TEHRAN — Damaging the environment would endanger the public health and public security, President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday.

Rouhani made the remarks after planting a tree on the occasion of the Natural Resources Week (March 5-12) with its first day dedicated to tree planting, ISNA reported.

“Our lives depend on the environment and the subject of environment and protecting it is not at all of secondary importance,” Rouhani stated.

“Today we are putting great pressure on water resources, soil and the Earth which needs to be reduced by taking advantage of the new technologies, enhancing proper management, and raising productivity,” he suggested.

Commenting on environmental impact assessment the president pointed out that currently all national projects are legally required to ensure that environmental and possibly other sustainability aspects are considered effectively in policy, plan and program making.

Many of the projects such as dam construction are hampered due to the environmental impacts they could have inflicted upon the environment and some have undergone changes to become more sustainable, he explained.

“We have taken some serious measures for restoring wetlands in the country and we are on our way to stabilize their conditions,” he added.

Rouhani went on to say that development must be sustainable which will lead to conservation of the environment and public health.

The public should also reconsider their environmental responsibilities and ask themselves what should they do to safeguard the environment, he underscored.

MQ/MG