Bakhtegan: the second-largest lake in Iran

Tashk and Bakhtegan lakes are part of the Bakhtegan Wildlife Sanctuary, whose size is 108,000 hectares, according to the Ramsar Convention. These lakes are the second-largest in Iran and have an outstanding biodiversity of plants and animals. They include 13 families, 36 genera, and 53 plants, as well as 46 mammals, 218 birds, 36 reptiles, three amphibians, and 23 fish species. These two lakes are among the most thriving water ecosystems with high habitat diversity. Due to favorable reserves of aquatic animals, they are a suitable place for wintering, laying eggs, and reproducing migratory birds. During the last two decades, they have suffered from environmental factors such as drought. With the construction of three dams, Darudzen, Sivand, and Mollasadra, with a capacity of 1.5 billion cubic meters, the two lakes have completely dried up on the Ker and Sivand rivers, and the region's biodiversity has been destroyed. The purpose of this article is to investigate the importance of the Bakhtegan and Tashk Lakes and to introduce these two important lakes to the public, the scientific community, and the executive managers of the country, both in the time of high water and in the current situation, which from 18 years ago until now, both lakes are facing blackouts and gone and dried up.