TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iranian Government has passed a seven-year plan for the conservation of the Gulf of Gorgan, also known as Gorgan Bay, First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri said on Saturday.
Jahangiri made the remarks speaking to reporters upon arrival in the northern province of Gorgan.
He said that the plan was passed by the government following a proposal by the Department of Environment.
Jahangiri said that the Government decided to launch Inchebron Free Zone.
The Government plan for launching the new free zone has been approved by the cabinet ministers, he said, however noting that due to a disagreement between the Parliament and the Guardian Council, the Expediency Council has to decide about the plan.
Covering an area of about 400 square kilometers, the Gulf of Gorgan is the largest gulf in the Caspian Sea. It is located at the south-eastern shore of the Caspian Sea near the cities of Behshahr, Gorgan, and Sari and is separated from the main water body by the Miankaleh peninsula and extends until the Ashuradeh peninsula.
Experts on climate change and global warming believe that uncontrolled water withdrawal of aquifers, reduced rainfall, and increased evaporation are the most important reasons for the drying up of Gorgan Bay.
According to the latest scientific data presented by the National Cartographic Center, the drying rate of Gorgan Bay is worrisome.
In July of 2020, a budget of 9 trillion rials (nearly $2.1 million at the official rate of 42,000 rials) was earmarked to revive the Gulf of Gorgan.
The Ports and Maritime Organization, the Department of Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Ministry of Energy are tasked with taking executive measures to save Gorgan Bay within 5 years.
According to the oceanographic studies, the most important solution to save Gorgan Bay is dredging canals, dredging the rivers leading to the Gulf of Gorgan, and providing water rights of the rivers will be other executive strategies to save the Gulf.
- source : IRNA
