Hamon people at risk in eastern Iran – Desertification

“Angels kiss the hands of those who help us,” the man said.

The face behind my handshake was grey and weathered. The dark skin showed years of hardship. The fisherman’s eyes were filled with tears. He longed for a time when his life was full. The lake was full of water, he told me. And fish. His children were happy, and life was good.

I was so moved by his story that I forgot to ask his name. He hoped that I would tell the world about the tragic situation of Sistan Hamoun wetlands, the worst and poorest area in Iran.

The term “wetlands” is a misnomer, as these are dry lands. There is little paid work here, and more than half the residents survive on welfare from the semi-official Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation (IKRF).

They are (or were) mainly fishermen. Almost all are now jobless. They live on the shores of a once thriving lake, in ghostly ruins of a village now in ruins. The wind whistles around creaking docks, an empty fish market and broken boats scattered everywhere.

Hamoun is composed of three large wetlands covering an area of ​​5,660 square kilometers. Two-thirds of the wetlands are located in Iran and are connected and converged by the Helmand River in Afghanistan.

Twenty years ago, the area was mostly green. Flora and fauna were abundant. The lake was rich in fish. The total annual catch once exceeded 12,000 tons. Fishermen often caught fish weighing up to 20 kilograms. The wetlands also support agriculture and buffalo farming, providing livelihoods for thousands of families.

The lake level then dropped dramatically when Afghanistan built dams and canals and began extracting water to irrigate agriculture in the equally impoverished Afghan provinces of Kandahar, Helmand and Nimroz. Iran then built four reservoirs and increased water diversion.

Read the full article: United Nations Development Programme