On August 16, 2011, Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran rejected a motion to invest funding to increase the inflow of water into Lake Urmia to save it from a complete extinction. The motion was recommended by the deputies from the city of Urmia asking to take an immediate action to save the Lake.
Azerbaijani civil rights activists outraged by the failure of the Iranian authorities to agree on the motion. They believe that the recent decision by the Iranian Parliament is a complete negligence demonstrating double standards towards the people living …

Iran’s Intelligence Ministry has detained over 30 ethnic Azeris in recent days over environmental protests, RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service reports.
The activists in Tabriz were protesting the Iranian government’s failure to take measures to save Lake Urmia, a salt lake situated between Iran’s East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan provinces that is drying up.
Members of the activists’ families told RFE/RL that over 30 people were detained on August 24 during an iftar evening meal when Muslims observing Ramadan break their fast.
On August 25, several more activists were …

Euronews: Urmia Lake in northwestern Iran is drying up. One of the biggest saltwater lakes in the world and a registered UNESCO reserve, it is home to hundreds of species of birds, reptiles and mammals.
But experts say a combination of drought and the construction of dams on rivers feeding the lake have contributed to it drying up.

Euronews science: Iranian lake faces extinction warn experts