The Environment in Iran: 365 Breathless Days That Ended the Year 1393

Rooz Online

The Iranian calendar year 1393 that ended on March 20th 2015 marks one of the hardest for the environment in the country. Draught abducted agriculture, dust storms disrupted life in 12 of the 31 provinces, and forests continued to burn, while water disappeared and lakes turned into dried up basins.

But not all the news during the year was negative. After a hunter from the town of Marivan broke his hunting gun and put an end to the sport – which was done at the encouragement of the environmental protection groups – others followed suit and many hunters across Iran gave up hunting. Others even opened up their animal cages to free up their prey. And for the ninth year, an environmental award was given to two groups called Sabzchia and Roftgaran Tabiat Iran.

Among the lakes that made headlines was what was popularly known as the “jewel of western Iran,” Zarivar Lake near the town of Marivan, a Kurdish town near the Iraqi border. Reports wrote that the countdown for the lake had begun.

But the news about the biggest all-Iranian lake, Orumieh, in the north brought forth public demonstrations in the initial days of the year. As the lake continued its drying up process, a group of Orumieh residents held a protest in the center of the city on June 10th 2014. Arrests were made and the protest was disrupted.

A month earlier, the National Golestan Park also in northern Iran was ablaze for the fourth time in less than three weeks. This time environmental officials acknowledged that some 400 thousand hectares were under fire while also not ruling out arson. Ultimately, drought, drop in rain, a road that went through the park and carelessness of travelers through the park were cited as causes for the fire.

Forests In Decline

Fires are the main causes of the shrinking size of forested areas in Iran. Khodakarm Jalali, the head of the Forestry Organization issued a warning that in the last 10 years the total size of Iranian forests had declined by 14 thousand hectares.

Water Crisis in 12 Major Cities

In the month of Shahrivar of 1393 (August 21 – September 22, 2014) government news outlets reported that 12 major Iranian cities totaling a population of some 23 million people were suffering from a water shortage crisis. The cause was said to be drought and drop in rainfall and snow. When the aftershocks came to the agricultural sector farmers received only half the water they had been receiving earlier. Two major dam-lakes close to the capital which connected to its water supply, Lar and Latian, both dried up, sounding the alarm bells for Tehran and leaving only Karaj Lake with its water reservoir.

Protestors in Front of Tehran City Council

Probably the biggest environmental challenge of last year were the deteriorating condition of air and the increasing dust storms in the air of the capital city, Tehran. The destruction of city parks and the recommendation of 10 billion Toman to sell lands in the city were met with protests in front of the municipality. Demonstrators chanted “We are suffocating,” among other slogans. Mohammad Darvish, a director general at Iran’s environmental agency had told Rooz that with a rising population and more construction material workshops automobile traffic in the city would rise which would consequentially take 200 billion minutes of the lives of residents of the city.

But Tehran was not the only city with this crisis. Khuzestan province and Ahvaz city to the west was also undergoing serious environmental problems. The dust storms from this province also moved to other western provinces of west Azerbaijan, Ilam and Kurdestan. The effect on the quality of air in the urban regions were so serious that schools were shut on some days throughout the year. But the Majlis representative from Ilam, Ahmad Shohani, put all the blame on geographic conditions saying the situation was beyond the government’s control or that of the environmental protection agency.

On World Water Day, it was reported that 80 percent of water reservoirs in the country were in serious crisis. Masumeh Ebtekar, the head of the Environmental Protection Organization also said in the province of Baluchistan that 70 percent of water reservoirs in the country were under threat.

In the last month of 1393 (February/March 2015), the director of the government’s water and sewage corporation announced that 40 percent of the drinking water network in the country was worn out and in need of upgrading. He said drinking water in three cities Bandar Abbas, Kerman and Sanandaj were in condition red status. Officials said that rainfall had fallen by 19 percent in these large cities and warned that some 548 towns could face drinking water shortage. In response to these, activists formed virtual response and activity groups in social networks.

Ayatollah Khamenei Joins the Calls

By the end of the year, even ayatollah Khamenei joined in complains of the environmental conditions around the country. He said this was not an issue for “this or that government” and called for a national effort to make destruction of the environment a crime. He met with activists and criticized the destruction of Iranian forests, calling for a response. By year’s end Masumeh Ebtekar announced that 30 million Iranians were affected by the bad air conditions in urban areas throughout Iran. She said her organization would bar the establishment of new polluting workshops that used petroleum residue products as their fuel.

Rouhani Steps In

Last year Hassan Rouhani too expressed alarm at the situation and told the employees of the Environmental Protection Organization that this was a religious and fundamental duty of his administration and that protecting the environment had to become a “public cultural” drive. By the end of the year, he had called on school students to be active in the protection of the environment.

As 1393 grew to its end, 118 academicians wrote a letter to Rouhani calling for greater attention to the destruction of the environment. The letter calls for a reduction in the reliance of fossil fuels used in the country.