TEHRAN – The Ministry of Education has prepared a plan with the goal of promoting the importance of environmental protection among students nationwide.

Called “supporters of the environment”, the plan will be implemented in the next school year (starting September 23), highlighting the environment’s significance in a healthy life, ILNA quoted Sadeq Sattari, an official with the Ministry of Education, as saying on Tuesday.

Preserving vital natural resources, institutionalizing the culture of environmental protection, expanding the society’s knowledge about the environment, and boosting the participation of students in environmental protection activities are among the main objectives of the plan, he explained.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday emphasized the need to develop non-fossil sources of energy, including renewables, and expand activities to protect the environment.

The destruction of forests and the environment and vegetation is equivalent to the degradation of national interests, and the depletion of part of the forests for construction, except in emergencies, is definitely to the detriment of the nation, he explained.

He made the remarks on the occasion of National Tree Planting Day, which is annually celebrated on the fifteenth day of Esfand, the last month on the Iranian calendar. The day also marks the beginning of the National Week of Natural Resources.

“One of the serious tasks toward protecting the environment is to preserve the two natural assets and vital reserves, namely water and soil, and to avoid taking them for granted. In this line, authorities must pay attention to expert points of view.”

The Leader further called on people to plant and protect trees, saying that doing such important works requires national support. Tree planting is among the activities that can prevent the disappearance of forests around and inside cities through expanding vegetation cover.

On the occasion of Clean Air Week, nine training packages on environmental literacy as well as procedures for activities and jobs were unveiled on January 22.

These works are entitled climate change, biodiversity, waste, ecotourism, sports and environment, sports and civic activities with the aim of enlightening, educating, and promoting environmental culture with special priority on empowering educators, and facilitators to provide appropriate environmental education to members of the community as well as public participation in environmental protection.

Every year, January 19, is the National Clean Air Day in Iran in order to remind and highlight the main factors in maintaining air quality, as well as promoting a sense of responsibility and citizen participation in protecting the urban environment and fulfilling social responsibility for the environment.

MG