The Gulf of Gorgan on the Caspian Sea’s southeastern coast is “taking its last breaths” amid mounting environmental degradation, with lawmakers and oversight bodies accusing national agencies of failing to act on recovery plans, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported.
According to the report, local officials in Golestan Province said years of neglect and slow implementation of restoration projects have pushed the gulf -- once a vital ecosystem for fisheries and wetlands -- close to collapse.
Abdollah Aghaalikhani, director-general of the provincial inspection organization, told Tasnim that several measures approved by Iran’s National Wetlands Restoration Committee “have not been implemented.”
He added, “Some agencies at the national level are behind the scheduled timelines for the interventions, and negligence has been observed.”
Aghaalikhani warned that research indicates “there are only three to five years left” to save the Gorgan Gulf, calling for a chain of coordinated actions to stabilize the ecosystem.
He added that the oversight body is “seriously and continuously monitoring implementation of executive commitments, including dredging, water pumping, and completion of coastal wastewater treatment plants.”
Abdoljalal Eiri, a lawmaker representing coastal constituencies in Golestan, told Tasnim that parliament has allocated 10 trillion rials (about $9 million) for the gulf’s restoration in next year’s budget, but said the Environment Department must first conduct a comprehensive study to use the funds effectively.
“Legal obligations exist to rescue Gorgan Gulf, and any agency that has failed to act will be held accountable,” Eiri said.
He added that he has filed complaints against the Environment Department and the Plan and Budget Organization under Article 234 of Parliament’s internal rules “for negligence in implementing legal duties.”
Tasnim added that the Gulf, once a thriving link between the Caspian Sea and Miankaleh Wetland, has been shrinking due to declining Caspian water levels, sedimentation, and rising temperatures.
Dredging of a key canal linking the gulf to the sea began under former President Ebrahim Raisi in 2022, but locals say renewed sedimentation has rendered navigation nearly impossible.
Environmental experts have warned that failure to restore water flow could turn parts of northern Iran into new dust storm zones, threatening local fisheries and livelihoods.
Tasnim wrote that the Gorgan Gulf, once known as “the jewel of northern Iran,” may vanish within a few years unless dredging, pumping, and wastewater control projects are implemented “without further delay.”
