Transfer of Millions of Hectares of Natural Lands for Construction in the Past 25 Years

Simultaneously with the promise of the head of Iran's Environmental Organization to present a bill for 'forest protection', the director general of education in this organization stated that in the past 25 years, four million hectares of the country's 'natural lands' have been transferred to the private sector for 'construction'. According to the state-run news agency IRNA, Mohammad Darvish, one of the managers of the Environmental Organization, emphasized on Thursday, August 8, that the Hyrcanian forests in northern Iran have decreased from six million and 500 thousand hectares 50 years ago to 1.9 million hectares, of which 800 thousand hectares are 'ruined'. Mr. Darvish mentioned the destruction of forest cover and the devastation of pastures as one of the reasons for the increase in floods in northern Iran in recent years, stating that part of the pastures has been converted into agricultural land and gradually turned into villas. Meanwhile, the state-run news agency IRNA reported on Thursday that some farmers in northern provinces of Iran, due to the small size of their agricultural lands, are 'clear-cutting' forests and converting them into agricultural land. The director general of education at the Environmental Organization also pointed out that four million hectares of national lands have been allocated for construction to the private sector, stating that 'the responsible agencies have not acted correctly in this regard, so what can be expected from ordinary people?' Previously, reports in Iranian media had indicated the transfer of forests and natural lands for construction, especially in northern provinces of Iran. Meanwhile, Ezzatollah Youssefian Molla, a member of parliament in the Economic Corruption Combat Headquarters, stated in November 2014 that three million hectares of national lands have been converted into 'towers and non-consumable uses'. Following the floods in nine provinces of Iran on Sunday, July 28, and the destruction of several houses along rivers, criticisms of construction in natural resources, especially along rivers, have increased. A video has also been circulated on social media showing the collapse of three apartments along a river in the city of Ziarab in Mazandaran province. Mr. Darvish also mentioned that 50 thousand hectares of Iran's 'forest growth areas' are being destroyed annually. Previously, Masoumeh Ebtekar, the head of the Environmental Organization, had pointed out that an analysis of aerial photographs from the 50-year period from 1955 to 2006 showed that an average of 2867 hectares of northern Iran's forests are destroyed annually. According to ISNA news agency, Ms. Ebtekar announced on Thursday that a bill titled 'Forest Protection' is under review by the government, aimed at halting the exploitation of forests. The state-run news agency IRNA also reported on Thursday that 95 percent of forest fires in Iran occur due to 'human error'. In recent months, multiple reports have been published regarding forest fires in Iran. In this context, Ghasem Sabzeali, the commander of the Forests and Rangelands Protection Unit, reported on Saturday, July 19, that the number of fires in Iran's pastures and forests has increased by 20 percent this spring compared to last year, and the area of fires has also increased by 15 percent. In this context, a fire caused damage to '100 hectares' of forests in Ilam province, with a '50 percent' increase in the area of fires in Iran's forests this year and a '20 percent' increase in fires in Iran's pastures and forests.