Two Billion Tons of Soil Erosion Annually in Iran

The head of the Iranian Soil Science Association reported that the country experiences annual soil erosion of "two billion tons," estimating the damage caused by this erosion to be "equivalent to 56 billion dollars" per year. His statements come in the wake of a remark made in May 2017 by Saeed Motasaddi, the then Deputy of Human Environment at Iran's Department of Environment, who stated that Iran faces 16 million tons of soil erosion annually, which is six to eight million tons above the global average. Manouchehr Gorji, the head of the Iranian Soil Science Association, expressed concern over the "rate of soil erosion" in Iran during the "World Soil Day" conference, emphasizing the importance of "preserving" soil for food security. He stated, "We have two billion tons of soil erosion in the country annually, equivalent to 56 billion dollars in damage." According to him, Iran, with an area of about 165 million hectares, is located in a "dry climate" and faces "severe qualitative and quantitative limitations of soil resources." The head of the Iranian Soil Association reported that the current agricultural land area in the country is "about 18.5 million hectares," of which "about 8.5 million hectares are irrigated and about 10 million hectares are rain-fed," with "3.5 to 4 million hectares of rain-fed land being cultivated as irrigated." He considered solving the water crisis and environmental cleanup to be dependent on "proper soil management." Gorji also mentioned that programs such as "identifying and classifying soils, passing soil protection laws, creating a national soil information bank, monitoring soil quality and fertility, developing conservation agriculture, and establishing a serious program for soil erosion" are underway. On April 9 of this year, Ali Abrahimi, a member of the Agricultural Commission of the Parliament, stated that Iran is considered a "record holder" for soil erosion in Asia and called for serious engagement from the Department of Environment on this issue. This member of the Agricultural Commission also urged the Department of Environment to seriously pursue the issue of soil export and smuggling, asking those with documentation regarding "the buying and selling or smuggling of soil" to present the relevant documents to Parliament. Some researchers say that the trend of soil erosion could become the largest environmental crisis in Iran in the future. Cyrus Bakhtiari, a researcher in soil erosion and water resources in Iran, stated in June 2015 that soil erosion in the northern forests of Iran is ten times the global standard. Ismail Kahrm, known as the father of Iran's environment, also announced in 2012 that in 2011, Iran ranked first in soil erosion in the world. Mr. Kahrm identified deforestation and the loss of vegetation cover as the main causes of soil erosion in Iran. Masoumeh Ebtekar, former head of Iran's Department of Environment, also stated that "unfortunately, many of the country's pastures have turned into deserts, and Iran is moving towards an increase in desertification and soil erosion."