The Destructive Effects of Sanctions on Iran's Environment

On June 7, Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, spoke at a ceremony about the giant sanctions that have placed a chokehold on Iran's environment. For him, who considers his government committed to environmental principles and has repeatedly expressed the concerns of his cabinet regarding the destruction threatening the country's environment, the lifting of sanctions based on the nuclear agreement in Vienna between Iran and world powers may have a different meaning for the environment. Masoumeh Ebtekar, head of the Department of Environment, was perhaps one of the first officials to state that there is no doubt that lifting sanctions will impact Iran's environment. Kaveh Madani, a professor of environmental management at the Royal College of London, has published an article in the British newspaper The Guardian discussing the effects of sanctions on a country's environmental status: "There has been little research in the scientific community regarding the effects of sanctions on environmental issues. It is a gradual occurrence, and its effects are lasting and reach future generations. The sanctioning country and the sanctioned country do not intend for their environment to be harmed. At least the sanctioning country sees no benefit in this. The sanctioned country, if it does this, is committing suicide. So both sides may not want to directly impact the environment. However, what happens is a natural process. When a country is experiencing an economic crisis and social and political pressure, it is inevitably forced to overlook certain sectors. Just as when you become economically weak, you are willing to overlook environmental issues. When you are facing drought, you are willing to forgo environmental water rights; when you are under sanctions, you may pay less attention to the environment because you must focus on other matters and try to support the system and resist the pressure of sanctions." In an article published by Kaveh Madani in the Guardian in the fall of 2014, part of which was translated in the newspaper Etemad, it is stated that the sanctions against Iran have fueled an increasing tendency to develop and expand water resource infrastructure, energy production, and food security. Although Iran has managed to reduce the pressures caused by sanctions with domestic policies, the environmental consequences of these policies remain. Converting petrochemical plants into oil refineries is among the reactive policies to sanctions. Until 2010, Iran supplied 40% of its fuel needs through imports. After penalties and the imposition of sanctions, Iran's fuel imports decreased by 75%. After that, Iran expanded its refineries without considering the infrastructure and began refining and producing fuel. Hamid Pouran, a senior environmental researcher at the Middle East and Africa Studies Institute at the University of London, discusses the impact of this non-standard process on Iran's environment: "Given that Iran's refineries lacked the technology and capability to produce high-quality gasoline meeting global standards, they engineered or innovated to produce gasoline that did not even meet the minimum required standards. The excessive use of this fuel in major cities, especially Tehran, has created a situation where air pollutants are increasing day by day, along with pollutants we did not face in the past. If we look at the number of clean air days in recent years, we see a rising trend in air pollution during the period when gasoline imports were halted. Until about two years ago when the new government decided to resume importing globally standard gasoline. These suspended particles and multiple pollutants not only affect people's health when used but can remain in the environment for years even after their use is stopped, and we may gradually witness their effects." Hassan Rouhani, in various speeches, has mentioned two factors that have not existed in Iran for all these years due to sanctions or at least have been presented in an unsustainable manner. In the years when the sanctions tightened month by month and year by year, Iran's environmental space has also been affected by reactive policies to sanctions. During this time, the U.S. began to limit and block some financial aid and facilities from international organizations like the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) for environmental purposes, which led to further destruction of Iran's environmental resources. The effects of sanctions on Iran's environment have not remained within the political borders of a country. Kaveh Madani, a university professor who has also researched the impact of sanctions on Iran, says that the effect of these sanctions has not remained within Iran's political borders and has not only threatened Iranians: "Currently, our country suffers from years of instability in Iraq and years of neglect of the environment. Many of the events occurring in Khuzestan are products of the Iraq war. Similarly, the problems occurring in Iran, air pollution, water crisis, etc., can have effects that extend beyond Iran's geographical borders and, in the long run, cause problems for neighboring countries. Moreover, the right to access the environment is part of basic human rights and human rights. Any harm to the environment constitutes a violation of human rights. But the problem is that we cannot precisely attribute this to the sanctioned or sanctioning country." The head of the Department of Environment states that these sanctions have created many limitations in the use of green technology for the country, and the lack of access to certain equipment and facilities has led to issues like air pollution. The World Health Organization has listed four Iranian cities among the ten most polluted cities in the world. Ahvaz, the oil-rich and industrial city of Khuzestan, is the most polluted city in the world. The concentration of pollutants in this city is three times higher than in Beijing, which is always recognized as one of the most polluted cities in the world. Sanandaj ranks third, Kermanshah sixth, and Yasuj ninth in this list. Hamid Pouran, a researcher in soil and air pollutants, discusses the equipment that, with the lifting of sanctions, could help alleviate this situation: "Many aspects of the environment are quantitative. The environment deals with the quantity of its components. Without having the necessary tools and methods to assess its components, we cannot get an accurate picture of the status and quality of its main components, including air, water, and soil. Air particle measurement devices not only indicate their quantity but also their types, which the country has faced significant problems importing in recent years. Even if they have been imported in limited quantities, many of them may not have been up-to-date in technology or at least not used optimally." Kaveh Madani, a university professor and water resource management specialist in London, discusses the prospects of lifting sanctions and its impact on Iran's environment: "Just as, contrary to officials' statements, drought is not the main cause of the water crisis but merely a factor exacerbating the crisis, I believe sanctions are not the main cause of the environmental crisis but have the power to exacerbate the current crisis. Iran's environmental problems have managerial roots. It is impossible to predict exactly what environmental effects lifting sanctions will have. However, it is hopeful that we can utilize those technologies in reducing air pollution, alleviating environmental pollution, and water pollution. In recent years, whenever a problem has arisen, we have wanted to blame it on sanctions. At least we can be pleased that one of the factors of Iran's environmental crises, which some experts and officials believe to be the main culprit, has been removed." Hassan Rouhani calls his government the government of the environment; an environment that is part of human rights in countries. The sick and disordered environment of Iran today, which faces fundamental problems related to air pollution, biodiversity loss, desertification, deforestation, and drying water resources, has transcended borders and now looks to the lifting of sanctions.