The work of the artist Hashem Shakeri, through a palette drained of all vitality, tells the drought and how the resultant crisis is changing the province of Sīstān in Iran.
For more than 5,000 years, the Hamun Lake in Iran was the life source of its surroundings, but it has changed radically as it suffers the destructive effects of an 18-year drought.
Sistan and Baluchestan province in South East Iran shares borders with Afghanistan and Pakistan. Once a forest, and with a history of over 5000 years, it used to be a great source of crops. Now, rapid climate change is turning this vast region into an infertile desert. Lake Hamun is connected to Helmand/Hirmand River which flows from Afghanistan. The Afghan government has built dams in upstream Helmand, preventing water from reaching Iran. Today there is nothing left of the lake except cracked, barren land. People made their living by fishing, farming and animal husbandry; their lives were dependent on Lake Hamun.
