Cleaning Up Niloofar Sarab Lake

Niloofar Sarab, a wetland in the western province of Kermanshah, has been recognized on Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization Natural Heritage list since 2010. Within the wetland, the pride of place goes to a small lake, covered by lotus flowers, or “Niloofar” in Persian.

But the wetland and the lake have not been immune to climate change and manmade pollution. For this year’s World Cleanup Day on September 15, Iranian sportsmen, including champions from national teams, and members of other Iranian groups that work to protect the environment, volunteered their time and effort to begin the process of cleaning up this once-pristine gift of nature.

Photos by Farzad Menaty for Tasnim News Agency