The successful completion of the Conservation of Iranian Wetlands project (CIWP) by 2015 led to the

formulation of Conservation of Iranian Wetlands Project (Phase II) and the Restoration of Lake Urmia,

which aimed to sustain CIWP achievements and upscale its outcomes by addressing terminal evaluation

recommendations concerning sustainability of results and application of complementary tools and

mechanisms. It supports development and implementation of Wetlands Integrated Management Plans

through inter-sectoral coordination structures for more than 20 Iranian wetlands and puts in place a strong

wetlands ecosystem management legislative platform and inter-sectoral administrative structures at

national level, supporting implementation of the ‘’Ecosystem Approach’’ in the wetlands and shares the

CIWP and other wetlands initiatives, knowledge and lessons learnt with the regions of South and Central

Asia, as well as modeling local community participation in Lake Urmia restoration through establishment

of sustainable agriculture practices and biodiversity conservation.