TEHRAN – Wind erosion has affected 75 percent of the lands across the country, Vahid Jafarian, an official with the Forests, Rangelands, and Watershed Management, has said.

Wind erosion brought an annual loss of 30 trillion rials (nearly $714 million at the official rate of 42,000 rials) to the country over the past two years, he lamented, adding, so that, serious attention must be paid to reforestation.

Referring to the implementation of desert greening programs in the country over the past 50 years, he added that many of the biological, biomechanical, and mechanical methods that are being used to fight desertification are the result of the knowledge that the locals have gained over the years.

Wind erosion brought an annual loss of 30 trillion rials (nearly $714 million at the official rate of 42,000 rials) to the country.  The plans have been over 100 percent effective in reducing wind erosion, so appropriate budgets must be considered in this regard, he concluded.

About 30 million hectares of natural resources are affected by the phenomena, 13.5 million hectares of which are the hotspots, Jafarian said in July.

He also stated that wind erosion hotspots are scattered in 22 provinces of the country and Semnan is one of the provinces with the highest wind erosion sources, IRNA reported on Wednesday.

Panting vegetation and improving the way of dealing with nature is the solution to desertification, as well as mulching, wastewater control, creating windbreak on farms, and planting seedlings.

Last year, Reza Bayani an official with Forests, Rangelands and Watershed Management Organization, said between 2015 and 2020, approximately 12,000 hectares of forests across the country were wiped out annually.

He went on to say that the country’s forests are estimated at 14.3 million hectares, lamenting, deforestation occurs for a variety of reasons, including dam construction, road construction, fire, and wood smuggling.

An estimated 2 billion tons of soil is lost due to erosion in Iran annually, it takes an average of 400 years to form a centimeter of soil on the planet, he said, adding, in Iran's climate, this time is between 700 and 1000 years.

Over 88 percent of the country can be affected by desertification. According to the 2018 survey, 37 million hectares of the country are exposed to land degradation and 23 percent of the total area is subject to severe degradation in terms of reduction of vegetation and soil fertility.

FB/MG