The Danger of Destroying Part of Gilan's Forests with the Construction of Shafaroud Dam

The Director General of Evaluation at Iran's Environmental Protection Organization announced the organization's opposition to the construction of the "Shafaroud" dam in Gilan due to the destruction of over "175 hectares" of Hyrcanian forests if the dam is built. According to Mehr News Agency, Hamid Jalalvandi stated on Tuesday, April 24, that the construction of this dam poses problems for the "natural and environmental areas" of the region and that the Environmental Protection Organization has submitted its evaluation report to the government and is ready to explore new technical options to amend the dam's structure. He emphasized that it is essential to reconsider the dam's structure so that it only considers the capacity needed to supply drinking water for the region. A day before these remarks, Davood Zareh, the Director General of Natural Resources and Watershed Management in Gilan, also called for a reduction in the height of the "Shafaroud" dam and the "area occupied by forests" in the dam project. Meanwhile, several non-governmental environmental organizations in Gilan wrote a letter to Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, stating that the construction of the "Shafaroud" dam is "like a scar on the green heart of the region's forests." Reports indicate that the "Shafaroud" dam, with a height of 137 meters, will become Iran's tallest roller-compacted concrete dam upon completion. This dam will be built on the Shafaroud River, six kilometers southwest of the city of Rezvanshahr and 65 kilometers west of Rasht. The purpose of constructing this dam is to provide drinking water for the cities of Rezvanshahr and Pahsar, supply agricultural water to surrounding areas, and generate 70 gigawatts of electricity annually. The Hyrcanian forests, which Mr. Jalalvandi mentioned would be partially destroyed if the Shafaroud dam is built, are among the historical forests in northern Iran and Azerbaijan, reportedly over 40 million years old. Iranian cultural heritage officials have announced efforts to register these forests as a UNESCO World Heritage site, but reports indicate that due to disputes between Iran and Azerbaijan, this registration has not been successful. The area of these forests is reported to be over two million hectares, with more than 90 percent located in Iran and 18,000 hectares in Azerbaijan. The Iranian government and the United Nations Development Programme launched a five-year project titled "Multi-Purpose Management of Hyrcanian Forests" in May 2013, covering 120 hectares across four pilot areas in three provinces: Gilan, Mazandaran, and Golestan. Despite opposition to the construction of the Shafaroud dam, Mr. Jalalvandi stated that the dam's executors insist on its construction, citing about a 17 percent progress. Meanwhile, Mohammad Ali Najafi, the governor of Gilan, emphasized on Tuesday, December 1, 2014, the need to expedite the construction of this dam, stating that the projected timeline for the project is 48 months, and if this timeline is extended, the government will incur losses.