TEHRAN – The second “festival of innovative ideas and products for reviving wetlands” will be held in Tabriz city on October 16-19.

The event is organized with the participation of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Department of Environment (DOE), the Government of Japan, and a number of knowledge-based companies.

The festival aims to identify and interact more with innovators and inventors to identify, support, and promote methods to improve the pattern of water consumption and natural resources, to rehabilitate the country's wetlands, to introduce the environmental, economic, and social effects of drying lakes and wetlands and help to strengthen knowledge-based companies active in the production of innovative ideas and products.

Innovative strategies for managing agricultural activities to improve productivity and environmental sustainability, collaborative strategies for adaptation to climate change and increasing environmental resilience, using renewable energy to optimize wetland resources and reduce energy consumption and new waste management strategies inputs are among the issues to be addressed in the festival.

Cash prizes will be awarded to the best ideas and their implementation in the Iranian Wetlands Conservation Project will be supported.

Conservation of Iranian Wetlands Project aims to focus on better management of wetlands in accordance with climate change, improving the management of natural resources, and emphasizing on the role of public participation and raising awareness.

The Project, in cooperation with the DOE, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and the UNDP, has been operating since 2005 with the aim of reducing or permanently eliminating threats of the wetlands and maintain sustainability in general.

The third phase of the project will start in June 2020, which outlines key strategies for the next five years, between Iran and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

Under the second phase, $2 million was provided by the Government of Japan to UNDP, contributing to the revival of Lake Urmia from its current critical situation. The project specifically addressed the restoration of Lake Urmia through the promotion of sustainable agriculture and the effective reduction of water consumption. The project engaged with local communities and farmers using Integrated Participatory Crop Management Techniques (IPCM).

Why reviving wetlands?

Wetlands are ecosystems saturated with water, either seasonally or permanently. They store water and ensure its quality, providing resilience against drought. They play a central role in sustainable development by supplying all our freshwater.

Wetlands play a major role in protecting the land against floods and the impacts of storms. They provide food and diverse habitats which support genetic, species, and ecosystem biodiversity. Wetlands play a key role in the life cycles of many species and in annual migration patterns.

Unfortunately, wetlands are being degraded and lost due to pollution, overexploitation, climate change, and human population growth. In recognition of these challenges, the RAMSAR Convention, an international treaty, was adopted in 1971.

There are 80 big and small wetlands in the country, 24 sites designated as wetlands of international importance (Ramsar sites) out of 2,290 worldwide. About one-third of Iran’s 24 sites are under pressure or in a critical condition.

Chief of the DOE Issa Kalantari has said in order to restore wetlands in the country a budget of 600 trillion rials (nearly $14 billion) is required.

FB/MG