BANDAR ABBAS, Hormuzgan Province Vice President and Head of the Department of the Environment, Masoumeh Ebtekar, said the issue of environment has not been developed within the country parallel with the development of other sectors.
Addressing a provincial administrative gathering Saturday night, Ms. Ebtekar said the Third Five-Year Development Plan (2000-2005) provides a rare opportunity for making a required coordination and developing a proper understanding of such a macro policy.
Stressing that the environment sector should be viewed as an economic arena, she said sufficient credits should be allocated to this category so that it would not put added pressures on other sectors.
Expressing deep concern over the recent pollution of the Persian Gulf waters as a result of oil leakage, Ms. Ebtekar said the issue demanded serious attention by the concerned organizations.
She said that research cooperation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Kuwait-based Regional Organization for the Protection of Marine Environment (ROPME) is aimed at protection of the Persian Gulf environment.
Ebtekar announced the launching of the marine patrol for conducting environmental research works in the Persian Gulf coastal areas and underlined the significance of the plan for Iran both from national and regional points of view.