Story highlights Iran's Lake Urmia used to be the largest lake in the Middle East

But the salt lake has shrunk by two-thirds since 1997

Meysam Mir Zendehdel recently documented the dying lake and its effect on the community

(CNN) Lake Urmia, in northwest Iran, once bore the weight of a ton of people. The extreme salinity of what used to be the largest lake in the Middle East allowed people to swim and relax without sinking.

Over the last 20 years, however, the salt lake has almost completely dried up along with the area's agriculture and economy.

According to the United Nations Development Program, the lake has shrunk by two-thirds since 1997 due to Iran's water crisis and detrimental agricultural policies.

President Hassan Rouhani has pledged $5 billion to fix the problem over the next 10 years, but can this buoyant wetland rebound?

Photographer Meysam Mir Zendehdel

That's the hope of Meysam Mir Zendehdel , a documentary photographer from Tehran, Iran.

Read More