launched the US$400 million Caspian Sea project in March 2016. As a result of the project,
the diversion of the Karoon River in Khuzestan, to which most of the province’s lands and
agricultural activities depend,21 lost half of its flow rate. The Zaiandehrood River in Isfahan
reportedly dried up entirely. 22 The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has been
reportedly particularly involved in these projects involving water diversion from regions
predominantly inhabited by ethnic minority and is reportedly a main contractor in the Caspian
Sea project.23 24 25 In July 2019, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights
in the Islamic Republic of Iran “received information that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps has been involved in redirecting floodwater towards local farms in order to preserve oil
reserves and exploitation equipment in Khuzestan Province.”26 27
Aggressive dam construction has been the source of the environmental pollution and
shortages of water in the region of Khuzestan. 28 In June 2018, 90 dams have been reportedly
built by the IRGC to provide for the agricultural and steel industry in Isfahan. 29
Reports have shown that the multiplication of dams has been drying up the soil of the
Khuzestan province, which has become increasingly inhospitable to crops and exacerbated the
frequency and intensity of sand and dust storms. 30 The Gotvand dam, opened to supply the
sugarcane plantations, not only reportedly dried up waterbeds but also severely raised the
salinity of local water, 31 contributing to potable water scarcity and impact farming.
Sugarcane agrobusiness has also been playing a role in the deterioration of the Khuzestan
ecosystem. Khuzestan’s Water and Electricity Company has reportedly stated several times
that pesticides and pollution generated by the sugar cane production have been a major source
of water contamination in Khuzestan. 32 Furthermore, sugarcane, which induces high water
consumption, contributes significantly to water scarcity in a land that already suffers from
droughts and can result in soil erosion. 33
The Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights stipulates that obligations under
Article 12 of the ICESCR include “the requirement to ensure adequate supply of safe and
potable water and basic sanitation; the prevention and reduction of the population’s exposure
21
Südwind, All Human Rights for All in Iran, http://www.iranhrc.org/uploads/docs/docs_en/report_environment.pdf
Equal Times, https://www.equaltimes.org/has-iran-mismanaged-its-way-into-a?lang=fr#.XyrH2fgzbfY
23
UNPO, https://unpo.org/article/3386
24
Brussels International Center, https://www.bic-rhr.com/research/iran-and-climate-refugees-alarming-situation#_ftn7
25
The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/world/iran-blog/2015/apr/16/iran-khuzestan-environment-wetlands-dustpollution
26
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, July 2019,
https://undocs.org/pdf?symbol=en/A/74/188
27
See more: Südwind, All Human Rights for All in Iran,
http://www.iranhrc.org/uploads/docs/docs_en/report_environment.pdf
28
Al Arabya https://english.alarabiya.net/en/features/2018/12/14/ANALYSIS-The-disaster-of-drought-and-water-shortagecrisis-in-Iran
29
UNPO, https://unpo.org/article/20921
30
Brussels International Center, https://www.bic-rhr.com/research/iran-and-climate-refugees-alarming-situation#_ftn7
31
The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/world/iran-blog/2015/apr/16/iran-khuzestan-environment-wetlands-dustpollution
32
The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/world/iran-blog/2015/apr/16/iran-khuzestan-environment-wetlands-dustpollution
33
The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/world/iran-blog/2015/apr/16/iran-khuzestan-environment-wetlands-dustpollution
22
3