TEHRAN – Lessons with environmental contents will be included in twelve textbooks with the aim of increasing awareness among students regarding the issue of environmental protection, an official with the Ministry of Education has said.

“We intend to promote the culture of environment protection among students in order to enable them to protect nature while benefiting from a healthy environment in the future,” IRNA quoted Sadeq Sattari as saying. 

The Ministry of Education will implement a plan called “supporters of the environment” in the next school year (starting September 23), highlighting the environment’s significance in a healthy life, Sattari said earlier this month.

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 has 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.

“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