TEHRAN – An association of environmental charities will be established in the country in order to attract benevolent material and spiritual contributions and guide them to environmental projects.

Article 50 of the Constitution has considered the preservation of the environment to be the duty of all, and in this respect, people who are willing to spend their charitable donations with a benevolent intention to preserve the environment and biological resources need a legal basis, IRNA reported.

On May 2, the Department of Environment’s deputy chief Hassan Akbari said regulations will be updated in order to boost the participation of people in environmental protection plans.

The regulations on harvesting medicinal plants in such a way as to cause the least damage to nature have been prepared and communicated to all provinces last week, Akbari added.

“Also, we have updated the guidelines for nature tourism in protected areas in order to attract people's participation.”

Nature tourism is very important in economic prosperity and creating job opportunities for local communities and is a tool to help protect the environment, he stressed.

By the end of the current month (May 21) a least two guidelines for reproducing and breeding of wildlife in captivity will be revised and communicated to the provinces, he highlighted.

On November 17, 2015, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, announced the general policies on the environment, emphasizing the need for comprehensive, harmonious, and organized management of vital resources based on ecological capability and sustainability, particularly by increasing capacities and appropriate legal and structural capabilities accompanied by public participation.

President Ebrahim Raisi has highlighted the importance of environmental protection, emphasizing that the preservation of the environment is prior to every development.

Environmental protection will lead to power, security, investment, and production growth in the country, he said.

Both people and NGOs have an effective role to play in the protection of the environment, and they should be given a chance to play their role, he added.

The need to use new technologies and the ability of knowledge-based companies in the field of environment, solving issues and problems related to legal proceedings, attention to domestic and international diplomacy in the field of environment, attention to water transfer in the country from one region to another, attention to the dangers of trawling, attention to environmental water rights and also attention to land management were among the topics that were discussed in this specialized meeting.

By the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20), the houses of environment will be increased by 63 percent.

Until now, 855 houses of environment have been established in the country with the participation of all institutions, public and private sectors, Abolqasem Mousavi, an official with the Department of Environment, has said.

By the end of the year, the number of the houses of environment will rise to 1401, IRIB quoted Mousavi as saying.

According to the Constitution, people should participate in environmental protection. This requires training, he stressed.

For this reason, the houses of environment were launched as a platform for interaction and understanding, as well as boosting effective cooperation between volunteers, environmentalists, and NGOs.

In September 2022, Mousavi said the Department of Environment plans to launch environment houses across the country.

Under the plan, a house in each province is considered a gathering place for environmental activists in different age groups, to be trained by related organizations, he explained, adding that students are prioritized and are the most important age group in education.

There is no capital more precious than the environment so NGOs should be supported, considering their help to the governments to support the natural and valuable resources of the country, he highlighted.

In December 2022, Rouhollah Naqdipour, the secretary of the strategic council of the Department of Environment, announced that a roadmap for environmental protection has been developed.

The document presents 13 national macro strategies and 46 cross-sectoral measures for five main environmental challenges, he said, IRNA reported.

The 7-chapter book also suggests reforms for systematic purposeful solutions and policies to solve environmental issues including the water crisis, he explained.

MG