Warnings from Parliament Representatives about Soil Erosion in Iran

A member of the Agricultural Commission of Parliament stated that Iran is the "record holder" for soil erosion in Asia and called for serious intervention from the Environmental Protection Organization on this issue. Ali Ebrahimi, a member of the Agricultural Commission, emphasized that "Iran is the record holder for soil erosion in Asia," stating, "Human errors have accelerated the process of soil erosion." On Thursday, April 9, he told the "House of the Nation" news agency that apart from natural factors that remove soil from access, such as the steepness of Lorestan province or the Zagros and Alborz mountain ranges, "unfortunately, we are witnessing excessive use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers in some areas, which has led to increased soil pollution." This member of the Agricultural Commission also urged the Environmental Protection Organization to seriously pursue the issue of soil export and smuggling. The representative from Shazand called on those who have documentation regarding "the buying and selling or smuggling of soil" to present their evidence to Parliament. Furthermore, according to Jabbar Kuchakizadeh, the deputy chairman of the Agricultural Commission, soil erosion in Iran is two and a half times the global average. These statements come at a time when the "Comprehensive Soil Bill" has still not been approved by Parliament after 10 years. After a long delay in drafting the soil bill, the "Soil Protection Bill" was finally announced by Parliament on May 19, 2015. In February 2018, Afzali, the deputy chairman of the Agricultural Commission, stated to Eghtesad Online that the review of this bill in the Agricultural Commission had been completed. In this bill, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Organization are among the institutions responsible for the study and implementation phases of soil protection. The bill also prohibits the sale of soil unless approved by the cabinet. Meanwhile, in February 2018, Parliament representatives were pursuing the approval of an additional clause to Article 11 of the 2018 budget bill, which, according to Mahmoud Sadeghi, a representative from Tehran, would give legal cover to "land grabbing." This clause stated: "If lands that ... have not been used for their designated purposes, they must be returned; if these lands have constructions and their demolition is not possible, their price must be determined at current rates by a committee consisting of the governor, the head of the judiciary, and the heads of the ministries of roads and urban development or agricultural jihad, and deposited into the public revenue account at the Treasury of the country." In other words, lands that have changed their usage can be legally registered under certain conditions. This clause was interpreted by critics as encouraging lawbreakers. However, after criticism from several representatives and media, this clause was referred back to the Joint Commission for further review. On March 3, Mahmoud Sadeghi tweeted: "Fortunately, with the warning of the media and the efforts of representatives, the approval of the erroneous additional clause that, under the guise of combating land grabbing, actually opened the way for land grabbing, was thwarted and referred back to the Joint Commission for further review. Until the final resolution of this clause, we must be vigilant against behind-the-scenes lobbying."