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Ronny Berndtsson

Professor, Dep Director, MECW Dep Scientific Coordinator

Profile photo of Ronny Berndtsson

Urmia Lake Watershed Restoration in Iran: Short- and Long-Term Perspectives

Author

  • Sina Khatami
  • Ronny Berndtsson

Summary, in English

Urmia Lake (also known as Oroumieh Lake) is a shallow terminal lake located in northwest Iran and one of the largest permanent lakes in the Middle East. Due to its biodiversity it has been designated as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO and a National Park under the 1971 Ramsar Convention. At present, the entire lake’s watershed is threatened due to drought and abrupt decline of the lake’s water level and the consequent increase of salinity. The rapidly declining eco-environmental conditions have serious impacts on the socio-economy of the whole region. In this paper we review the environmental state of art and suggest measures to improve the lake’s ecology by short- and long-term restoration possibilities. There are indications that the hydrology of the area could be described by a chaotic climate and a low-dimensional dynamical system. However, also the human impact is strong due to mismanagement of water resources. It is concluded that a multidisciplinary integrated approach is needed to tackle the current critical situation.

Department/s

  • Division of Water Resources Engineering
  • Centre for Advanced Middle Eastern Studies (CMES)
  • MECW: The Middle East in the Contemporary World

Publishing year

2013

Language

English

Publication/Series

[Host publication title missing]

Document type

Conference paper

Publisher

Environmental & Water Resources Institute (EWRI) / American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)

Topic

  • Water Engineering

Keywords

  • Urmia Lake
  • lake restoration
  • watershed restoration
  • watershed management
  • chaos
  • phase diagram
  • water resources
  • Middle East

Conference name

6th International Perspective on Water Resources & the Environment conference (IPWE 2013)

Conference date

2013-01-07 - 2013-01-09

Conference place

Izmir, Turkey

Status

Published