Lake Urmia’s Hydro-Social Dilemma

Name: Lake Urmia’s Hydro-Social Dilemma
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ISBN: 9783032089403

From Turquoise Solitaire to White Desert

Robert Gonda

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Hardback

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English

Palgrave Macmillan
22 January 2026

Society & culture: general; Sociology; Human geography; The environment; Management of land & natural resources

This book provides an in-depth study of Lake Urmia in north-western Iran, a region that has mutated from a turquoise solitaire into a white desert. While hydrological and technical perspectives dominate existing research of this region, this book turns to the underexplored social, discursive, and ontological dimensions of the crisis.

Building on its theoretical foundation, the book traces Iran’s water history, from ancient irrigation to modern dam-building, showing how centuries of governance prepared the ground for Lake Urmia’s decline. Drawing on 77 qualitative interviews, 115 scientific publications, and a wide corpus of policy documents, the book interrogates four central controversies: the disputed causes of desiccation, the impact of the causeway, the contested ecological water level, and competing restoration strategies. It also compares Lake Urmia with the Aral Sea, noting both the value and the limitations of this analogy, while demonstrating how Urmia’s disappearance resonates beyond ecology by provoking a profound crisis of identity for local communities.

Through the hydro-social cycle and Latourian concepts, the study employs controversy mapping to reveal how authority and knowledge shape problem framings and proposed solutions. Rather than closing the debate, it calls for a plural, context-sensitive approach that foregrounds diverse perspectives and contested futures of Lake Urmia.

By: Robert Gonda
Imprint: Palgrave Macmillan
Country of Publication: Switzerland
Dimensions: Height: 210mm, Width: 148mm,
ISBN: 9783032089403
ISBN 10: 3032089409
Pages: 297
Publication Date: 22 January 2026
Audience: College/higher education , Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Chapter 1: White is the New Turquoise.- Chapter 2: The Social Power of Water: How the Hydrologic Cycle turns against Modern(ising) Societies.- Chapter 3: The Waters of Iran: From a Romanticised Past to a Present Mutation.- Chapter 4: Rethinking Lake Urmia: From a Matter of Fact to a Matter of Concern.- Chapter 5: Environmental Water Level and Causeway Controversy.- Chapter 6: The Prima Causa of Lake Urmia’s Desiccation.- Chapter 7: Restoration Efforts: The (Moral) Weight of Lake Urmia.- Chapter 8: Beyond Water: The Multiple Natures and Contested Futures of Lake Urmia.

Dr Robert Gonda is a human geographer and political ecologist, formerly based at the University of Augsburg, Germany. He earned his PhD investigating Lake Urmia’s ecological crisis through hydro-social and actor-network perspectives. His research focuses on water governance and socio-ecological controversies, particularly at the intersection of science, politics, and environment.