The Power of the powerless, Continuation of environmentally destructive economic activities, The role of beliefs and social pressures in the drying up of Lake Urmia

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 University of Tabriz

2 Allameh Tabatabai University

Abstract

The closing of numerous dams and the destruction of the local ecosystem of the Urmiya Lake catchment area were first done by the short-sighted government with its engineering-oriented view and geopolitical power, and then by companies and businesses. Beneficiaries have tried to spread beliefs in the society that people live in a circle of lies and are indifferent. The interests of farmers in the region depend on the way they have remained silent in the face of environmental destruction. Also, the ineffectiveness of conflict management institutions at the national level has been a platform for indifference to the environmental crises of this region. The article, in the form of an interdisciplinary study, with a descriptive, analytical, applied method, and with a political economy approach, concludes and suggests that: 1) encouraging "distortion of preference" creates a kind of confusion for the governments themselves and the power of government initiative is lost. 2) According to the Qur'an (Liqum al-Nas Bal Qast) and the experience of societies, freedom has been a right earned by the people of society throughout human history. A society ready for mobilization should bind the government to developmental affairs. 3) Right education (instead of self-interested capitalist education) can create a common language for discussing environmental sustainability by creating "social commons". 4) In the absence of accountability of political and economic actors (government, industry, mining and agriculture), civil society can adopt the model of joint ventures to manage common areas such as lakes and water resources.

Keywords

Journal of Environmental and Natural Resource Economics
Volume 5, Issue 12
January 2026

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 13 November 2025
  • Revise Date: 28 November 2025
  • Accept Date: 09 December 2025

Share

How to cite

Statistics