Mrs. Nakamura, who heads a Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) expert delegation to Iran, in a meeting with the West Azerbaijan Agricultural Jihad Provincial Office wetlands experts told that the delegation had not collected enough information about Lake Urmia and its satellite wetlands, and that they would dispatch an expert delegation to the region in next April.
She also said that her team sought information about the conditions governing the lake basin during the meeting. “Our team is collecting the raw data, and a new team of experts will arrive in April to extended investigations,” Nakamura added.
Kazava Nakabayashi, an expert in JIKA commented about the meeting. “ long, medium, and short-term cooperation with an eye to the future are necessary to solve the issues of Lake Urmia, and would provide a pivot for JIKA activities about the lake,” he added, “ we need economic and social data pertaining to the crisis for an optimal planning.”
Nagaya, another expert, said that “we are interested in working on natural resources and environmental issues, but little could be done if the necessary data were missing,” and that “we should carry out studies to assess the effectiveness of 19 projects to save the lake.”
The JIKA expert team examined through field studies the ecological conditions, the amount of incoming water, biodiversity in coasts and islands, factors contributing to drying lake, and implications of crisis in the ecosystem. They also visited Hassanlu Reservoir Dam to carry out an investigation into its wetland and its effect on Lake Urmia and the local agriculture.
About 85 per cent of the lake has turned into dried salt marsh, raising the possibility of salt winds and its implications on the local industries, agriculture and urban population.
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