Leonardo DiCaprio Invited To See Firsthand Iran’s Imperilled Lake Urmia

After Leonardo DiCaprio expressed concern on his Instagram page about the decline of Lake Urmia, Western Azerbaijan Province’s Committee for the Restoration of Lake Urmia extended an invitation to the Hollywood star to visit the endangered lake.

Hadi Bahadori, the head of the committee, expressed his appreciation for DiCaprio’s concerns and called on the celebrity to visit the region.

“We now have cooperation from Japan, Switzerland and Australia in our efforts to save the lake and we hope that these kinds of social movements will trigger a dramatic rise in sensitivity and awareness among people all over the world regarding the state of Lake Urmia,” Bahadori said.

Iran’s largest inland lake has been rapidly drying out over the past 20 years and has shrunk to less than 10 percent of its previous footprint of 5,700 square kilometres.

Recent heavy rains and initiatives such as the release of water from other lakes and the the channelling of rivers to Urmia have recently resulted in a relative rise in its water levels.

It remains to be seen, however, whether the recovery will persist through the drier seasons.