Morteza Sediqi, a deputy director with Iran’s Mapping Organization, recently announced alarming land subsidence rates across the country. Water scarcity and drought are major contributors.
In Kerman province, subsidence reaches over 42 cm per year, while Alborz and Tehran provinces experience subsidence of 30 cm and 24 cm annually, respectively.
Sediqi highlighted the severity of the crisis. “An area equivalent to 5% of Iran, encompassing 360 regions, suffers from subsidence,” he stated. “Seven provinces are in critical condition, with subsidence exceeding the global average fivefold.”
He emphasized the danger to populated areas, noting, “Over 200 Iranian cities, roughly 15% of the total, are either subsiding or located near subsiding zones.”
Experts attribute this crisis to decades of mismanagement. Despite regulations prohibiting well drilling in urban areas and restricted plains, authorities overlooked violations. Thousands of unauthorized wells were drilled, depleting vital underground water resources.
Jafar Javadi, a water and soil director in Khorasan Razavi province, exemplifies this issue. He revealed that despite a 1970 ban on drilling in the region’s plains, over 6,000 well permits were issued since then. Similar disregard for regulations occurred nationwide.
Isa Kalantari, former head of Iran’s Environmental Protection Organization, described a situation where the former regime’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad encouraged widespread well drilling, effectively negating existing restrictions.
Sediqi’s organization’s research identified approximately 360 subsiding zones in Iran, covering roughly 90,000 square kilometers – a staggering 5% of the country’s landmass.
He pointed out, “Globally, only about 3% of a nation’s territory experiences subsidence exceeding 20 cm annually. In Iran, this figure jumps to over 15%.”
Furthermore, the average global subsidence rate is around 1-2 cm per year, whereas some Iranian regions experience a much higher rate. Kerman province, for example, has areas subsiding at a concerning 30-40 cm annually.
Sediqi expressed particular concern for the southern Alborz plain, encompassing Alborz, Qazvin, and Tehran provinces, where subsidence surpasses 20 cm. He added, “Certain areas in Tehran province have subsided by 20 cm, and vast areas in Golestan province face similar problems.”
The crisis extends beyond immediate infrastructure concerns. It threatens Iran’s most treasured historical sites. Located in the subsiding Marvdasht plain, the ancient wonders of Persepolis, Parse Plain, Naqsh-e Rostam, and Cyrus’ tomb in Pasargad are all at risk.
Experts predict a lack of potable water in these areas within the next decade due to increased salinity caused by subsidence. A significant portion of the Marvdasht plain, including Pasargad, Persepolis, and Naqsh-e Rostam, faces subsidence exceeding 15-20 cm.
Adding to the urgency, a recent study by researchers from Colorado and Hamburg universities ranked Iran as the second country globally with the highest subsidence rate and the third with the most significant area of subsided land.
