Iran’s Department of Environment (DoE) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) jointly published an expert Report containing solutions for Iran’s drying wetlands.  While these solutions focus on Lake Uromiyeh and the Hamoun wetlands, they also offer recommendations for how Iran should manage its wetlands – and associated basin water resources – in the coming decades, which climate science predicts will be hotter and drier for much of the Middle East, including Iran.

The findings of the Report summarize the expert debates conducted at an international technical wetlands roundtable, convened by DoE and UNDP in Tehran in March 2014.  The report analyzes the causes of the drying of these two specific wetlands and the actions needed to address them.  The Report also covers international best practices for the restoration of drying wetlands.  Taking into account the known policy, logistical, institutional and budgetary limitations, the Report recommends series of steps to the Government, which can be shaped for quick implementation.