Maximilian Mann
Fading Flamingos
The lake used to attract many visitors, but now it has turned into a salty, barren land. The drought brings more and more salt storms with it, which has an impact on agriculture and the health of the population.
Masoumeh lives in Daryan, about 20 kilometers from the lake. In recent years, temperatures have risen here too, while rainfall has fallen. Therefore, more and more experiments with new products have been carried out in recent years.
Until a few years ago it was possible to travel by boat from one side of Lake Urmia to the other. Due to the low water level, this has not been possible in recent years.
In total, about 450,000 tons of salt are extracted industrially every year. On the area of the former lake, many agricultural workers mine salt for their own needs.
The Natural History Museum in Urmia deals a lot with the flora and fauna of the biosphere reserve. In ancient times the climatic conditions were more moderate than today. According to historical sources, the lake was rich in fish, and oak and juniper trees grew in the surrounding area.
The region is known for its apple production, the apples are also exported to the neighbouring countries Iraq and Turkey. Due to the high water consumption, agriculture is the main reason for the lake drying up.
The population of the province of West Azerbaijan is multicultural. Although the majority consider themselves Azerbaijanis, the region is home to Kurds, Persians, Christian Armenians and Assyrians.
In former times the village Sharafkhaneh was situated directly at the lake, there were many hotels and holiday guests visited the city in the summer months to thousands. For some years now practically nobody has been coming, many inhabitants have lost their jobs and emigrated.
Young people play football on a free day in the Kurdish village of Jabal Kandi. Especially young adults leave the villages due to the difficult economic situation.
In the region around Lake Urmia many sugar beets are cultivated.
One kilo of sugar beet requires three times more water than one kilo of wheat.
Rahim (31) is a shepherd and lives with his mother and two sisters in Osalou. He has studied, enjoys the peace and quiet of the village and wants to continue working as a shepherd in Osalou.
Reza (front) and Ahmed (back) live in Urmia and own a field near the village Bari directly at the lake. The waste from agricultural production is burned before the winter begins.
Almost 600 people live in the village of Gurchin Qaleh. Since the villages around the lake are shrinking like everywhere else, the state takes care of the preservation of the village and restores the village centre.
On the area of the former lake, agricultural workers process their harvest. They live in the village of Gamichi, once situated directly on the lake. Translated Gamichi means "sailor".
In former times the tea house in Galgachi was well visited, today almost all inhabitants of the village emigrated. Mojtaba Maayed (left) and Ghasem Mohebat (right), both farmers, still live in the village directly at the lake. Only 35 of the once 150 house owners are left.
The public Hamams do not only serve for cleaning and relaxation, but are also an important social meeting place. Although traditional steam baths have a long tradition, they are becoming increasingly rare in Iran.
Some tourists from Tabriz spend their weekends at the lake.
Project Description
Largely unnoticed by the world public, a major environmental disaster is taking place in Lake Urmia in northwestern Iran. Where ten years ago the waves splashed against the walls of the villages, today you see an almost endless desert. Ships that once brought people from one side of the lake to the other now lie like stranded whales on the shore, decaying.
Salt winds from the desert are spreading farther and farther over the residents’ fields, causing the crops to dry up. Robbed of their livelihoods, the residents are fleeing to the surrounding towns, and the villages around the lake are dying out.
Lake Urmia was once the second largest salt lake in the world, ten times bigger than Lake Constance. However, within a few years, the surface area of the lake has shrunk by eighty percent. Both climate change and the agriculture sector’s enormously high water consumption rates are responsible for this.
If this disaster is not stopped, up to five million residents could be forced to leave the area in the future.
Biography
Nationality: German
Maximilian Mann (1992) grew up in Kassel, Germany. During a voluntary service in Tanzania, his desire to study photography grew. In his photographic works, he is primarily engaged in socially marginalised groups and minorities in Eastern Europe.
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