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| Lake Urmia: The abandoned port of Golmankhaneh |
Collapse of Tourism
Workers in tourism-related services are also among those most affected by the drying of the lake, as boat docks have been shut down, leaving many unemployed.
Tourism was the second most significant activity for local villagers after agriculture. However, not only have tourism activities around the lake ceased, but businesses in the cities near the lake, such as hotels, shops, restaurants, inns, and street vendors, have also declined due to the lake's desiccation. It is evident that tourists are not interested in visiting a dried-up lakebed or being exposed to salt-laden winds.
The decline of tourism has also led to reduced property and agricultural land values in the region, discouraging investment. The incomes of local residents who relied on tourism and service industries have dropped significantly. What once drove the region’s tourism industry was water—a true source of life for farmers, herders, service workers, and the biodiversity of the lake and its surroundings.
Read the original article in Farsi on Radio Zamaneh’s website.