Final English SOE

2 1 Socio-Economy

1 State of the Invironment 3 Socio-Economy Socio-Economy G eographical Profile wich meridian. Almost 90% of the country’s landmass is found in Iran, covering a territory of 1,640,195 Sq Km, is located in the southern half of the northern the vicinity of the Iranian Plateau. More than half temperate zone, at latitude 25 degrees, 3’ and 39 of the total area is mountainous and elevated ter- degrees, 47’ north of the equator and longitude 44 rain and a quarter of the area is covered by plains. degrees, 14’ and 63 degrees, 20’ east of the Green- The remaining land is arable land currently under

4 1 Socio-Economy cultivation. played a prominent role in all cultural domains. The average altitude of Iran is at 1,200 m above Undoubtedly, the historical civilization and culture of the sea level while the southern coastal lowlands Iran owes a great deal to the significant presence of of the Caspian Sea are as low as 28 m below sea the different ethnic and religious minorities. Accord- level. ing to the last census in 1997, Iran’s total popula- The highest point of Iran is the summit of 5,628 tion comprised 99.55% Muslims, 0.13% Christians, metre-high Mount Damavand in the Alborz moun- 0.05% Zoroastrians, 0.02% Jews, 0.1% followers of tain chain and its lowest point is Chaleh Loot (the other faiths and about 0.15% of undeclared faiths. “Loot Ditch”) which is 56 m below sea level. As the nexus of a strong and secure social life, the The Islamic Republic of Iran’s neighbouring coun- family in Iran is considered to be a sacred institu- tries and features are: the Republics of Turkmeni- tion that provides identity and gives coherence and stan, Azerbaijan and Armenia and the Caspian Sea meaning to people’s lives. Marriage is a religious ob- to the north, Afghanistan and Pakistan to the east, ligation and a sacred act worthy of approval. the Sea of Oman and the Persian Gulf to the south The cultural development of the country in recent and Iraq and Turkey to the west. years has been considerable. A partial list of the Iran is administratively divided into 30 provinces cultural development during 2001 to 2005 reads as that, on 21 March 1994, comprised 316 cities, 939 follows. (Management and Planning Organization, towns and 843 rural districts; each district covers a 2004) number of villages, with 2,353 villages in all. (Sta- • More than 164,979 book titles were published. tistical Centre for Iran, 2004 and 2005) • The ratio of published books to the population was 1.9 copies per capita in 2001 and reached 2.4 copies in 2005. The total number of books 1 Socio-Economic Facts available in public libraries during the same pe- riod increased from 11,121 volumes to 14,573 1 - 1 Culture volumes, showing an annual growth of 7.4 per As with any country that has a long flourishing ci- cent. vilisation and a rich culture, Iran has a history which • The estimated number of people who borrowed dates back to antiquity. There is much evidence, books from public libraries increased from 39 mil- whether in the form of scientific, religious, and artis- lion in 2001 to 44 million in 2005. tic writings and stone engravings, or in other forms • The number of periodicals stood at 907 in 2001 of archeological evidence and works of art, that cor- and rose to 2,817 in 2005 (an average annual roborates the existence of an ancient and thriving growth of 32.8%). civilisation and a rich and authentic culture. • The number of musical products produced and National holidays and festivals that mark either re- disseminated rose from 309 titles in 2001 to 350 ligious and sacred occasions or secular and popular titles in 2005, showing an average annual growth celebrations in this part of the world include the fol- rate of 3.2%. lowing. 1 - 2 Demographics • Nowrooz, an ancient ceremony to mark the start of the Persian New Year based on the solar According to the latest census administered in calendar. 1997, the total population of the country was 60 • Yalda, the longest night of the year. million, with an average age of 24 years and a medi- • Charshanbehsoory, the last Wednesday of the an age of 19.4. Males comprised 51% of the popula- year. tion and females 49%. A demographi¬c assessment • Mehregan, the harbinger of autumn, the har- made in 2005, based on the population growth rate vest season. between 1992 and 1997 and assuming that the As well as religious festivals, such as the follow- other effective growth factors remained constant, ing. revealed the population to be 67,477,500, of which • Ghadir Khom, a Shiite festival. 44,771,946 lived in urban and 22,705,554 in rural • Fitr, marking the end of the fasting month of areas. (Source 2) In accordance with the latest sur- Ramazan. veys, the country’s population growth rate has risen • Qorban, marking the end of Hajj Pilgrimage. no faster than 1.6 per cent. In recent years, with • Mabath, marking the commencement of the the exit of the mass population of 0-14 year-olds mission of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). born in the early 1980’s, the youth population rate has decreased. The share of the 15-64 year-old age group in making up the total population increased These occasions, each with a special ritual of its own, are amongst the most significant annual events and, consequently, the population of the 15-29 year- in the country that pass on the rich traditions of the old age group was affected so that the population of Irano-Islamic culture. this age group reached 23.6 million (35%) in 2005, The artisitic culture in the dramatic and theatri- having been 20.4 million (32.2%) in 2001. The ex- cal domain as well as in such visual arts as Ta’zieh, tensive increase of the youth population places a the presentation of the true stories of martyrdom, great deal of pressure on the labour market as well and in Persian classical music, has a history dating as on the related institutions that face extensive de- back several thousand years. Religion and personal, mands for a wide range of social amenities. collec¬tive and tribal beliefs have always been the Iran’s population has rapidly shifted over the last main elements of Iranian national culture, and have three decades from a semi-urban/rural to an urban

State of the Invironment 5 or urban-prone population, so that the urban quo- • Conclusion of co-operation agreements and tient has increased from 47% (16 million) in 1977 letters of understand¬ing with government min- to 66% (44.8 million) in 2005; that is to say that istries and organizations to promote public as urban population has more than doubled over this well as organizational participation. period, to 2.8 times to be exact, while the rural • Establishment of a special organization respon- population has increased by 1.3 times. Population sible for following up public participation. growth, especially in the urban areas, has had some • Introducing the Green Pioneers Scheme whose repercussions mostly because the social structures task will be to attract contributions from different as well as the social facilities have not grown ac- strata of society to environmental questions. cordingly. (Statistical Centre of Iran, 2002) The Department of the Environment has spared no efforts to stimulate as well as enhance the level of Life Expectancy environmen¬tal knowledge of these groups and to Many factors have contributed to an increase in life promote social environmental interaction between expectancy, from 70 years in 2002 to 71.7 years in non-governmental organizations, in the following 2005. Amongst the more signifi¬cant of these, to phases. The main step taken by the Department name but a few, have been: a fast improvement in in strengthening relevant NGOs was providing as- welfare and healthcare services, immediate acces- sistance in forming a countrywide network of their sibility to these services for more people, expansion own. Some noTable 1-actions taken with regard to of the level of literacy throughout society, equipping strengthening NGOs include the following. rural areas with health and hygiene facilities, im- •Holding annual public meetings in the seven re- provement in life styles and a gions of the country. reduction in the infant mortality rate ( Statistical •Convening four national gatherings for environ- Centre for Iran, 2004 and 2005). mental NGOs. •Setting up a data-bank for NGOs and an Inter- net site for the Office of the Public Participation. Migration •Developing environmental NGOs into national, One of the main shortfalls in demographic statis- provincial and regional networks. tics is in migration censes. No systems have been •Establishing environmental cooperatives. designed to register the number of emigrants to •Strengthening environmental NGOs through foreign countries nor, even, is there any clear data donation of equipment. available to show the interstate movements of those •Provision of financial support, presenting edu- who leave villages to settle in cities and towns or cational and training programmes, holding meet- those who move from one province for another ings and giving legal advice. (Statistical Centre for Iran, 2004 and 2005). •Referring the implementation of small-scale projects to NGOs, financed by the Global Envi- 1 - 3 Public Participation ronmental Facility. The policy established by the Iran Department of •Introducing the Green City Scheme with the aim the Environment (DoE) to enhance as well as im- of achiev¬ing minimum environmental standards prove the quality of public participation in preserv- and improving people’s living conditions. ing Iran’s environment has led to the adoption of •Introducing the Environment Assistants Home several programmes for identifying supporters of Scheme with the aim of introducing environmen- the environment. The DoE has attempted to create tal NGOs to mayors and district mayors. This intellectual challenges for and raise environmental project has so far been carried out in some cities concerns with and among these supporters in order as well as in some of the districts of Tehran Mu- to pave the way and provide the necessary precon- nicipality. ditions for environmental NGOs to develop. Some of the outcomes of these policies include the fol- 1 - 4 Health Care lowing. Amongst the most crucial factors for human de- • An increase in the number of environmental velopment are health and therapy. The Health and NGOs from 44 in 1998 to 630 by July 2005 (ap- Therapy Unit, entrusted with the vital responsibility prox. 14 times). of improving the levels of physical, mental and so- Figure 1-1: Number of NGOs from 1998 to July 2006 Source: Office for Public Participation (DoE), 2006

6 1 Socio-Economy cial health in society within the framework of specif- 1 - 5 Education and Training ic policies, has achieved conspicuous success in the recent years. Some of the most important indices Literacy for this question may be summarized as follows. The significance of education as an essential • The maternal mortality rate for every hundred component of development is self-evident. Iran thousand live births has been reduced from 56.8 has been one of the most successful countries in instances in 1990 to 37.4 in 2005. combating illiteracy. The high rate in the growth • More than 95% of eligible children have been vac- of literacy in recent years corroborates this claim. cinated. The literacy rate increased to 79% in 1997 from • More than 96% of villages now have access to 62% in 1987. Approximately 84% of men and safe drinking water. 75% of women are able to read and write. • Health infrastructure facilities have been provid- ed to rural areas. Educational infrastructure • The number of medical doctors has increased The country’s educational system falls into two from 67,046 in 2001 to 72,792 in 2002, showing general categories: (1) public education and (2) a 7% growth; this means that the index for physi- vocational and technical education. Each of these cians grew from 1.06 to 1.13 per mil of the popula- conducts curricular as well as extra-curricular ac- tion during the course of 2001-2002. Over the same tivities within its own area. (Statistical Centre for period, the number of dentists in the country rose Iran, 2004 and 2005) from 13,512, from 12,926. With this increase in the Vocational and Technical Training number of the dentists available, the accessibility • Human resource development is an indispens¬able index has increased from 1.92 to 2 dentists for ev- part of sustainable development. In order to pro- ery 1,000 people. vide proper conditions for increasing the efficiency ● There were 103,394 hospital beds in 2000 and of human resources, great attention has been paid this number increased to 112,590 in 2005, showing to the educational sector, especially the vocational an average annual growth rate of 1.7%. The number and technical training sector. of hospitals also increased from 705 to 738 during • The key indices for vocational and technical train- the same period. In 2005, 66.7% of the hospitals ing show a quantitative increase over all the differ- and, 69.7% of the beds belonged to the Ministry of ent fields. The number of students in vocational and Health and Medical Education. technical high schools and in “Work and Knowledge” • As many as 14 hospitals with 2,674 beds, nine schools was 875,800 in 2005, showing an average hospitals with 3,932 bed, and 10 hospitals with annual growth rate of 5.8%. The proportion of fe- 2,690 beds were added to the medical facilities male students of the total number of the students of the Social Welfare Organization, the Ministry of in this type of training increased from 36.9% to Health and Medical Education, the private sector 37.8%. This shows that male and female students and other health related institutions, respectively. enjoyed equal opportunities to benefit from voca- • The number of Health Care Centres increased tional training. to 7,633 in 2005 from 6,389 in 2000, showing an •Training for vocational, technical and applied sci- average annual growth rate of 3.9%. Out of these, entific education in 2002- 2005 saw an average an- 5,937 units (77.8%) belonged to the Government. nual growth rate of about 15.4%, covering 668,900 • The number of medical laboratories increased students in 2005. The growth rate in this type of from 3,255 in 2000 to 4,126 in 2005, showing an training indicates the significance of the steps average annual growth rate of 406%. State-owned taken to improve the infrastructure for human re- laboratories comprised 1,988 units, 48.1% of the source education and to increase the number of the total number. techni¬cians and skilled manpower needed in all • The number of Health Houses in rural areas (the sectors of society. equivalent of Health Centres in the urban areas) has increased from 16,050 in 2002 to, 16,648, showing Public Education an average annual growth rate of 0.94%. • Following the reduction in the growth of the • The number of rehabilitation centres increased country’s population, the total number of students from 1,120 in 2000 to 2,125 in 2005; the 265 units in public education institutes showed a declining belonging to the Ministry of Health comprised 12.5% trend during 2001-2005. The number decreased to of the total number. 15 million, 2.3 million less than in the initial year of • The accessibility index for health facilities for the that period. This falling trend was in the number of country’s population remained almost constant dur- students at all levels, except in the number of pre- ing 2001- school students and those in the schools for gifted 2005. In 2005, for every 10.000 people there were children. However, the total number of schoolgirls 1.13 health centres, .94 chemists, .6 laboratories and the number of privately-owned schools had and .3 rehabilitation centres. been rising. The number of adult literacy-learners • The index for in-patient stays in hospital de- had also increased. creased from 3.8 days in 2001 to 3.6 days in 2005. • The number of staff in this sector used to be (Statistical Centre for Iran, 2004 and 2005) 1,065,000 but it decreased to 1,043,000 - 22,000 fewer than before, which is not many in view of poli- cies to improve the staffing structure and the large number of the employees in this sector in compari-

State of the Invironment 7 son with the total number of government employ- E-learning ees. It should be noted that the reduction in the to- Utilization of communication and information tal number of the employees in this sector occurred technol¬ogy (IT) by Internet users soared so fast at the same time as an increase in of 18,500 in the during 2001-2005 that it increased 13.7 times in number of teachers, indicating an improved balance the period. The number of Internet users has en- of manpower with more teaching and fewer admin- joyed a growth rate of 139.6% over the same time istrative staff. span. Higher Education 1 - 6 Social Security and Welfare The higher education sector supplies the need for highly educated manpower and its activities are Social Security structured within 16 (8 training and 8 non-training) Being one of the main elements of development, programmes. The operative bodies in this section the social security system has numerous functions include the universities and other higher education in the institutes affiliated to the Ministry of Science, Re- search, and Technology, the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, the Islamic Open University and Socio-Economy non-governmen¬tal, non-profit-making centres for advance¬ment of welfare levels and, undoubtedly, higher education. The curricula in these institutions is one of the most effective tools for the dissemina- are offered in the form of day-time, night-time, tion of social justice. With a view to achieving de- part-time and equivalent courses. velopment objectives and social justice, the social • The total number of university students increased security system taking its inspiration from Article from 1,438,781, in 2001 to 1,887,960 in 2005, 29 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of showing an average annual growth rate of 7%. The Iran is designed as a collection of plans, supports public sector share has been 40% and the private and services to protect people at different strata of sector share 60%; the society against the consequences of economic, • In the public sector, the number of students in social and natural events. Such outcomes include the universi¬ties affiliated to the Ministry of Science, retire¬ment, unemployment, old age, accidents, Research and Technol¬ogy increased from 477,226 physical, mental and psychological disabilities etc. to 645,600, showing an average annual growth rate The basic system for social welfare in Iran relies of 7.8%; upon social insurance and is composed of two sec- • The number of full time faculty in the universities tions: insurance-related matters (social security) and other higher education institutions increased and non-insurance matters (for the needy). from 30,110 to 39,617, of which the 72.1% share of the public (state) universities decreased to 62.4% Social Welfare while the 27.9% share of the non-govern¬mental, The social welfare index has been rising during the non-profit-making institutions increased to 37.6%. period 2001-2005 due to the growth in per capita • The index for dormitory facilities for single stu- income and relative improvement in the distribution dents was at 60%. of wealth. The average annual growth rate of this index has been 6% and the growth rate for the so- Research and Technology cial welfare index was 8.4% in 2005. •Funds for research and technology in 2001-2005 have been, respectively: 1,779.7, 2,515.6, 3,509.9, Insurance Services 5,515.3 and 6,516 Billion Rials. The highest rate • Various types of national insurance services, based of growth was 57% in 2004, compared with 2003, on contributions from the employee, the employer and the lowest being 18% in 2005, compared with and the Government, are offered by governmental 2004. as well as non-govern¬mental bodies. These ser- • Research funds (to purchase consumables as well vices include benefits and allowances to cover, inter as assets) in 2001-2004 have been, respectively: alia, medical fees and expenses, pensions, physi- 327.6, 440.3, 536.9 and 629.6 Billion Rials. cal disabilities, unemploy¬ment, accidents at work, • In accordance with the information given out by death, maternity and family credits. Organizations the Statistical Centre of Iran, the number of full- active in this field are: the Social Security Organiza- time as well as part-time researchers was 24,940 tion, the Medical Services Organization, the State in 2001, decreasing to 23,410 in 2003, showing a Pension Organization, the Social Security Organiza- 22.4% reduction. The number of researchers per tion of the Armed Forces and many different retire- one million of the population in 2001, 2003 and ment funds affiliated to Ministries and other admin- 2005 was 392, 295, and 346, respectively. istrative bodies. • The average annual growth rate in the export •The proportion of the population covered by medi- of sophisti¬cated/semi-sophisticated technological cal insurance services increased from 87.7% in commodities was 109.6% during that period. This 2001 to 93.8% in 2005. shows the positive surging ahead of the country in •At present, 21 million rural inhabitants and 5 mil- this realm, compared to an average annual growth lion disadvantaged and less well-off people benefit rate for non-petroleum exports of 92.8% over the from different types of insurance services. same time span

8 1 Socio-Economy Welfare hundred kilometres with drug-producing countries, - Establishment of the Ministry of Welfare and So- such as Afghanistan, is no exception. Tremendous cial Security in line with improvements in the social efforts have been put into combating drug traffick- security system as well as social development. ing by the Iranian authorities, especially by the spe- •Protection of the needy through continual finan- cial branch of the Police tasked with the eradication cial, social and cultural support (insurance subsidies of narcotic and drug abuse. Although the quantity of have been paid to over 4.5 million needy people to various types of drugs discovered over recent years cover their medical expenses). has fluctuated greatly in almost all these years nar- •Attempts have been made by various welfare or- cotics in different forms and shapes have formed ganizations to help vulnerable families become self- the bulk of all the discoveries. The amount of drugs sufficient and self-supporting. To achieve this goal, discovered increased by 27% between 2001 and as many as 151,000 job opportu¬nities were creat- 2002, from 118,374 Kg to 150,561 Kg. ed and a budget of 1,570 Billion Rials was allocated in the course of 2001-2005. Murder, manslaughter, accidental deaths, •Extension of activities for the settlement of street battery and physical injuries: These showed a children. rate of occurrence of 27.1, 19.9, 140, 1076.1, 11.3 •Execution of a plan for dealing with chronic psy- cases, respectively, for every one million of the pop- chiatric patients; ulation in 2002. (Statistical Centre of Iran, 2002). •Public education and awareness raising about preventing illnesses such as lazy eye and physical 1 - 7 Consumption Patterns and mental disability as well as social harms; •Passing and implementing the Comprehensive Economic Status Plan for Assistance and Rescue. Some indices for certain economic features of the country were as follows in 2001-2005. Security of Society •Gross Domestic Product (GDP) improved during Security is essential for ensuring the stability and the course of 2001-2005 so that, at prices current in survival of any society. In Iran, the authority re- 1998, it showed an average annual growth of 5.5% sponsible for the security of the country is the Po- (compared with an average annual growth rate of lice. Another institution engaged in safeguarding the 3.8% during the Second Development Plan) and security of society is the Judiciary which, according rose from 320,069 Billion Rials in 2001 to 397,304 to Article 156 of the Constitution of the Islamic Re- Billion Rials in 2005. Average annual economic public of Iran, is an independent power protecting growth, excluding petroleum-related sources, was individual as well as social and collective rights. It also 5.8% in the course of 2001-2005 while aver- is entrusted with the wide-ranging duty of dissemi- age annual growth for production during the same nating social justice, guaranteeing the legitimate period was 3.8%. constitutional and natural freedoms of the people, •The average investment growth rate was 9.3%. overseeing the proper enforcement of laws and reg- ulations, adopting measures to prevent crime and Industry and Mines reforming criminals. The industrial, mining, electricity, water, gas and A survey of the indicators and quantitative goals of construction sectors had an 11.1% share of the total the judicial system of the Islamic Republic of Iran 3.1% contribu¬tion of the average annual growth to shows an increasing number of judges per every GDP. More than 2% of the total 5.5% average an- one hundred thousand of the population. Howev- nual growth rate of the Second Development Plan er, the large and unprec¬edented explosion in the related to industry and mining. number of incoming cases has affected the statistics in such a way that the number of cases referred to Services each judge increased from 977 in 2001 to 1,153, The average annual growth rate in this sector in 2003. This indicates an average growth rate of was 4.8% during the aforementioned period. The 1.01%. Table 1-1 (below) contains some further rel- country’s average annual economic growth rate was evant pieces of information. 5.5%, of which 2.5% belonged to the service sec- tor. In 2005, the maximum growth in this sector oc- Addiction: One of the gravest problems confront- curred in such areas as general trading, hotels and ing societies and especially the youth in society is restaurants (2.3%), real estate (.6%) and transport drug addiction. Iran, with its long borders of many Table 1-1: Some significant information concerning social security during 2001-03 Protective Ratio of Judges per Measures Ratio of General Appeal Revolutionary Covering Independent Year 100,000 Court Court Court Inmates’ Forensic Centers to of the Families Judicial Units (%) Population (Households) 2001 2260 226 226 8.3 2812 34.09 2002 2403 240 223 8.5 3700 46.82 2003 2582 252 245 9.7 4070 48.74 Source: Statistical Centre of Iran, 2005; Management and Planning Organization, 2005

State of the Invironment 9 and communication (.9%). Altogether, these ac- 1 - 9 Industry and Mines counted for 3.8% of growth in the service sector The industrial and mining sector is one of the most with other areas accounting for the remainder of the signifi¬cant economic sectors and is considered to growth. The service sector showed an average an- be the engine of economic growth in most countries. nual growth rate of 4.8% in 2005, contributing 51% Strengthening this sector and improving its compet- of total GDP. itiveness not only increases economic growth but the exports and employment as well. 1 - 8 Agriculture •The industrial sector saw a 57% growth in the is- The average annual growth rate in this sector was suing of operating licences to industrial workshops 4.3% during the aforementioned period. The agri- by the Ministry of Industry and Mining in 2001- cultural sector enjoyed an average growth rate of 2005. During this period, the employment capacity 2.2% in 2005, and contributed 13.7% of total GDP. of industrial workshops grew more than 140% and investment in those workshops also multiplied by Oil and Gas 7.8 times. (See: Table 1-2) In 2005, as many as The average annual growth rate in this sector was 3,043 workshops with an investment of about 37.5 3.3% over the aforementioned period. This sector billion Rials owned by the private sector became op- showed an average growth rate of 2.6% in 2005, erative. Those workshops directly created as many compared to a 12.9% growth rate in the previous as 86,200 jobs for employees. year. This shows that the contribution of the export •In 2005, 610 operating licences were issued in the of the raw materials to GDP has given way to other mining sector. The known deposits of the mines in more rational types of exports. question amounted to about 2,221.8 million tons. Agriculture and Natural Resources The volume of the investment made in relation to •In 2005, this sector accounted for 13.7% of those permits was 960.7 billion Rials, creating 6,437 GDP, remaining constant according to process jobs. current in 1998 , 19.7% of the total value of non- •The volume of industrial and mining sector exports oil exports, about 20% of employment, more increased from US$ 1.91 billion in 2000 to US$ 4.56 than 82% of the food supply and 90% of the billion in 2005, showing an average annual growth raw materials needed in agricultural conversion rate of 19%. industries. • Petrochemical production capacity increased from •Agricultural products which had been about 14.2 million tons in 2001 to 18.2 million tons in 44.7 million tons in 2001, decreased to 14.2 mil- 2005 and the markeTable 1-petrochemical products lion tons in 2005. increased from 6.7 to 10.1 million tons. The volume •Horticultural products which had reached 12.3 of investment in operational petrochemical projects million tons in 2001, decreased to 5.9 million was US$ 2.827 billion, equal to 6140 billion Rials. tons in 2005, showing a 500,000 ton decline •Petrochemical product exports increased from US$ compared with the previous year. 339 million in 2000 to US $ 1730 million in 2005, •Fish and shrimp production was 424,500 tons in showing an average annual growth rate of 38.54%. 2001 and 456,100 tons in 2005. Reproduction of •The nominal production capacity of raw steel and aquatic species amounted to 988 million units in steel products increased, respectively, from 6.7 and 2001 and 1,668.2 million units in 2005. 7.1 million tons in 2000 to 11 and 13.5 million tons • Red meat production was 729,000 tons in 2001 in 2005. The production of raw steel rose from 6.2 to and 784,900 tons in 2005. 9 million tons, and that of steel products from 6.5 to •Egg production was 579,000 tons in 2001 and 10.5 million tons. The volume of exports also grew 1,383,000 tons in 2005. in this period from 1.1 million tons, valued at US$ •The level of livestock immunity against infec- 206 million, to 1.97 million tons, valued at US$ 930 tious diseases was, respectively, 94.3, 90.7, million. The size of investment in the steel industry 89.9, 94.3, and 96.2 per cent in the years from was US$ 1290 million plus 13,215 billion Rials. 2001 to 2005. •Extension training was given to 223,000, 1 - 10 Transport 445,000, 888,500, 904,300, and 1,935,000 •Road transport has played an extensive role in persons per day, respectively, in the years from passenger as well as cargo movements. Statistics 2001 to 2005. for 2005 show that about 93% of total cargo trans- fers plus 93% of total passengers journeys in the country were by road; Table 1-2: Number of operating licences and the volume of Employment and investment in industrial workshops during 2001-2005 Protective Ratio of Employment investment Judges per Measures Ratio of Year Number of Permits General Appeal Revolutionary Covering Independent (persons) (Billion Rials) Year 100,000 Court Court Court Inmates’ Forensic Centers to of the Families Judicial Units (%) 2001 3246 56492 6462 Population (Households) 2002 3550 74578 13023 2001 2260 226 226 8.3 2812 34.09 2003 4147 77296 18059 2002 2403 240 223 8.5 3700 46.82 2004 4482 113372 28875 2003 2582 252 245 9.7 4070 48.74 2004 5152 137579 50144 Source: Management and Planning Organization, 2004; Statistical Centre of Iran, 2005

10 1 Socio-Economy •In 2005, as many as 440 million passengers trav- did not increase in 2005. At present, the air fleet elled and 418 million tons of cargo was moved by employs seven rented airplanes. The total number public transport. Compared with 2000, the figures of planes in the national air fleet was 92, showing an show a 12.7% increase in the number of passengers average annual growth rate of 15.3%. and 69% increase in the amount of cargo. •The marine transport sector successfully achieved •By the end of 2005, motorways and highways its goals in 2005. In that year, using 100% of their were nominal capacity, the country’s commercial ports loaded and unloaded many different types of pe- recorded to have covered 1240 Km. and 4462 Km, troleum and non-petroleum commodi¬ties, which respectively. Main roads covered 24,544 Km, 1.5% far exceeded 93.4 million tons, showing a more more than the previous year. In 2001-2005, the than 9% rise compared with the 85.6 million tons average annual growth rates in total the length of of 2004; the country’s motorways, highways and main roads •The transit of petroleum as well as non-petroleum were 8.8, 8.2, and 2.1 per cent, respectively. During cargos through the commercial ports of the coun- the same period, in order to increase the capacity try reached 5.83 million tons in 2005, showing a of the public transpor¬tation fleet, create new jobs 1% increase compared with 5.78 million tons in the and reduce the operating age of the fleet, a budget previous year. of 59.2 billion Rials was allocated in the form of sub- sidies to cover the exchange rate, to be paid to city bus manufacturing companies and for the purchase 1 - 11 Energy of up-to-date technolo¬gies. In 2005 as many as •An extension in the production capacity of crude 369 new buses entered the transportation fleet and, oil to 4,230 barrels per day in 2005, showing an consequently, 1,476 jobs were created. In 2001- additional 310,000 barrels per day compared with 2005, 2,530 buses, 1,643 trucks, and 805 trailer production in 2000. trucks were purchased at a cost of 561 billion Rials. •A 3.4% growth in consumption of the five main This was paid from funds allocated for industrial and petrochemical products in 2001-2005. credit aids and 15,854 new jobs were duly created. •Equipping 46,050 households with natural gas • As regards road and transport safety, national over the same period. casual¬ty statistics show that in 2005 as in pre- •Increasing the average output of the power sta- vious years, the number of accidents has unfortu- tions to 10,300 Mega Hertz (compared to that of nately been noticeably higher than the global aver- 2000); age. However, the indicator for loss of human life •Increasing electrical energy generation to 51.4 bil- per every 10,000 road vehicles has decreased from lion KWH per year (compared to that of 2000); 32 persons in 2000, to 22.7 persons in 2005. •Establishment by NIOC of the required platforms •In 2005, more than 17.3 million passengers and for refuelling CNG vehicles. 29.5 million tons of cargo were transported by train. •In 2005, more than 22.4 international air pas- 1 - 12 Employment, Expenditure and sengers arrived at and departed from the country’s Income and Distribution of Wealth airports. In the same year, there were 8.9 million •According to samples taken by the Statistical Cen- domestic air passengers, of whom 37.2% used pri- tre of Iran, the unemployment rates for the years vately-owned airlines. 2001-2005 had been 14.25, 14.2, 12.8, 11.4, and •In 2005, the stated objectives for increasing 10.3 percent, respectively. Although the unemploy- interna¬tional flights, as well as the contribution of ment rate fell during that period, the number of non-governmental airlines to international passen- those unemployed remained high (at 2.6 million). ger traffic were successfully achieved. The average •As many as 2,901,000 new jobs were created over annual growth rate for international flights and for that period. the number operated by private companies were •In 2001-2005, the average net income growth 13.2% and 66.1%, respectively, in 2001-2005; rate was 20.5% for urban families and 22.6% for •Due to the problems resulting from economic sanc- rural families while, in the same period, the aver- tions imposed on the country by the United States age expenditure growth rate was 19.2% for urban and financial weakness of the transport companies, families and 17.9% for rural families. These figures mostly stemming from fixed fares set by govern- indicate that living standards for Iranian families, ment authorities and the overseas dependency of especially in rural areas, have relatively improved. this industry, the number of rented airplanes in fleet However, there is still a 1,787,000 Rial deficit in the Table 1-3: Net average income and expenditure in urban and rural families, 2001-4 r u Year n x n x 2001 24175 22387 15673 13047 2002 28020 25831 17233 15200 2003 34971 33104 21395 19002 2004 40989 39202 25676 24040 Source: Statistical Centre of Iran, 2004 + 2005

State of the Invironment 11 urban family’s budget and a 1,636,000 Rial one in REFERENCES the rural family’s budget. •According to the raw data on household budgets, 1. DoE, Office for Public Participation, 2006. the relative poverty line for a 5-member family 2. Management and Planning Organization, 2004. News was 1,963,000 Rials in an urban community and and Analysis Weekly, Special Edition for Third Development 1,106,000 Rials in a rural community, taking cur- Plan Outcomes. Presidential Report to Parliament, 6 Au- rent fixed prices in 2005 as the basis (Management gust 2004. and Planning Organization, 2005). 3. Management and Planning Organization, 2002. Report •The expenditure ratio of the highest ten percent of the of the popula¬tion (the richest) over the lowest ten Government’s Achievements. percent (the poorest) decreased from 19.4 to 15.8 4. Management and Planning Organization, 2005. Report between 2001 and 2005, showing an average an- of the nual reduction of 4.9%. Achievements of the Islamic Regime over a Quarter of a Century. •The income ratio of the highest twenty percent 5. Statistical Centre of Iran, 2004. Statistical Yearbook. of the population (the richest) compared with the 6. Statistical Centre of Iran, 2005. Statistical Yearbook. lowest twenty percent (the poorest) decreased from 10.1 to 8.43 over the aforemen¬tioned period, while the average annual reduction of this indicator was 2.3% in urban areas (Management and Plan- ning Organization, 2005). 1 - 13 Foreign Trade and Balance ofPayments Taking into account the surplus on the current as well as the capital accounts balance, there was a growth overall of about US$ 8.3 billion in the coun- try’s international hard-currency deposits in 2005. The surplus balance in the current account was US$ 4 billion, an increase of US$ 3.2 billion over the pre- vious year. The trade balance, having grown by US$ 3.3 billion over the previous year, showed a surplus ca. US$ 7.8 billion. The US$ 10.4 billion increase in exports, despite an increase in imports of US$ 7.1 billion compared with the previous year, led to a growth in the trade balance and, consequently, in the current account balance. A US$ 9.5 billion rise in oil and gas exports caused exports to rise overall. Ultimately, the country’s oil export revenues amounted to US$ 31 billion over the course of the five years. In 2001-2005, approximately US$ 28.2 billion worth of non-petroleum commodities were export- ed. The export of services alone earned the country US$ 23.8 billion while exports of commodities and services together, with an average annual growth rate of 18%, amounted to US$ 182 billion. In the same period, the import of commodities and ser- vices amounted to US$ 160 billion, with an average annual growth rate of 24.2%. (Management and Planning Organization, 2005) 1 - 14 Human Development The human development index (HDI) for Iran rose from 0.71 in 2001, to 0.791 in 2005. The average growth rate of the HDI was 2.1% in 2004. Such a rate makes the growth more concrete than in previ- ous years. The improvement in oil export revenues has been the most significant factor for the econom- ic growth of the country.

12

2 State of the Invironment 13 Resource and Environmental Managment ResourcevEnv 1 Air lands, the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman coastline, the border regions with Pakistan and the central deserts of Iran, along with a small region in the 1-1 Climatic Conditions southeast of the country, all have a hyper-arid cli- Iran is among those countries that have many and mate. The eastern and western slopes of the Zagros varied climatic zones and is located in the arid, mountain chain, the heights of the southern Zagros desert belt of the world. In fact, Iran’s deserts are and the southern slopes of the central Alborz moun- among the world’s driest regions and equatorial tain chain, along with the heights of the eastern and heat passes through them in July/August. Seven central mountains, are situated in the desert arid climatic zones have been identified in Iran; a brief climatic zone. account of each is given below. Semi Arid Climate Arid Climate About 20% of the area of the country is affected by About 64% of the country’s area has this type of this type of climate whose natural locations are: the climate. An arid climate may be divided into two North and the Northeast of Khorassan, the Alborz sub-divisions: hyper-arid and desert arid. Iran’s is- Picture 2-1: The Climatic Divisions of Iran

14 2 Resource and Environmental Management mountain slopes, the Orumiyeh plains in Azerbaijan type of climate (Ministry of Energy, n.d.). and some parts of the Aras basin. Some vast regions on the slopes and the heights of western Zagros and 1-2 Temperature Fars Zagros mountains, along with a long section of The average annual daily temperature in different the Sefidrud riverbed, are also in this climatic zone. parts of the country varies between 27 and zero Almost half of the area in this zone has potential for degrees centigrade on the low plains of the south cultivation, even irrigated by rainwater. and at altitudes above 3,000 metres in Azerbaijan, Mediterranean Climate respectively. In summer in some parts of Iran, the The area influenced by Mediterranean climate, com- temperature rises above 50 degrees C and, in win- prising almost 4.9% of the total area of the country, ter in the highlands, it falls down to 20 degrees C is surrounded by the semi-arid and semi-humid cli- below zero. mate zones. This type of climate may be observed On the basis of the relationship of altitude to tem- in highland regions too. Some types of this climate perature, Iran can be divided into four homogeneous roll up in a belt-like shape around the slopes and regions with regard to temperature variations. This high plains of Azerbaijan, the Alborz mountains, classification demonstrates the fact that the tem- the western Zagros mountain range, Fars and some perature falls as the altitude rises, moving from the highland areas in Kerman Province. Northwest to the Southeast, from the West to the East and from the North to the South. The homo- Semi-humid Climate thermous and temperature regions map of Iran This type of climate covers 3.4% share of the to- (Picture 2) shows the average annual temperature tal area of the country. The natural locations of this in all the four homothermous regions. (Ministry of climate are: the heights on the western side of Oru- Energy, n.d.). miyeh Lake, the highland regions of Azerbaijan, the regions bounded by the west Zagros range, a vast stretch on the high slopes of the Alborz Mountains and some parts of Gorgan plain. 2 Land Humid Climate Iran is a mountainous country 52% of whose land This type of climate covers 3.6% of the total area is covered with linked as well as separated moun- of the country. The natural locations of this climate tain ranges and hills. The lowest point in the country are: some regions in western Azerbaijan and north- at 187 metres below sea level is located in the Loot east Khuzestan across the border from Turkey, the Desert; the highest point is the summit of Mount heights of the Alborz range, some sections of the Damavand in the Alborz Range at 5,671 metres eastern Caspian coastline and, finally, a circular above sea level. In general, four completely distin- region around the West Zagros and Fars Zagros guishable physiographic units may be observed in mountains. Iran: Very Humid climate (type A) Alborz and Zagros Mountain Ranges This type of climate may be identified on the These start in Azerbaijan, in the Northwest of the heights of the Zagros Mountains and the Caspian country, and extend towards the Northeast and Sea coast. It covers about 3% of the total area Southeast enclosing the central Iran Plateau in a of the country. triangle. Very Humid climate (type B) The Central Plateau Some regions on the southwest Caspian coastal The central Iranian Plateau is located between the plains, on the heights of the Alborz range and Alborz and Zagros ranges, beginning in the North- also on some parts of the western heights of the east at a height of 2,500 metres and finishing on Zagros Mountains (around Koohrang) have this the lowlands as well as the Eastern and Central des- Picture 2-2: Homothermous Map of Annual Temperatures

State of the Invironment 15 erts. The Loot and Namak (or “salt”) Deserts are the most arid regions in that part of the country. One reason that explains the wide variety of the Khuzestan’s Vast and Level Plain country’s soils is that half of the land is mountainous This may be said to be the continuance of the Mes- and has formed around saline, gravelly and rocky opotamian plain and is essentially made up of allu- deserts, creating a closed region that contains a di- vial land from the Karoon and Karkheh Rivers versity of lands. Caspian Coastal Lowlands (Polders) Almost 80% of the country is composed of arid and These are located about 30 metres below open sea semi-arid regions. According to statistics from 2004, level, starting adjacent with the sea and continu- 17,665 Hectares of the land are arable, 46.97% be- ing towards the northern slopes of the Alborz range. ing irrigated and the remainder using rainfall (see The distribution of highlands in Iran is as follows. Picture 3 for more information). • Land at an altitude of 1,000-2,000 metres, covering about 53.3% of the country. 2-1 Forests • Land not higher than 28 metres, covering The latest survey on the area and dispersion of the about .07%. country’s forests was conducted in 1994, according • Land 28-500 metres high, covering about to which the area of the forests was estimated to 20%. be 12.48 million hectares; 10.51 million hectares of Inland lakes cover about 0.9% of the total area of these were reserved forests (excluding the north- the country. In other words, regions over 500 me- ern forests) and 1.97% were northern forests. This tres above sea level cover about 87.3% of the coun- means that 7.6% of the dry land of the country is try (Sustainable Development Committee, 2004). forest and, considering the total population, the per Similar to the distribution of the highlands, the capita share is 0.2 hectares. Compared with the types of land found in Iran are also many and var- global per capita average forest share of 0.8%, this ied. Mountains, covering 30.4%, take up the largest shows the severe poverty of Iran in this regard. It part of the total area of the country, and sedimenta- is worth mentioning that Iran is placed 45th among ry plains, covering 0.5%, take up the least. Plateaux 56 forest countries (Ministry of Agricultural Jihad, cover about 16.6%, hills about 15.8%, sloped plains 2004). 5.1%, river plains 2.5%, saline lowlands 3.6%, flood Fars province, with 1.2 million hectares of forests, plains 6.7%, colluvial fans 9%, alluvial fans 2.5%, holds the first place in the country and Mazanderan, mixed lands 3.4% and miscellaneous lands 3.9% with more than 1 million hectares, has the maxi- (Figure 1). mum forest area of all the Northern provinces. The forests of Hormozgan Province The differences in the types of land found in Iran cover more than 800.000 hectares, mostly man- depend upon their different forming factors, such as grove (Sustainable Development Committee, 2004). climate, vegetation and height, as well as their orig- The Arasbaran forests, inscribed as a Biosphere Re- inal comprising matter, time and the kind of human serve by UNESCO in 1977, used to cover 250,000- activity affecting them. As a general classification, 300,000 hectares but they have, unfortunately, Iran’s land may be divided into four main types: been deforested over time and have been reduced •The land of the valleys and plains, covering to 164,000 hectares at present. 18.5% of the total area of the country; Despite the fact that about 100,000 hectares of for- •The land in the plateaux, covering 28.5%; est are reclaimed and rehabilitated every year, this •The land in the Caspian coastal lowlands, figure seems very small when placed against the covering 3%; and deforestation that occurred many years ago. Due •The land in the mountains and to the great dispersion of the forests, except for the mountainous regions, the most common northern ones, and because of the effect of the in- type, forming 52.2% of the land. troduction of humans and livestock, forests are in Figure 2-1: Percentage of the Various Soil Types in Iran Source: Sustainable Development Committee, 2004 Picture 2-3: Land Application and Vegetation Map of Iran

16 2 Resource and Environmental Management serious danger. Annually, Iran loses an average of and low precipitation, a very high annual rate of 142,000 hectares of forest and was 10th in 1991- evaporation and scant vegetation cover. Such se- 1996 among countries of the Asian-Pacific region vere conditions have potentially placed the country with a high rate of deforestation. in danger of desertification. The geographic and cli- matic conditions, as well as harmful wind currents 3 Rangelands in the central deserts of Iran, have caused about 80% of the country’s total 164 million hectare area to fall into the categories of arid and semi-arid. The More than half of the area of the country is range- average annual rainfall in these regions is no more land and this may categorized as follows. than 50-250 mm. Grasslands for Summer Grazing. These At present, the area covered by deserts and sand is cover 14 million hectares, mostly in the high, cold 34 million hectares, with a further 16 million hect- regions, and produce 290 Kg of grass per hect- ares of poor, desert rangelands. are which may be used to feed the livestock in the It is most unfortunate that misuse and inappropri- warmer seasons of the year. ate exploitation over the past centuries have se- Bushland for Winter Grazing. These cover verely damaged and degraded the desert forests of 60 million hectares mostly of warm, low regions and Iran, leaving them bare and barren where they were produce 92 Kg of grass per hectare which may be once green with a variety of vegetation and plants. used in the cold seasons of the year. These bush It is estimated that an average of 1% of land be- lands are not in a good condition owing to over-ex- comes desert every year. ploitation. Desert Rangelands (on the desert mar- gin). These cover 16 million hectares of the arid, 4 Mountains desert regions and produce 25 Kg of grass per hect- are. This type of rangeland is in poor condition with regard to its vegetation and grass production (Min- Iran is a mountainous country with an average istry of Agricultural Jihad, 2002-2004). height of 1,100 metres above sea level. This coun- Rangelands may also be classified according to try resembles a bowl with raised edges. Mountains quality into fine, medium or poor. Only 10.3% of along the borders with neighbouring countries form the rangelands fall within the range of fine quality. a circle surrounding the inner plateau and prevent Rangelands of medium quality comprise 41.5% of humidity from permeating into the inner regions the total and those of poor quality comprise 28.2%. and, consequently, impose arid conditions upon Khorassan Province has the largest area of fine qual- the plateau. The mountain ecosystems of Iran are ity rangelands while the highest ratio of fine quality amongst the richest in the world in terms of the rangelands to the total amount of rangelands in any variety of vegetation. Thanks to such conditions, province is found in Khuzestan, leaving most other Iran’s mountains are home to one of the most sig- provinces with poor or medium quality rangelands. nificant biodiversity areas in the world. The Alborz, It should also be mentioned that there are some Zagros and Arasbaran Mountains have formed the notable fine and medium quality rangelands in the richest of these biomes. Iran’s mountainous region northern provinces. includes the aforementioned Alborz and the central and southern Zagros ranges that contain vast agri- cultural and animal husbandry areas as well as for- Deserts ests and woodlands. Iran’s mountains may be classified into five ranges: the mountain ranges to the North of the plateau (the Located in the arid belt of the northern Hemisphere, orogenic belt of the Alborz), the mountain ranges to the Iranian Plateau has very few water resources the West and South of the plateau (the orogenic Figure 2-2: Classification of the country’s deserts Picture 2-4: Map of the Basins Source: Ministry of Agricultural Jihad, 2002-2004)

State of the Invironment 17 belt of Zagros), the mountains of the North of the water runs off towards Qareh Qom (Ministry of En- Sea of Oman (Macran nappe), the mountains to the ergy, n.d.). East of the plateau (Iranshahr-Birjand region) and the mountains of the central parts of the plateau Annual Rainfall (Central Iran). Existing statistics assessing water resources show that precipitation is the main source of the country’s water resources. 30 per cent of the 250 mm aver- Water age annual precipitation falls as snow and the rest as rain. Thus, average annual precipitation amounts to 427 billion cubic metres. Of this, however, 38 bil- lion cubic metres permeate into underground water Inland and Coastal Waters tables and 297 billion cubic metres evaporate, leav- Water is the most important resource as well as ing only 92 billion cubic metres available as surface one of the most vital elements of Nature on which running water. the survival of human beings and all other living Out of the 427 billion cubic metres of precipitation, creatures depends. In examining the topographic about 25 billion cubic metres are directly used to characteristics of Iran, six main basins have been recharge underground water tables and another 13 identified as follows. billion cubic metres run into those tables through The Caspian Basin: With an area of 175,000 underground currents. This renders the total amount Sq Km, it includes the northern regions of Azer- of renewable water supplies as much as 130 billion baijan, the northern slopes of the Alborz mountain cubic metres (30.4% of the total precipitation) (Sta- range and some parts of the eastern and northern tistical Centre for Iran, 2004). slopes of the Zagros range. Reservoirs The Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman Basin: Monitoring the compliance of dam operations with Covering an area of 424,000 Sq Km, it includes the operating guidelines as well as providing and a substantial part of the highlands, western and checking the accuracy of information about the southern slopes of the Zagros mountain range and identity of dams are among the main tasks of the the southern slopes of Bashagard Mountains. Water Sector. As many as 13 reservoir dams with The Orumiyeh Lake Basin: With an area of regulating taps, holding 950.5 million cubic metres 52,000 Sq Km, this covers the northern slopes of of water, were operational in 2005. (Table 1) the Zagros Mountains, the eastern slopes of the mountains on the Iran-Turkey border and the south- ern and western slopes of Mount Sahand. The Central Plateau Basin: Covering an area Coastal and Marine Areas of 824,000 Sq Km (the largest in the country), this Considering its extremely long sea border, Iran oc- includes all the regions whose water runs off to- cupies a special position in terms of water, marine wards the lakes, moors, saline lands and the central resources and their unique environment. More than deserts of Iran. 16% of the country’s population live in coastal prov- The Eastern Border Basin: With an area inces, making it necessary to monitor all the various human activities, be they industrial, agricultural or of 103,000 Sq Km, it includes all the regions whose even household, that may affect the quality or the water runs off towards the country’s moors and sa- quantity of the water supply. line land, whether inland or in the border region with Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Qareh Qom Basin: With an area of The Caspian Sea 44,000 Sq Km (the smallest in the country), this in- This is the largest saline lake of the world and is cludes those parts of the East of the country whose situated in the North of the country, between the latitude of 36 degrees, 34 minutes and 47 degrees, Table2-1: Reservoir dams operational in 2004 Time Span Quantity Designed Capacity Volume (%) (Million Cubic Meters) Before the Islamic Revolution 13 13414 46.1 1979 – 1989 32 5522.2 19 1989 – 1999 69 2034 7 1999 – 2004 55 8146.3 27.9 Total 169 29116.5 100 Source: Sustainable Development Committee, DoE, 2000-2001

18 2 Resource and Environmental Management 13 minutes North and the longitude of 46 degrees, Hormoz to the Indian Ocean, is 610 Km and its av- 38 minutes and 54 degrees, 44 minutes East. The erage width is less than that of the Persian Gulf. The Caspian Sea is approximately 1,200 Km long from Sea of Oman is about 3,398 m deep at Chahbahar, North to South and, at its widest, is 466 Km wide. but it becomes shallower as it moves towards the The area of the lake is 386,400 Sq Km and its aver- West where it reaches 73 m near the Strait of Hor- age depth is 184 metres, holding a water deposit moz (DoE, 2004). of 71 Million cubic metres (Source 8). The length of The potential for biological reproduction in the Iran’s coastal border, taking the Gorgan Gulf coast- Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman, in particular in the line as its basis, is approximately 1,000 Km. The Persian Gulf excluding the mouths of inflowing riv- Caspian Sea may be divided into three sections - ers, depends on general variations of the tides. Ac- the northern, middle and southern parts. The aver- cording to surveys conducted by a Japanese vessel, age water-level of the Caspian Sea is below open the average daily primary reproduction potential sea level, although the level has varied in different was estimated at 500 mg carbon per Sq m (0.12 years. In 1995, the average level of water in the – 1.27 mg C /m3) in the region. The total amount Caspian reached -26.42 metres below sea level. The of zoo-plancton organic mass in the region varied total amount of precipitation falling into the Caspian from between 0.03 to 0.24 ml in 1993. The aver- Basin has been 73.2 billion cubic metres over the age daily production was estimated to be about 32 last 23 years, comprising 17.8% of annual precipi- mg Carbon/Sq m, a high percentage of which was tation falls in the country. Various rivers flow into composed of Ostra plancton compost. It is worth the Caspian Sea, the largest of them, with the River mentioning that primary and secondary plancton Volga accounting for 80% of its total water intake. production plays a major role in feeding small- Rivers running into the Caspian Basin from inland planctovore fish like sardine and moto and some parts of the country account for 4-5 per cent of the other marine creatures (Sustainable Development total water inflow. The maximum amount comes Committee, 2000-2001). from the Sefidrud River’s tributaries. The Northern Caspian Sea receives 88% of the total water inflow and, thus, is the richest part in terms of Biodiversity biological reproduction. (Sustainable Development Committee, 2000-2001) (Table 2) The composition of a society in terms of the dif- ferences between and varieties of floral, faunal and Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman ecosystem types is referred to as biodiversity. To The Persian Gulf is situated to the South and South- be exact biodiversity, as defined by the Biodiver- west of the country, lying adjacent to Khuzestan, sity Convention (1992), is the potential for variety Bushehr and Hormozgan Provinces. The water limits amongst organisms from any source, be they land, of Persian Gulf are at latitude 24, 30’ North and lon- marine, or any other aquatic ecosystems, as well as gitude 48 57’ East. The Strait of Hormoz connects their complex ecological compounds. The definition the Persian Gulf with the open sea. The Persian Gulf includes variety within the species, between species covers an area of about 239,000 Sq Km, its average and of ecosystems depth being approx. 35 m and its deepest point, the The number of wild mammal species of Iran at 164 northeast part of its Iranian side, is about 90-100 m. species is almost equal to the total number of all Its average width is about 240 Km. The dominant mammals on the Continent of Europe. The floral climate type in the Persian Gulf is warm and humid. species of Iran are estimated to total about 8,000, All the water flowing into the North and Northeast of of which 22% (1,727 species) are indigenous. In the Persian Gulf originates from Iran and Iraq. comparison with the total amount of floral species The Sea of Oman, situated in the Northeast of the on the Continent of Europe (12,000), the variety of Indian Ocean, is bordered on three sides by land floral species in Iran is outstandingly large. In the and connects to the open sea from one side only. registered index of the species of Iran, there are The length of the Sea of Oman, from the Strait of also 517 species of birds, 174 species of fish, 200 Table 2-2: Variety of life forms in the Caspian Sea e Total Region's Daily Production Annual Carbon eg Production (gr/Carbon/ Liter) Production (gr/m ) 2 es en a (Million Tons) N 0.76 273 - - - 24 a I 1.12 369 21.5 23.4 6.09 51 a S 0.89 335 11.2 20.2 9.5 41 a o 0.92 (Mean) 325.7 (Mean) - - - 116 Source: Sustainable Development Committee, 2000-2001

State of the Invironment 19 species of reptiles and 38 species of amphibians. The altitude varies between zero to 1,000 m. Rain- The variation in altitude ranges from 26 to 5,770 fall is limited to winter and does not exceed 100 mm m, in temperature between 25 and 50 degrees per annum in most parts. The vegetation is very centigrade, in average rainfall from 200 mm in the poor in terms of species and species variation. southern parts of the Caspian region to 10 mm in the desert areas. Each of these variations plays a Mammal Habitats significant role in enriching the biological resources Iran's most important habitats may be classified of the country. As a matter of fact, Iran’s biodiver- into the following seven groups: sity owes its wonderfully wide range to those seem- ingly contradictory factors. • Caspian Forest This consists of the forests on the northern slopes Wildlife and Habitat of the Alborz Range and stretches from Golestan Park to the Astara Forests which hold many different Vegetation Regions arboreal species, shrubs and highly concentrated herbaceous plants. The relative average humidity • Hirkani Region (Caspian Forests) and annual rainfall rates are very high, compared This region, known in Iran as Hirkani, is bounded to other by the Caspian coastal strip and the Arasbaran re- Resource and Environmental Management | gion. Its broadleaf deciduous forests of the fourth regions of the country. The mammals exclusive Geological Epoch, having survived the Glacial Peri- to this habitat include, amongst others: red deer, ods in the fourth geological epoch and formed a re- chamois (rose deer) and forest mink. fugium, have a special significance. The high rainfall (200-600 mm annually) distinguishes this region •Mountain from all the others. Amongst 65 arboreal species Prominent characteristics of this habitat include: of the Southern Caspian coastline, still relic spe- high areas which stand on a rocky outcrop or high cies, evidence of the third Geological Epoch may be hilly forms, lower temperatures and higher rainfall found. Out of 80 forest plant species which have so rates in comparison with neighbouring areas. The far been reported in the region, 45 species or about vegetation consists of grassland and bush land. The 55%, belong to the late Pleistocene era. mammals that live in this habitat include the snowy • Irano–Turanian Region vole, Persian ibex and panther. Animals in this habi- This region covers the largest area of the country tat have high amounts of body fat stockpiled and and contains mountainous as well as flat lands and their long hair changes to a light colour, even com- deserts. The altitude in this region is 1,500 m and pletely white, in winter. above. Annual rainfall varies between 200 to 400 • Zagros Forest mm. The greatest variety of species lives in the This habitat comprises the forests on the Zagros mountainous areas of this region. The Zagros and Range which stretches from Northwest to South- Alborz ranges in the West and North of the region, east. The vegetation includes cold-region plants in Mount Shirkooh and Mount Siahkooh in the centre, its eastern parts and warm-region plants in its west- Mount Lalehzar and Mount Hezar in the South and ern parts. Oak trees are dominant in most parts the Taftan range in the East are habitats for many while grassland and bush land tends to decrease as exclusive species. The Irano-Turanian vegetation re- the altitude rises to 2,300 m above the sea level and gion consists of two distinct parts: the Zagros veg- above. The mammal exclusive to the Zagros forest etation and The Irano-Turanian vegetation. habitat is the Persian squirrel. • Seharasandy Region • Khuzestan Woodlands and Tropical Forests This green region starts from the highlands in the High temperatures, rivers and streams with an Southwest of Iran and continues towards the Per- abundant water supply and, low plains are the main sian Gulf coast, along the border with Iraq on one characteristics of these regions. Vegetation is scarce side and with Pakistani Baluchestan on the other. and scattered except for some areas on river banks Maraqeh Fossil Zone The Maraqeh Fossil Zone was registered as a nation- e Total Region's al natural monument in accordance with a decision Daily Production Annual Carbon eg Production made by the Supreme Council for the Environment (gr/Carbon/ Liter) Production (gr/m ) 2 es en a (Million Tons) in 2006. The Zone whose main complex is about 40 hectares wide, boasts fossils of approximately 7 N 0.76 273 - - - 24 a million years old. Pre-excavation and preservation I 1.12 369 21.5 23.4 6.09 51 surveys for the site have already been initiated. The a Fossil Center of Maraqeh is also ready to operate in S 0.89 335 11.2 20.2 9.5 41 anticipation of this. a o 0.92 (Mean) 325.7 (Mean) - - - 116

20 2 Resource and Environmental Management where woodlands crowded with such trees as the wildlife sanctuaries and all other Protected Areas are Sind poplar and tamarisk are found. Yellow Persian under the overall control of the national Department deer and various kinds of insectivorous and honey- of the Environment (DoE). Any changes to the land eating animals are amongst the mammals exclusive of the aforementioned spaces should be in compli- to this region. ance with the rules and regulations set forth in the • Desert current Law. The Department of the Environment, This covers a vast section of the central region of per se as well as on behalf of all other governmental the country which consists mostly of sandy deserts. organizations and ministries, is in charge of enforc- Hot weather during the day and very cold weather ing the law. For the protection and preservation of at night are notable features of this desert habitat. wildlife, the Department may designate some areas Vegetation in these areas is scarce and limited to as reserved for a specified period of time in addi- shrubs and bushes. To come to terms and adapt tion to the four special zones (shown in Table 3). No with the fatally hot daytime temperatures, most of Hunting areas, as well as some rivers, wetlands and the mammals of the region have chosen a noctur- marine habitats are among those which have been nal, underground life, supplying their water needs designated as areas under DoE protection. from dew and succulent plants. The harsh condi- The number and size of areas protected by DoE have tions of this environment have physically affected increased over recent years In 1967, there were 27 the fauna and provided them with long hair, broad zones with a total area of 2,168,995 hectares, rising ears and big, flat soles that facilitate their walking to 81 zones covering 7,931,423 hectares in 1998. on the shifting sands. Notable mammals in this hab- These included as many as ten national parks, 43 itat include bipeds, sand foxes and sand cats. nature reserves, 23 wildlife sanctuaries, and five • Baluchi national natural monuments. Now, in the first quar- The Baluchi habitat covers the coastal areas of the ter of 2006, there are 165 zones covering an area Sea of Oman and, some parts of the Persian Gulf of 11,859,026.48 hectares including as many as 19 coasts where humidity and temperature are high. national parks, 93 nature reserves, 35 wildlife sanc- Vegetation is fairly dense in some parts and includes tuaries and 19 national monuments (Table 3 and such trees and shrubs as acacia and screw bean. Figures 3 and 4). The fauna in this habitat are very much like the ones According to international standards, such spaces that live in India. The black bear (Ursus america- should cover a minimum of 10% of the total area of nus) and the Baluchi squirrel are among the mam- any given country. In Iran, however, the total area mals exclusive to this habitat. of these spaces under the protection of the DoE, at • Steppe 11.86 million hectares does not exceed 7.23% of This habitat type covers the largest area of the the country’s total area. country and consists of vast and relatively high Zones under the management of the DoE grew in plains situated between the mountain ranges of Al- extent (50%) and number (103%) during 1998- borz and Zagros, extending to the Pakistan and Af- 2006. During the same period, the average annu- ghanistan borders. The rainfall is relatively low. The al increase in the number of such zones has been weather can become freezing cold and frost is com- 9.2%, and of the area covered, 5.2%. mon in most parts in winter. Vegetation is of short and dry types such as artemisia and Astragalus acu- tus. Mammals of this habitat usually have long legs National Parks that enable them to run fast and escape predators A national park is a natural resource of forests, when there is no hiding place or to hunt and catch rangelands, woodlands, woods or plains and moun- other animals. Gazelle and cheetahs are among the tainous areas that represents an outstanding feature fauna exclusive to this habitat. of Iran’s natural environment. It has been designat- ed as such in order to enable the DoE to preserve Areas under Special Protection it unchanged in its natural state and to establish In accordance Article 3(a) of the Environmental an appropriate environment in which the flora and Protection and Improvement Law, natural spaces fauna of the zone can reproduce and grow. Shoot- such as national parks, national natural monuments, ing, hunting, grazing of livestock, cutting trees and Table 2-3: Number and extent of the Four Special Management Zones YEAR 1376 1377 1378 1379 1380 1381 1382 1383 1384 Natural 5 5 5 6 7 12 16 16 19 Monument National Park 10 10 11 11 12 16 19 19 19 Wild Life Sanctuary 23 23 24 24 26 33 33 33 34 Reserved Zone 43 82 82 88 91 91 91 93 Total (Number) 81 122 123 133 153 161 161 165 Area (thousand) 7931443 813141 9235599 9235601 1129256 11766418 11848781 11848781 11859026.48 Source: DoE, 2006

State of the Invironment 21 even trespassing are activities prohibited in national under the legal protection and neither hunting nor parks. National parks used to number ten covering fishing is allowed in them except in certain appropri- an area of 1,371,177 hectares, increasing to 19 in ate seasons when the DoE announces that special 1998, with a total area of 1,751,427 hectares. By permits for hunting or fishing may be obtained. 2006, they covered 14.8% of the total area of the In wildlife sanctuaries, cutting trees or bushes, Four Special Management Zones under the protec- burning wood to make charcoal, damaging the envi- tion of the DoE (Source 5). ronment and, generally, any actions that may harm National Parks have grown by 90% in terms of the vegetation or affect the ecosystem are prohib- numbers and 28% in terms of their area by 2006, ited. Grazing of livestock may be carried out under compared with 1998. There are between 1-3 na- the supervision of the DoE. A minimum of 20% of tional parks in 13 provinces, their distribution in a the area of the sanctuaries has been declared as descending manner being: Tehran and Khorassan “Safe Zones” where grazing is absolutely prohib- (three each), Semnan, Fars and Mazanderan (two ited. each) and West Azerbaijan, Isfahan, Bushehr, Chah- rmahal va Bakhtiyari, Kerman, Golestan and Guilan protected area (one each). The number of the wildlife sanctuaries has increased from 23 in 1998, covering an area of 1,346,310 hect- National Natural Monuments ares, to 34 covering 3,581,670 hectares by 2006 These represent rare and phenomenal specimens The wildlife sanctuaries are scattered throughout of flora and fauna, outstanding and excellent land- 15 provinces. Some provinces boast up to five sanc- scapes or areas containing special natural features tuaries, while some others have only one. The distri- such as ancient trees or of historical significance bution of wildlife sanctuaries over different provinc- that are designated as Reserved in order to ensure es in a descending order is: Mazanderan and Guilan their safety. Grazing livestock, cutting down trees (five each), Yazd, Isfahan, Khuzestan and Khoras- and bushes, damaging the environment and gener- san (three each), Semnan, Kerman and Markazi ally carrying out any activities that may destroy the (two each) and Fars, Hormozgan, East Azarbayejan, vegetation or cause harmful changes to the ecosys- Kirmanshah, Zanjan and Bushehr (one each). tem are prohibited by law. Passage in and out of the A protected area is an enclave of the country’s zones shall comply with regulations issued by the natural resources, be it a forest, a range, a plain Iranian Department of the Environment. or an aquatic or mountainous area, that has a spe- There were as many as five national natural mon- cial significance due to the role it plays or may play uments with a total area of 2,118.23 hectares in in the reproduction and preservation of flora and 1998; there are 19 such monuments now in 2006, fauna and in keeping the natural conditions of the covering 1, 8449.46 hectares and comprising almost zone unchanged. The rules and regulations govern- 0.2% of the total area of the four Reserved Zones. ing protected areas are similar in some respects to The distribution of the 19 national natural monu- those governing wildlife sanctuaries. ments throughout the 11 provinces where they ex- The number of protected areas increased from ist may be set out in a descending order as folows: 43 in 1998 to 93 in 2006, and they cover an area Mazanderan (three), Ardebil (two) and in Sistan and of 6,507,480 hectares which corresponds to 55% Baluchestan, and Guilan, 1 in Eelam, East and West of the total area of the Four Special Management Azerbaijan, Kirmanshah, Chaharmahal-o-Bakhti- Zones under the protection of DoE. The growth rate yari, Hormozgan, Yazd, Kerman, Lorestan, and in the number of protected areas has been 48%, Markazi (one each). with a corresponding growth rate of 166% of the total area, in 2006 compared to 1998. Wildlife Sanctuaries The protected areas are scattered throughout all the this is an enclave that may be part of a forest, a provinces except Qom and Isfahan. The distribution range, a plain, woodlands or mountainous as well of protected areas between different provinces, in as aquatic environments that contains special habi- a descending order, is: ten in Mazanderan; eight in tats and has specific, climatic conditions making it Hormozgan; seven each in Fars and Khorassan; six suitable for the fauna that live in it. Sanctuaries are each in Guilan and Kohkiloyeh va Boyerahmad; five YEAR 1376 1377 1378 1379 1380 1381 1382 1383 1384 Natural 5 5 5 6 7 12 16 16 19 Monument National Park 10 10 11 11 12 16 19 19 19 Wild Life Sanctuary 23 23 24 24 26 33 33 33 34 Reserved Zone 43 82 82 88 91 91 91 93 Total (Number) 81 122 123 133 153 161 161 165 Area (thousand) 7931443 813141 9235599 9235601 1129256 11766418 11848781 11848781 11859026.48 Figure 2-3: Percentage distribution of areas Figure 2-4: Comparison of the number of areas within the Four under DoE management in 2006 Special Management Zones, 1998-2006 Source: DoE, 2006 Source: DoE, 2006

22 2 Resource and Environmental Management each in Khuzestan and, Sistan va Baluchestan, four Protected Areas. in Yazd, three each in Golestan, Ilam, Chaharmahal- The number of No Hunting Zones was 75 in 1996 o-Bakhtiyari, Semnan and Kirmanshah; two each in and has increased to 106, covering an area of Hamedan, Tehran, Markazi, West Azerbaijan, Lores- 5,876,722 hectares in 2006. tan, Zanjan and Bushehr; and one each in Ardebik, Qazvin, Kordestan, East Azerbaijan, Kerman and Rivers Mazanderan/Tehran (sharing). All the six principal rivers - the Jadjrud, Chaloos, The other areas under the management of the DoE Sardabrud, Karaj, Lar and Haraz Rivers - as well are as follows. as all wetlands and gulfs adjacent to the Caspian Sea and all the other rivers in neighbouring coastal No Hunting Zones provinces that run into the Caspian are under legal These are zones of great potential that, if the nec- protection. essary requirements are fulfilled, would preserve the country’s natural resources in the form of a nat- Wetlands ural ecosystem and so are entitled to be designated The number of lagoons of international significance as protected. A temporary ban is put on hunting for has increased from 18 in 1996 to 22 in 2006. Oth- a specific period of time (say 3 to 5 years). In fact, er than lagoons, there are 34 aquatic zones under the period also serves as a trial period to evaluate the auspices of the DoE. Lagoons are distributed the zone’s potential to join the country’s network of throughout the different provinces in the following Management Actions Taken to Preserve Designated Areas Many actions have been taken to increase the Plans. level of protection of parks and areas under • Conducting brief as well as in-depth stud- the management of the DoE, such as: ies of the country’s Four Protected Areas. • Developing and strengthening the Wire- • Putting in place a crisis management less Network. scheme for degraded ecosystems. • Providing vehicles and armed guards. • Increasing the number of the Conservation • Establishing special visitor centres and Guards from 328 in 1998 to 566 in 2005, as equipping them with the necessary facili- well as equipping them with wireless com- ties. munication means, cars, motorcycles and • Combating poachers and trespassers who other useful facilities. damage and degrade the environment. Ecosystem Management Plans have been de- • Interaction and co-operation with villag- signed and implemented in the more sensitive ers and local people. ecosystems, especially in Orumiyeh Salt Lake • Providing accurate maps. which required urgent attention. The number • Carrying out comprehensive zone-man- of areas under the management of the DoE agement studies. has doubled since last year, bringing it to 165 • Controlling hunting and fishing to ensure areas at present. no harm is done to the environment. The total area of the zones under the man- • Holding training courses to improve the agement of the DoE has also increased from legal and practical expertise of the conser- 7,931,443 hectares (4.5% of the country’s vation guards. area) to 11,859,026.48 hectares (7.23% of • Putting into practice draft Management the country’s area). Photo : The symbiosis of local people with Hamoon Lake

State of the Invironment 23 descending order: Hormozgan (21); Guilan (15); of crude oil in 2004. Crude oil, liquids and spirits Mazanderan, West Azerbaijan and, Khorassan (14 comprise 69.28% and extracted as well as imported each); Golestan (13); Khuzestan and Lorestan (12 natural gas comprises 26.43% of total energy re- each); Fars and Sistan va Baluchestan (10 each); sources. Other energy carriers, including imported Tehran and Hamedan (11 each); Bushehr (5); Ar- oil and petroleum products, water and sustainable debil, Isfahan and Chaharmahal-o-Bakhtiyari (4), energies, locally extracted and imported coal, non- Markazi, East Azerbaijan, Kermanshah and Kordes- commercial fuels and imported electricity count re- tan (3); and Kohkiloyeh va Boyerahmad (1). spectively for 2.89, 0.84, 0.43, 0.09, and 0.04 per cent of total energy consumption. The total amount of energy consumed in 2004 Renew and corresponded to 779.5 million barrels of crude oil, NonRenewable Energy 53.4% of which was petroleum products, 36.3% natural gas, 9% electricity, 1% coal and 0.3% non- commercial fuels. As one of the most significant factors for produc- tion and one of its unavoidable end-products, en- Per capita use of energy in 2002-2004 was, respec- ergy plays an undeniable role in the economy. Pic- tively, 9.89, 10.53 and 10.82 equivalent barrels of ture 7 shows that the total amount of the energy crude oil, showing an average growth rate of 3% resources corresponded to 2,066.6 million barrels over that period. Picture 2-7: Energy flows

24 2 Resource and Environmental Management pacity, Iran is now able to extract 4.2 million barrels Energy Intensity of oil per day. The actual deposits, land as well as Among the development indicators for any country, sea, count for 82.2 and 17.8 percent, respectively, those for energy intensity and for the total supply of of the country’s extractable liquid hydrocarbons. primary energy to GDP compared with the popula- Oilfield deposits increased 2% and production 5.2% tion should be mentioned. The energy intensity in- during 2004, compared to 2003. Land deposits com- dex shows the amount of energy used to produce a prised 90.8% and marine deposits covered 9.2% of certain amount of commodity or services. The study the total accumulated production. of this index for energy intensity shows an average In 2004, from the total petroleum production, annual growth rate of 3.4 percent over 1968-1998; 59.1% belonged to light and semi-distilled prod- however, it dropped to 0.2% in 1998-2004. ucts, 31.2% to fuel-oil and the rest to other heavy products and sediments. In the last two years, the Energy Coefficient quality as well as the quantity of light and semi-dis- tilled petroleum products has increased, however, To explore the relationship between energy use and fuel-oil production has decreased. In 2000-2004, economic development, this quotient is used as an the total consumption of the products amounted indicator. It is obtained by dividing the rate of energy to 72.6 billion litres, showing a 0.6% growth over consumption by the rate of economic growth. Iran’s 2000. (Figure 12) energy quotient was 1.37 in 1993-2003; however, it has improved over recent years, having reached 0.76 in 2004 (Source 11). (ii) Natural Gas: Compared to other fossil fu- Non-renewable Energy els, natural gas has the least value in terms of heat Considering its characteristics, energy may be said generating power; moreover, it does not convert to have two contrasting attributes: renewable and into high added-value materials as easily as other non-renewable. Petroleum products and fossil fuels hydrocarbons. However, as a clean fuel, it helps to are among the non-renewable types of energy. reduce environmental pollutants. The total extract- able deposits of natural gas have been estimated at Petroleum Derivatives 27.45 trillion Sq m by the end of 2004. (i) Oil: Iran, the second oil-producing country Most of the country’s needs for natural gas are pro- in OPEC, boasts rich deposits of crude oil as well as vided by the land oil-fields which cover 92.1% of natural gas and thus supplies 7% of world demand total production; while the marine oil-fields produce for these invaluable materials. Extractable depos- 7.9%. In 2004, the total production of natural gas its of crude oil and condensed gas were estimated was 510.1 million barrels equivalent of crude oil. at 132.74 billion barrels in the beginning of 2005. (Figure 13) Figure 14 shows an increasing trend in Thanks to efforts made to increase its extraction ca- enriched gas production during 1997-2004 (Source Figure 2-9: Energy end-use in different sectors, 2004 Figure 2-10: Variations in energy intensity against 1998 Source: Ministry of Energy, 2004 constant prices, during 1978-2004 Source: DoE, 2006 Figure 2-11: Combination of the production of petrochemical Figure: 2-12 Consumption of petrochemical products in products, 1997-2004 different sectors, 2000-2004 Source: Ministry of Energy, 2004b Source: Ministry of Energy, 2004b

State of the Invironment 25 11). amount, 385.5 thousand cubic metres are firewood and 21.2 thousand cubic metres are charcoal, tradi- Electricity tionally used for cooking and barbecuing as well as Nominal power station capacity under the supervi- for heat generation in many villages and towns. The sion of the Ministry of Energy was 33415.4 mega- value of various forest products was 475.9 billion watts, showing a 9.2% growth over the previous Rials showing 18.4% growth over the previous year year (Ministry of Energy, 2004b). The mean capacity (Statistical Centre of Iran, 2004). of the actual power of these stations was 31,295.8 megawatts and the electricity produced was 146,676 Renewable and Nuclear Energy gigawatts h (Ministry of Energy, 2004a). Per capita These types of energy include hydro-electrical, electricity production was 156 kilowatt h in 1968 ground-thermal, wind and solar energies that ac- and increased more than 14 times to 2234 kilowatt count for 0.8 per cent of total energy resources (Pic- h in 2004. ture 7). Final electricity consumption was 69.71 million Hydro-electricity equivalent barrels of crude oil. Even in antiquity, Iranians considered the efficient utilization of water resources to generate energy, Solid Fuels and so it is only fair to say that Iranians have been (i) Coal: The heat generating value of the vari- amongst the pioneers of using water as an ener- ous types of coal nationally available is 6000-8900 gy source. The first small-scale hydro-electric sta- kilocalories/kg. There were 137 coal mines (active, tion, with two generators, was installed at Alvand in inactive and in the installation phase) and a certain Hamedan in 1930. However, the first main hydro- reserve of 560 million tons of coal in the country electric power station generating 150,000 mega- in 2004. Public sector mining companies extracted watts electricity per annum was the Karaj Dam 1.58 million tons and private companies 0.32 mil- Power Station, built to support the national grid at lion tons of coal from 114 active mines operating peak consumption times. Currently, the Shahid Ab- in 2004. baspour Power Station is the largest hydro-electric The principal user of coal in Iran is the Isfahan Steel power plant in the country and can produce 2,000 Plant that uses coal in an industrial steel production megawatts h of electricity (Source 11). process. Table 4: Nominal capacity for production of hydro- Iran both exports and imports coal. In 2004, as electricity many as 1,280,200 tons of coal were imported Source: Ministry of Energy, 2004 while only 20,200 tons were exported (Ministry of Energy, 2004). Wind Power (ii) Non-Commercial Fuels: In 2004, the pro- A Wind Atlas is being prepared to provide accu- duction of forest products was 1,037.4 thousand cu- rate information about the wind potential of differ- bic metres, 40% more than the year before. Of that ent parts of the country. In 2005, 42 wind energy Figure 13: Consumption of Natural Gas in Different Sectors, 2000-2004 Figure 14: Production trend of enriched gas, 1997-2004 Source: Ministry of Energy, 2004b Source: Ministry of Energy, 2004b Figure 2-15: Electrical energy consumed by different sectors Source: Ministry of Energy, 2004b

26 2 Resource and Environmental Management plants were constructed in the three windy regions of Manjil, Rudbar and Harzville which produce 16.6 megawatts electricity, with a capacity to produce 27.8 million kilowatt h electricity.(Table 5) (Ministry of Energy, 2004). (1): Production was terminated, in 2003 and 2004, because the turbines needed to be repaired. REFERENCES Solar Power 1. Consulting Engineers in JAMAB, Report on the As the name suggests, solar energy comes from the Synthesis of the National Water Comprehensive Plan. sun. In regions where a minimum of 1,800 kilowatt Ministry of Energy, n.d. 2. DoE, Office of the Marine Environment, 2004. State of h/sq m of direct sunlight is available, construction of the Persian Gulf Environment (RAPMI Marine Area). a solar power plant is recommended. The electricity 3. DoE, 2006. Eight-year Performance Report. generated by photo-voltaic power plants was 78.5 4. Institute of Planning and Agricultural Economy, megawatt h in 2004. Ministry of Agricultural Jihad, 2004. To take the optimum benefit from solar energy, the 5. Ministry of Agricultural Jihad, Statistics on Agriculture. Solar Bath and Solar Boiler Plans have been carried 2004. 6. Ministry of Agricultural Jihad, Statistics on Agriculture, out in some warm cities and towns where a natu- 2002-3 and 2004. ral gas heating system has not been developed. At 7. Ministry of Energy, A 25-year Report. 2004a. present, some 10,000 boilers that use solar energy 8. Ministry of Energy, Energy Balance Sheet. 2004b. to heat water are installed in certain cities (Ministry 9. Statistical Centre of Iran, Statistical Yearbook. 2004. of Energy, 2004). 10. Sustainable Development Committee, SoE Report for Iran. DoE, 2000-2001. Ground-thermal Energy 11. Sustainable Development Committee, SoE Report for Energy originating from the decomposition of radio- Iran, DoE, 2004. active matter from the centre of the earth and from inner-earth chemical reactions is called ground-ther- mal energy. Meskinshahr Ground-Thermal Power Plant that the Ministry of Energy began construction of in 1996 is now in its completion phase. It is esti- mated that it will produce 260 megawatts equivalent of electricity. According to the timetable presented by the Ministry, this power plant will be operative by the end of 2006 (Ministry of Energy, 2004). Nuclear Energy Currently, the only atomic power plant with an output of 1,000 megawatts is under construction in Bushehr. The construction started in 1996 and it was expected to be finished by 2006. Table 2-5: Electricity produced by wind energy plants, 2003-2004 Produced Power Station Total Capacity in 2004 (Megawatt) (Megawatt) Large and Medium Size Stations 4378.50 10989161 Small Scale Stations 45.29 109331 Total Sum 4423.79 11098492 Source: Ministry of Energy, 2004

State of the Invironment 27 Produced Power Station Total Capacity in 2004 (Megawatt) (Megawatt) Large and Medium Size Stations 4378.50 10989161 Small Scale Stations 45.29 109331 Total Sum 4423.79 11098492



3 State of the Invironment 29 Environmental Laws and Legislation Environmental I ntroduction Finally in 1977, DoE was set up and it replaced the previous authority. Once established, an immedi- On the threshold of the third millennium, con- servation of the environment makes sense from the ate task facing the DoE was to fill the gaps where viewpoint of rational human thought and actions, the lack or ineffectiveness of conservation legisla- aimed at achieving sustainable development as well tion was a problem. The systematic revision of old as building a bright future in which the rights of and inefficient regulations and the adoption of up- future generations may be better guaranteed. It is to-date, enforceable rules became top priorities. the most significant as well as an indispensable task Much was done and yet much is still to be done! It and responsibility for all governments in the world was after the glorious victory of the Islamic Revolu- to make it happen. The increasing trend towards tion that conservation reached its full significance, environmental degradation, the population explo- judged worthy to have a place in the Constitution. sion and the shortage and destruction of natural Principle 50 of the Constitution of the Islamic Re- resources, leading inevitably to natural environ- public of Iran, ratified in 1990, emphasizes the ur- mental catastrophes, have lowered the quality of gent need for preserving the environment as the human life. These terrifying nightmares as well as one and only place in which both present and future concern as to what may yet be in store have led generations may enjoy a fulfilling social life. the international community, States and other re- DoE is legally required to carry out the fol- sponsible bodies to adopt laws and regulations to lowing tasks: prevent, or at least mitigate, environmental pollu- •Studying destructive and polluting factors det- tion and destruction. In our country, legislation spe- rimental to the environment. cifically addressed to the environment is a recent •Employing environmentally-friendly technolo- phenomenon not much more than three decades gies and presenting executive regulations for old. However, comprehensive laws and regulations the identification of the most appropriate sites about various aspects of environmental questions for setting up industrial and agricultural projects have been adopted and enforced. and residential areas. •Identifying habitats of a high ecological value 1 Department of the Environment that are in a critical situation. (DoE) •Expanding regional and international co-opera- tion on environmental issues. The Hunting and Fishing Organization of Iran was •Adopting environmental standards and criteria the predecessor to DoE. The existing environmental for: the management and utilization of resourc- rules and regulations relating to the conservation es such as water, land and air; waste disposal of the wildlife and protection of ecosystems were and recycling, in cities, towns and village; and adopted after DoE was established. However, the the control and prevention of over-use of eco- Hunting Law (adopted in 1955) was the first rela- systems. tively comprehensive piece of legislation that pro- •Enhancing public environmental awareness. vided legal protection for wildlife and established an •Collecting, documenting, preserving and dis- independent body, the Hunting Institute, to control playing various species of the flora and fauna by hunting. Later, in 1968, a new legislation law - the holding exhibitions and in museums. Hunting and Fishing law – enlarged the scope of •Monitoring and law-enforcement to prevent en- the previous law by adding regulations on fishing. vironmental pollution and degradation.

30 3 Environmental Laws and Legislation Principle 50 of the Constitution of the •Minister of Industry and Mining Islamic Republic of Iran •Head of the Standards and Industrial Studies In the Islamic Republic, preservation of the envi- Institute ronment in which the present generation as well as •Minister of Housing and Urban Planning future ones may enjoy a fulfilling social life, is con- •Minister of Health and Medical Education sidered a public duty. Therefore, any economic or •Four officials and experts other activities that cause irreversible pollution or destruction of the environment are prohibited. 1-2 Interactive Institutional Environment 1-1 Administrative Structure In a survey of the tasks and responsibilities of the As far as environmental administration is con- DoE, the following points are to be noted: cerned, DoE is part of the Office of the President and 1. Environmental elements and media, such as the Head of the Department is also a Vice-president water, land, air etc. have both a national and in- and a full-member of the Cabinet. ternational dimension and this makes DoE activi- The DoE’s organizational chart makes clear the ties complicated. tasks entrusted to it. According to this chart, the 2. Other than DoE, many governmental as well Deputies for the Human Environment, the Natural as non-governmental organizations are, in one Environment and Biological Diversity and Education way or another, involved in environmental activi- and Planning are all directly involved in the task of ties that affect DoE activities. building a proper environmental culture in society. 3. Given their trans-sectoral nature, it will take Lastly, the Deputy for Support carries out support- a long time before the mechanisms employed ive and administrative activities. The Environmental by DoE will be able to enforce effectively envi- Protection High Council is a coordinating and su- ronmental laws and institutionalize an environ- pervisory body that brings together various senior mentally-friendly culture in society such that an members, each of whom has a role to play in trans- informative and comprehensive overview of the sectoral environmental issues and in setting DoE efficiency of DoE can be given. policies. Its members are: This means, then, that the impact of DoE activities •The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran should be looked for in the successful operation of (Chairman) organizations other than DoE itself. •Head of DoE (Secretary) The interactive/institutional environment in which •Minister of the Interior the Department operates can be divided into four •Minister of Agriculture different areas, each one embracing a range of na- •Head of the Planning and Budget Organization tional, regional and international dimensions: Vice President of the Republic and Head of DOE College and Training Center Directorate of Public Security Directorate of Control & Office of the Head of Relation & International Inspection the Department Affairs Division of the Natural Division of the Legislation Division of Education & Environment & Division of the Human & Parliamentarian Affairs Planning Environment Biodiversity Bureau of Legislation Bureau of Musem of Natural Bureau of & Parliamentarian Environmental History Environmental Impact Affairs Education & Training Assesment Bureau of Budget & Bureau of Public Bureau of Wild Life & Bureau of Air Organization Participation Aquatic Life Pollution Directorate of the Bureau of Planning & Bureau of Marine Bureau of Water & Financial Affairs & Auditing Information Environment Soil Pollution Directorate of the Bureau of Habitats & Bureau of Administration Protected Areas Laboratories Provincial Directorates Figure 31: Organizational chart of DoE.

State of the Invironment 31 tions and concluding memoranda of understanding Government in order to work and cooperate with other countries On the national level, interaction with Government on the crucial matter of the environment. consists of: Bilateral Agreements • With the Cabinet and other relevant Ministries • Bilateral agreements on environmental co-opera- and governmental organizations to build national tion have so far been concluded between the Is- macro-planning capacity and provide tools for lamic Republic of Iran and the following countries: executive actions. Germany, Morocco, Bahrain, France, China, Saudi • With the Legislature to create a positive legal Arabia, dynamic. Armenia, the Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Hunga- • With the Judiciary to create control mecha- ry, Sweden, Algeria, Tunisia, Lebanon, South Africa, nisms etc. Slovenia, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Sri Lanka, South On a regional level, interaction with Government Korea, the Philippines, Italy, Poland and Japan. consists of: • Iran has become a member UNEP by concluding • Meetings of Ministers responsible for the environ- agreements on various environmental issues. ment to discuss • DoE has signed an environment agreement with possible regional co-operation frameworks, such as the Saudi Arabian National Commission for Devel- RAPMI and the Caspian Environment Programme. opment and Conservation of Wildlife to study and On an international level, such interaction is mostly protect Hubre’s Wildlife. in the form of ministerial meetings such as the UNEP • Memoranda of understanding have been signed Directors Council and the Global Summit of Minis- with 33 countries and the process for giving effect ters for the Environment. to those letters is being completed. • International environmental co-operation is be- Economic Enterprises ing enhanced through the exchange of experiences, DoE has close relationship with the industrial, ser- conclusion of agreements and communication with vice and agriculture sectors on the national level. international environmental specialized agencies. Regionally as well as internationally, DoE cooperates with the World Bank and with UNDP to enhance or 1-4 International Projects maintain the quality of the environment. Those international research projects emanating from international conventions and international or- NGOs ganizations that have been adopted and carried are On the national level, DoE provides assistance in the following. establishing environmental NGOs and strengthening • Implementation of the international Protocols on their capabilities. the Protection of the Ozone Layer. On the regional and international levels, such assis- • Co-operation with regional conservation agencies tance takes the form of co-operation with regional such as the Regional Agency for the Persian Gulf and international NGOs. Environment, the Caspian Sea Environment Pro- gramme and the Economic Cooperation Organiza- The Public tion (ECO). DoE has mutual relationships with academics and • Cooperation with the World Bank for the adoption other researchers with environmental expertise who of major environmental projects such as the Water act as consultants and attend international and re- and Air Strengthening Project an intra-departmen- gional scientific meetings, to enhance public educa- tal scheme, an Urban Waste Management Project tion and awareness about environmental issues and and a project with other organizations. build an environmental culture. • Drafting the International Potentiality Plan and the Enhancement of Environmental Effects Apprais- 1-3 International Agreements al, jointly with UNDP. Concern about environmental issues has become • Strategic Environmental Assessment project as much an everyday worry for Governments, na- (SEA). tional and international organizations as for the • Compiling a strategy and national action plan for man on the street. The nature of the environmental the conservation of biodiversity. concerns, respecting no boundaries and requiring • Project for the conservation of biodiversity in the no visas to travel worldwide, requires international Zagros Mountain ecosystems (design and study co-operation of all countries to address them. Prop- phase). er action, in a universally standard manner, must • Project for the development of wetland areas and be taken to prevent such calamities as the hole in migratory routes to protect Siberian Crane and oth- the ozone layer or Tsunamis. Hence, international er Asian water birds. Conventions and Protocols are needed to establish • Conservation of Iranian Wetland project (execu- common preventive as well as incentive policies. tive management of Orumiyeh Lake National Park The Islamic Republic of Iran is amongst those ac- and Parishan Lagoon in Fars). tive countries in the world that have provided the • Conservation and management of Anzali Lagoon, conditions for sustainable development, taking into jointly with JICA. consideration environmental issues. • Joint project to study and protect the slender- Iran has assumed responsibility on environmental billed curlew. issues by becoming a Party to international conven- • Project for strengthening and improving admin-

32 3 Environmental Laws and Legislation istrative efficiency to be prepared for implementing against Petrochemical Pollution, 1976. the Montreal Protocol. 7. Law for the Punishment of Illegal Fishing in the • The Malleh Declaration on the Control and Preven- Caspian Sea andPersian Gulf, 1980. tion of Air Pollution and its Probable Trans-Boundary 8.Preservation and Extension of Urban Green Effects in South Asian Countries. Spaces Act, 1981. • Project for the improvement of air quality man- 9.Fair Distribution of Water Act, 1983; empha- agement in the Tehran megalopolis. sizes the national public ownership as well as • Project for the air quality of Shiraz. preservation of water resources. Environmental Laws and Legislation | 10.Preservation and Fixation of Frontier River • Caspian Sea Environment Project (CEP). Banks and Beds Act, 1984. • Iran’s claims for war damage to the marine envi- 11. Petroleum Act, 1984 (Article 7). ronment. 12. Urban Water and Sewage Network Act, • Regional Organization for the Protection of the 1991. Marine Environment (ROPME). 13. Committee for Reduction of the Impacts of • Project for enabling Iran to present the First Na- Natural Disasters Act, tional Report on Climate Change to UNFCCC. 1992. • Project for energy environmental surveillance in 14. Maritime Zones in the Persian Gulf and Oman IR Iran. Sea Act, 1994. • Project for strengthening environmental manage- 15. Air Pollution Prevention Act, 1996. ment. 16. Act for Maintaining Agricultural and Horticul- • Project for monitoring water and air pollution. tural Land-use, 1996. • Project to enable the drafting of a National Law 17. Preservation and Utilization of Aquatic Re- on Bio-safety. sources Act, 1996. • Project on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). 18. Nine specific articles in the Criminal Code of • Follow-up activities related to Iran’s membership Iran dealing with of various regional and international Conventions environmental and pollution-related and Protocols (13 such instruments). crimes. • Payment of subventions for DoE participation in 19. Mining Act, 1999; includes some articles on international Conventions. the environmental impacts of mining. Ratification of Recent Regional and 20. Solid Waste Act, 2005. International Conventions Regulations Approved by the Cabinet • Adoption of the Caspian Sea Environment Con- More often than not, laws require by-laws for their vention (‘Tehran Convention’, 2004). enforcement. Such by-laws are usually ratified by • Adoption of the Protocol on the Movement of Haz- the Cabinet, in lieu of Parliament, and addressed to ardous Wastes in the Persian Gulf (ROPME, 1999). the relevant Ministry for enforcement. • Rotterdam Convention on the Necessity of the For environmental matters, about 51 such by-laws Prior Consent in the International Trade of Hazard- have been adopted so far. The following list includes ous Chemical Materials and Pesticides (2005). a few of them. • Stockholm Convention (2006). • Kyoto Protocol on Control of Greenhouse Gases (2006). Air • Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (2005). 1. Executive By-Law to Prevent Noise • London Convention (designating the DoE as the Pollution,2000. National Authority). 2. Vehicles Exhaust Emission Standards, 2000. • International Union for Conservation of Nature 3. Prohibition on the Production and Importation and Natural Resources (IUCN). of Diesel Engine Vehicles Not Meeting European Standards, 2001. 4. Standards for Authorized Levels of Emissions National Legislation from Factories and Industrial Workshops, 2001. Other than Principle 50 of the Constitution of IR 5. Comprehensive Plan for Air Pollution Reduc- Iran that sets out a public duty of conservation, a tion in Tehran, 2001. number of national laws have also been enacted. Environmental Laws and Legislation | 1. Municipality Act, 1966 (Article 55). 6. Executive By-Law to Prevent Air Pollution, 2. Vegetation Preservation Act, 1968. 2001. 3. Forest and Rangeland Utilization and Conser- vation Act, 1968. Water 4. Hunting and Fishing Act, 1968 (as amended 7. Executive By-law for the Preservation and Fix- in 1997). ation of the Frontier River Banks and Beds Act, 5. Environment Conservation and Improvement 1985. Act, 1975 (as 8. Executive By-law for the Water Pollution Pre- amended in 1993) entrusting all environmental vention Act, 1995. issues to DoE. 9. Procedural By-Law for the High Council of 6. Law for the Conservation of Marine Areas and Oceanography, 1995. Frontier Rivers 10. Executive By-Law for the Conservation and

State of the Invironment 33 Utilization of Water Resources, 2000. 3. Sustainable use of biodiversity resources. 11. Guidelines for Establishing the Quality Con- 4. Adopting systematic management approaches trol and Conservation Committee for Karoon Riv- to preserve biodiversity. er, 2003. Environmental Laws and Legislation | 12. Guidelines for Establishing the Quality Con- 5. Hunting and Fishing Permit Regulations. trol and Conservation Committee for Zayandeh- 6. Taxidermy of Wild Animals. rood River, 2005. 7. Definition of Wild Animals. 8. Forest Management Standards. Land 13. By-Law for Article 104 concerning Imple- Short- and Long-term Planning menting Guidelines for the Third Development Plan. National Resolution Plan to Preserve the Forests Environment 14. By-Law for the Conservation and Improve- In 1998, DoE presented to the Cabinet a list of the ment of the Environment Act, 1976. most pressing threats to the environment, along 15. By-Law for the Conservation and Utilization with a list of the problems causing those threats. of Forests and Rangelands Act, 1994. The Cabinet accordingly adopted an immediate plan 16. By-Law for the Forests Conservation Act, to combat environmental threats and entrusted DoE 2002. with the task of sparing no efforts in removing the Biodiversity causes of those threats. 17. By-Law for the Hunting Act, 2003. DoE acted promptly and, with assistance provided 18. By-Law for the Sustainable Utilization of the by many other governmental and non-governmen- Natural Caves Act, 2003. tal organizations, devised a plan later known as the 19. By-Law for the Ecotourism Act, 2006. National Resolution Plan to Preserve the Environ- Industry, Development and Human Habi- ment. This Plan was approved by Cabinet and ap- tats peared in the Preamble to the First Development 20. By-Law for Establishment of Housing and Plan of IR Iran. other Premises Outside City Limits, 1978. 21. Hazardous Ray Safety Regulations, 1991. The Environment in the Economic, Social and 22. Environmental Health By-Law, 1993. Cultural Development Plans of Iran: 23. By-Law for the Waste Act, 2006. Under Paragraph 13 of the First Development Plan 24. Articles of Association of the National Fund (approved in January 1990) legislation has been de- for the Environment, 2006. veloped for policy-making and planning to prevent environmental pollution and to require factories and Regulations Approved by the industrial workshops, the main sources of industrial Environmental High Council pollution, to compensate for environmental dam- 1. Conservation and Improvement of Inland and age as the polluter (0.1% of total sales from the Coastal Waters, 1998. production of any manufacturing unit must be paid 2. Prevention of Air Pollution in Tehran. towards environmental protection purposes). By the 3. Designation of National Parks, Natural Monu- end of that period, any credit remaining from the ments, Wildlife First Plan Law under this Paragraph should be placed Sanctuaries and Protected Areas. as a separate provision under Article 45 of the Law 4. The Need for a Gradual Reduction of Asbestos for Receiving Part of Government Income. Public from Products. environmental education, raising public awareness and knowledge of environmental issues, attempts to remove the causes of all kinds of pollution and Natural Forest Management Standards actions that unexpected natural phenomena may The Environment High Council adopted standards initiate are amongst the routine activities carried for the management of natural forests in 2006. The out by DoE. indicators, showing various aspects of the biodiver- sity present and revealing the quantity as well as Extract from the Twenty-year Strategic Plan quality of the forests, demonstrate how much pres- for Iran: sure is placed upon the management and what deci- Iran, occupying the first rank among regional coun- sions need to be made in this regard. The indicators tries from an economic, scientific and technological are in line with the latest global criteria and provide a useful means for comparison. point of view, shall be considered as a developed On the basis of the National Report on Sustainable country with an Islamic revolutionary identity, as a source of inspiration in the Islamic World and en- Development and the “Adoption of the Strategy and gaging effectively and constructively in international National Action Plan for the Conservation of the Bio- relations. diversity”, the High Council approved the following guidelines. The ideal Iranian society of the future would en- 1. Raising public awareness of biodiversity to at- joy health, wellbeing, security, welfare, equal op- portunities, a fair distribution of wealth, firm family tract public participation. foundations and a desirable environment free from 2. Establishing bio-information and research sys- tems. poverty, corruption and unjust discrimination. The general policies laid out by the country’s Su-

34 3 Environmental Laws and Legislation preme Leader in the Twenty-year Strategic Plan Clean Production. place an emphasis on conservation of the environ- ment, rehabilitation of natural resources, consider- The address for the bilingual website of the Secre- ation of the economic, political, security and envi- tariat is: ronmental values of water as well as the acquisition www.ncsd.irandoe.org of biotechnology. National Committee for The First Parliamentary Green Group in the Sustainable Development Islamic Parliament The Committee was established by the Environ- At the outset of the second year of the 6th Parlia- mental High Council, in 1994, to establish policies ment, 130 Members of Parliament joined together and coordinate economic and social development to form the first Green Group to support environ- programmes. Conservation of the environment and mental bills. This parliamentary group has played a follow-up actions to the Rio Summit are its general significant tasks and the Committee takes care of the following role in the adoption of annual budgets for environ- in particular: mental purposes, waste management projects and 1. Examining the draft Sustainable Development the environmental chapter of the 4th Development Strategy and the Environment in order to pres- Plan. Recently, a similar group has also been estab- ent consultative viewpoints to the High Council. lished in the 7th Parliament. 2. Developing and extending databases and doc- umentation centres. Future Outlook of DoE 3. Acting as a consultant to the High Council on •Reaching the first rank among regional coun- questions related to the adoption of and partici- tries in environmental improvement. pation in international Conventions and other in- •Reaching national and international standards struments in a coherent and coordinated man- for the human as well as the natural environ- ner. ment. 4. Planning and implementing joint research •Taking account of sustainable development in projects on the implementation of regional Con- plans and projects for natural resource utiliza- ventions. tion. 5. Offering advice on any questions referred to it •Giving priority to the principle of prevention by the High Council. rather than compensation for environmental damage. •Removing and cleaning up pollution. Members of the National Committee for •Establishing a culture of conservation at all stra- Sustainable Development ta of society. Presided over by the Vice-President of the Islamic •Basing environmental decisions on research. Republic of Iran and the Director of DoE, the Com- •Involving public participation in all conservation mittee has 18 permanent members including a issues. Vice-chairman and 16 representatives from differ- ent Ministries and other related organizations. Judicial Power in the Greening Process To explain the environmental elements of judicial Secretariat decisions that have an environmental impact and to The Secretariat of the National Committee is ad- set out various aspects of the environmental legis- ministered by the Secretary of the Committee and lation, the First Conference on Environmental Law is located on the premises of DoE. was held. This was followed by training courses and workshops to refresh the judges’ memories or to Sub-Committees deepen or make more practical their knowledge of At present, there are 11 sub-committees under the the environment law. As instructed by the Constitu- National Committee. These are: tion of IR Iran, His Excellency the Head of the Ju- 1. Sub-committee on Hazardous Chemical diciary issued an order for the establishment of ad Wastes. hoc environmental courts. The Ad Hoc Council for 2. Sub-committee on the Ramsar Convention (on the Investigation and Prosecution of Environmental wetlands). Crimes, such as illegal land possession, was another 3. Sub-committee on Biodiversity (CMS and significant innovation of the Judiciary. CITES). 4. Sub-committee on Seas and Oceans (interna- tional waters); REFERENCES 5. Sub-committee on Climate Change. 6. Sub-committee on the Global Environment Fa- 1. DoE, 2004. Collected Laws and Regulations on cility (GEF). Environmental 7. Sub-committee on the Forests Principles. Protection. 2. DoE, Office for Parliamentary and Legal Affairs.2005. 8. Sub-committee on Agenda 21. 3. DoE, 2003. International Conventions and Protocols. 9. Sub-committee on Sustainable Urban Devel- opment Management. 10. Sub-committee on Sustainable Rural Devel- opment Management. 11. Sub-committee on Green Consumption and

State of the Invironment 35



4 Air State of the Invironment 37 AIR Introduction other factors that affect air quality for better or Air pollutants may be divided into natural and worse, such as air currents, the topography of a synthetic pollutants and a large proportion of air location and the amount as well as the number of pollutants are of a natural origin. Only 20% of pollutants discharged from various sources. SO2, 10% of CO, 5% of O, 5% of CH and 6% 1 • 1 • 2 Increasing Energy Consumption of aerosols are synthetic. The significance of The ever increasing demand for the various pollutants from human activities is due to the types of energy is the obvious consequence of speed of their release compared with natural urbanization and industrialization. ones. Energy consumption increased by 5.1% in Synthetic pollutants are mainly produced from 2004 and reached the equivalent of 725.1 million energy sources, in particular fossil fuels. The dust barrels of oil. produced by factories such as cement and plaster All the different types of fossil fuels factories also contributes to air pollution. were increasingly consumed in 2004; petrol 1 • Pressures consumption reached 20.5 billion litres, showing 1 • 1 Indirect Factors an average annual growth rate of 11.4%. Tehran Province consumed the greatest amount at 1 • 1 • 1 Population Growth 23.8%. The average annual growth rate for petrol Fast population growth causes the unplanned consumption was 8.2% during the period 1997- development of urban areas and unusual changes 2004 while diesel fuel consumption increased in consumption patterns that lead to substantial by 1.37% in 2004. The consumption of natural demand for energy as well as other basic, gas increased annually on average by 9% over infrastructural needs. Naturally, such factors various sectors during 1997-2004, increasing increase pollution. There are, of course, some 10.9% in 2004 compared with 2003. This was a Figure 4-1: Consumption of petroleum products Figure 4-2: Types of motor vehicles registered during 1997-2004 in 1992-2004 Source: Ministry of Energy, 2004 Source: Statistical Centre of Iran, 2004

38 4 Air positive point since natural gas is less harmful to the latest census administered in 2003, there the environment. Use of the other types of energy were about 480,000 industrial workshops and decreased in 2004; liquid gas decreased by 1.3%, factories countrywide. The number employed in kerosene by 9.1% and fuel oil by 8%. workshops with 10 or more employees increased (Figure 4-1) by 21% between 1997 and 2003, from 13,371 to 16,305. 1 • 1 • 3 Increase in Motor Vehicles It is worth mentioning that in 2002, 977 out Approximately 45,000 vehicles were issued of 10,987 industrial workshops with 10 or more number plates in 1989. With an average annual workers (8.9%) boasted pollution control facilities. growth rate of 28.4%, the number of vehicles Only 18.6% of these workshops had such facilities registered in 2004 increased to 2 million. The in 2001. About 28% of workshops produce number of vehicles registered in 2004 showed industrial waste material of different types - 26.5 a 157% increase over 2003. The reason for this million tons of solid wastes, 14.6 million Sq m of unexpected increase was that six times more liquid waste and 5.8 million Sq m of gas wastes motor-cycles were registered in 2004 than 2003 (Statistical Centre of Iran, 2001 and 2002). (Figure 4-2). The total number of motor vehicles 1 • 2 Direct Factors registered by the end of 2004 reached 5.9 1 • 2 • 1 Pollution Released into the million. Atmosphere • In 2004, the energy sector, from production to 1 • 1 • 4 Inefficient Fuel Consumption consumption, released various types of pollutants Patterns into the atmosphere (Ministry of Energy, 2004): The make of a car as well as its age determine 1.11 Million tons of NO. how much fuel it needs to run for, say, 100 Km. 1.12 Million tons of SO2. Among common cars in Iran, the Matiz by Daewoo 333.5 Million tons of CO2. uses the least fuel (about 8 L\100 Km) and the 0.015 Million tons of SO3. Nissan Pickup uses the most (32 L\100 Km). (see: 7.4 Million tons of CO. Figure 4-3) 1.7 Million tons of CH. In Iran, the average fuel consumption of cars 0.3 Million tons of SPM. and pickups is 10.75 litres per day, while it is 1.9 •The rates of increase of the various pollutants litres in France, 2.5 litres in Japan and Germany, released into the atmosphere in 2004 were: 3.5 litres in UK, 6.5 litres in Canada, 7.8 litres in 1.6% for CO2. Mexico and 7.3 litres in the USA (Fuel Consumption 5% for NO. Optimizing Company, 2005). 5.4% for SPM. Depreciation of the vehicles as well as old age 11.3% for CH. increase fuel consumption. In 2004, the average 11.8% for CO. age of passenger transport vehicles in Iran was The release of SO3 and SO2 decreased by 3.7% 18.2 years, five months more than in the previous and 4.2%, respectively, due to a reduction in the year. The average longevity for buses is 13.5 use of fuel oil and diesel over the same period. years, for minibuses 20.8 years and for cars 14.9 •Fossil fuels contributed in the release of years. The average age of freight vehicles was the gas and greenhouse gas pollutants too. The 21.6 years in 2004, about three months more greatest quantities of CO (97.9%) and CH (76.3%) than in the previous year. pollutants were from petrol consumption. Similarly, AIR | the greatest amounts of NO (47.3%) and of SPM (81.3%) were from diesel fuel consumption and 1 • 1 • 5 Industry the highest amounts of SO2 (56.7%) and of SO3 The industrial sector includes all types of small (66.2%) came from fuel oil consumption. The and large factories and workshops. According to largest quantity of CO2 (45%) came from natural Figure 4-3: Fuel consumption of various makes of cars Figure 4-4: Contribution of the various types of fossil fuels Source 11: Ministry of Energy, 2004 to pollutant release Source: Ministry of Energy, 2004

State of the Invironment 39 gas consumption (Figure 4-4). of all SPM released into the atmosphere (Figure •In 2004, 151.1 grams of carbon, 1.7 grams 4-11). Figure 4-7 shows that pollutant release by of SO2 and 0.8 grams of nitrogen per one KW/h the industrial sector has been increasing over the electricity were released by power stations. three last decades, although this process slowed down in the mid-1990s. (3)Transport 1 • 2 • 2 Gas and Greenhouse Gas In 2004, about 30.4% of the total amount Pollutants Released by Energy- of energy consumed was used in this sector and there was a 5.7% increase over 2003. This consuming Sectors: sector consumes 57% of the total amount of all Energy consuming sectors that release petrochemical products in the country, mainly pollutants may be studied under five headings: petrol (20 billion litres) and diesel fuel (15 (1)Household, Commercial and General billion litres). The maximum amount of all fuel In 2004, the largest percentage of total oil consumed, 624.4 million barrels, was used kerosene consumption (94.6%) was in this sector. for sea transport. The largest share of pollutants 12.7% of all diesel fuel, 11.3% of all fuel oil, 36% released from fossil fuel consumption belonged of all natural gas and 82% of all liquid gas was to this sector too. 64.3% of all nitrogen oxides, also consumed in this sector. As far as pollutants 29.3% of all SO2, 27.5% of all CO2, 24.8% of are concerned, 12.8% of the total amount all SO3, 98.6% of all CO, 96.3% of all CH and AIR | 79.2% of all SPM produced were released by this of SO2, 12% of SO3, 0.9% of CO, 0.7% of CH sector (Figure 4-11) (Source 3). Considering the and 3.5% of SPM released into the atmosphere increasing number of motor vehicles entering came from activities in this sector (Figure 4-11 the roads in recent years, this increasing rate of and Table 4-1). In 2004, the greatest percentage pollutant release is not unexpected (Figure 4-8). of the total amount (30%) of CO2 released into Petrol and diesel fuel are the two most common the atmosphere came from this sector. This was types of energy used in road transport and they mainly because almost all the kerosene as well as are responsible for many of the damages inflicted 36% of the natural gas that was consumed in the to the environment. The damages corresponded country was used in this sector. to 52,050 billion Rials, in 2004 alone; 58% of the amount was caused by the transport section. (2)Industrial (4)Power Plants The most prevalent fossil fuels used for industry The section consumed 5.5% of all the diesel in 2004were fuel oil (48%), natural gas (14.4%) fuel, 36.3% of the furnace oil, 36% of the natural and diesel fuel (7.5%). This sector produced gas and produced 11.2% of all the Nitrogen 29.9% of all SO2, 15.1% of all CO2, 34.1% of Oxides, 22.6% of the SO2, 24.4% of the CO2, all SO3, 0.3% of all CO, 0.4% of all CH and 4.3% Figure 4-5: Gas and greenhouse gas pollutant release Figure 4-6: Changes in the process of pollutant release (energy origin) Source: Ministry of Energy, 2004 Source: Ministry of Energy, 2004 Table 4-1: Gas and greenhouse gas releases by energy-users (tons) in 2004 SO SPM CH CO NOx SO CO 3 2 2 Household, Commercial 1766 10591 11758 69468 97121 143377 100206121 and General Industry 5059 12916 6737 19067 116127 336564 50207812 Transportation 3651 238642 1642621 7282205 715088 329081 91835364 Agriculture 367 25712 41264 17845 58959 60410 9946162 Power Plants 3884 13427 4168 171 123953 254413 81268496 Total 14727 301288 1706548 7388756 1111248 1123845 333463955 Source: Ministry of Energy, 2004

40 4 Air 26.4% of the SO3, 0.2% of the CH and 4.5% of while the emission of CO2 has been on the rise the SPM consumed and produced in 2004 (Figure in all other sectors. It is to be noted that ideal or 4-11)., Release of SO2 had decreased by 2004 otherwise, CO2 is itself a pollutant and, as far as compared to 1997, however, the release of the the greenhouse gas pollutants are concerned, it is nitrogen oxides increased during the same period a harmful gas. (Figure 4-9). The Carbon Release Index per KW h electricity had decreased in the various types of 1 • 2 • 3 Ozone-depleting Substances the power stations by 2004 (Figure 4-10). Ozone is a scarce element in and around the (5)Agriculture atmosphere. It is mostly (85% of the total) found Using 3,670.5 million litres of diesel fuel, 80.3 in the stratosphere at a 15-30 Km altitude. Its million litres of kerosene and 141.1 million litres maximum concentration is 300 ppm. Despite the of petrol, the agriculture sector was among those fact that ozone is considered to be a pollutant in sectors that consumed the least energy 2004. The the lower layers of the atmosphere, it is absolutely sector’s share in the release of pollutants such as essential at higher levels to preserve the Earth. As CO, SPM and SO3 was 5.3%, 0.2% and 2.5%, a matter of fact it plays a vital role as a shield that respectively, and was also minimal (Figure 4-11). prevents the hazardous, harmful radiation from ultraviolet rays from reaching us. Emissions of Figure 4-7: Changing trend of gas pollutants released Figure 4-8: Changing trend of gas pollutants released by industry by the transport sector Source: Ministry of Energy, 2004 Source: Ministry of Energy, 2004 Figure 4-9: Changing trend of gas pollutants released Figure 4-10: Changing trend of gas pollutants released by power stations by thermal power stations Source: Ministry of Energy, 2004 Source: Ministry of Energy, 2004 Figure 4-11: Contribution of energy-using sectors to Figure 4-12: Changing trend of gas pollutants released by release the agriculture sector of gas and greenhouse gas pollutants Source: Ministry of Energy, 2004 Source: Ministry of Energy, 2004

State of the Invironment 41 CFCs and some other gases have caused serious release of dust. damage to the Ozone layer in various parts of •Air pollution caused by dust and sand the world in the recent years. In Iran, the use of storms. ozone-depleting substances which was only 1,331 •Air pollution caused by burning waste tons in 1987 had increased to 7,050 tons by 1998. vegetation. Attempts were made to slow down that trend and 2 State and Impact the use of such materials was curbed in 1999- 2000. Unfortunately, however, that a new and 2 • 1 Nitrogen Oxides unprecedented surge has already begun (Figure NO and NO2 are among the most significant 4-14). air-pollutants. NO2 is a visible gas that changes to suspended nitrogen particles (NO3) as a result number plates every day and enter the streets of complicated atmospheric reactions. Humidity in Tehran, making its already polluted weather reacts with NO and NO2 to form nitric Acids which even worse. corrode metals and construction materials. If the AIR | concentration of NO2 exceeds 0.25 ppm, visibility is considerably reduced. In an environment 1 • 2 • 4 Other Pollutants containing an NO2 concentration of 0.5 ppm or •Pollution caused by mining activities and more, plants lose much of their growing potential CO2 In the fossil fuel combustion cycle when Carbon and Oxygen react, the ideal expected result would be production of CO2. An incomplete reaction of these two elements results in CO which is a much more hazardous pollutant. Figure 4-13 shows the CO2 released by the various energy-user sectors in 1997-2004. As this Figure 4-shows, only in the agricultural and industrial sectors has the release of CO2 decreased or remained constant, Figure 4-13: Changing trend of CO2 releases in different sectors Source: Ministry of Energy, 2004 TEHRAN Tehran, the capital city of the Islamic Republic of Iran, spans an area of 570 Sq Km and it is located at a longitude of 51 degrees, 17’ and 51 degrees, 33’ East and a latitude of 35 degrees, 36’, and 35 degrees, 42’ North. Its altitude at Mehrabad Airport is 1,191 m above sea level. Tehran is bounded in the North by Shemiran or ‘Tajrish’ (1,700 m above sea level), in the South by Shahreray (1,060 m) in the East by Damavand (1,960 m) and in the West by Karaj (1,320 m). Being surounded by highlands to the North, West and East and covering a fairly vast area, Tehran’s has a very specific climate. Climatologically speaking, Tehran belongs to the Mediterranean Dry Zone with an average annual rainfall of 25.04 mm. Prevailing winds blow in the West of Tehran from West to East and in the East of the city from South to North, , or vice versa. Most of the static pollution sources can be located in the South, West and Southwest of the city. So it is clear that winds blowing through the pollution sources carry pollutants into and scatter them all over the city. Atmospheric inversion is another factor that affects Tehran throughout the year, rendering air movements almost non-existent and the concentration of the pollutants very high. According to the census administered in 1997, Tehran housed 6.5 million people, almost 4.5 times its population of 1.5 million of 1957. The Iranian Statistical Centre estimated Tehran’s population at 7.5 million in 2004. It is ironic that as many as 2,731 new motor vehicles receive

42 4 Air within 10-12 days. Monitoring revealed that the matters may come from natural sources or from average annual concentration of NO2 showed a combustive processes and industrial activities. If decreasing trend in Tehran in the period 2002- the size of the particles is more than 1 micron 2004 (Figure 4-15). (and less than 500 microns) they may remain suspended in the atmosphere for a few seconds 2 • 2 Sulfur Dioxide or even a few months. Such particles darken the SO2 is a heavy colourless gas produced from the air and obscure visibility in cities and towns; the combustion of fossil fuels, especially diesel fuel. It more the particles the more polluted the air. is detrimental to both plant and human health. It The standard, authorized amount of SPM in the is also an important component of acid rain. It can air is 92.6 ug/cubic metre. SPM pollution in Tehran affect the sense of taste in concentrations of 0.3-1 has become chronic and, despite the reduction ppm and it smells foul in concentrations of 3 ppm in the number of the critical days, the average or more. Diesel fuelled vehicles, despite having a annual release of the SPM is very high (Office for small share of all traffic, produce almost all of the Air Pollution (DoE), 2004). SO2 originating from fixed sources. 2 • 3 Carbon Monoxide 2 • 5 Air Quality in Tehran CO is a colorless, odorless and poisonous Figures 18 and 19 show air quality as extracted gas that is dangerously harmful to all animals, from the data obtained from 11 air quality- humans included, even at a low density. The monitoring stations. higher the altitude, the worse the effects of CO. Despite the fact that the number of the motor CO is generated by the incomplete combustion of vehicles has increased daily in Tehran over recent fossil fuels. CO becomes fatal if the concentration years, the air pollution has not. The levels of some exceeds 750 ppm. In urban areas, CO concentration of the polluting elements have remained constant depends on the traffic load as well as the climatic or even decreased. conditions. Figure 4-16 shows the level of CO release in Tehran during 2000-2004, as monitored in the seven stations run by DoE. 3 Response Factors 3 • 1 DoE Activities 2 • 4 Suspended Particle Matter (SPM) The Department of the Environment (DoE), A particle matter is any substance other than following specified strategies and in accordance pure water that exists in the atmosphere, in solid with the principle of maintaining the stability or liquid form, under normal conditions. Particle of air quality, has taken extensive measures to Figure 4-15: SO2 and NO2 releases in Tehran, 2002-2004 Figure 4-14: Use of ozone-depleting substances by various sectors Source: Office for Air Pollution (DoE), 2004 1996-2003 Source: Office for the Protection of the Ozone Layer (DoE), 2004 Figure 4-16: Average annual release of CO in Tehran, 2000- Figure 4-17: Average annual release of SPM in Tehran, 2004 2000-2004 Source: Office for Air Pollution (DoE), 2004 Source: Office for Air Pollution (DoE), 2004

State of the Invironment 43 reduce air pollution in the country. These actions sophisticated testing equipment, enabling it to include the implementation of national as well as offer its services even beyond the boundaries international projects. of the country. A supervising committee of the 3 • 1 • 1 Monitoring Air Pollution representatives of Tehran Municipality, the Traffic Currently, there are 11 Monitoring Stations Organization and DoE has been set up to oversee (seven stations are under the management of the Centre’s activities. DoE and four stations are run by the Air Pollution 3 • 1 • 3 Pollution from Fixed Sources Control Company of Tehran Municipality) as well •DoE has taken many steps to reduce air- as two Mobile Monitoring Stations, in Tehran. Data pollution caused by fixed sources: obtained by these stations are transferred to a •Following up projects to transform power centre through a network on a daily basis. Each stations from fuel to natural gas. station measures the amount of O3, PM10, CO, •Following up efforts to provide natural gas for SO2, THC and NMHC according to the standards fuelling power stations. specified and determines the pollution level. •Establishment of an Instant Monitoring System There are also 17 Monitoring Stations operating for cement mills. under local branches of DoE in some cities. •Use of solar energy in Chaharmahal Bakhtiyari There is a programme to increase the number Province; of the monitoring stations to 30 in Tehran and to •Installation of solar cells for lighting in Pardissan 80 in the country. Park. 3 • 1 • 2 Monitoring Motor Vehicle •Conducting research projects to investigate Pollution the environmental effects of the pollutants from Carrying out tests to determine the polluting fixed sources. potential of brand new cars is one of the •Providing noise pollution standards. responsibilities of DoE. The establishment of the •Efforts gradually to eliminate asbestos. Car Pollution Research Centre was a successful •Monitoring all industries for environmental undertaking of the Department. This plan was problems. initiated by an agreement concluded between •Encourage the use of natural gas in place of the Department and the Ministry of Industry and other fuels. Mining in 2002. The Centre was later expanded to cover the testing of motorcycles in 2005. 3 • 1 • 4 National Projects The Centre was officially inaugurated in early (1) Optimizing Energy Consumption 2006. The Centre boasts some of the most The achievement of the following goals was the Figure 4-18: Comparison of (environmentally) safe and Figure 4-19: Monthly comparison of the percentageof unsafe days, 2004-2005 (environmentally) safe and unsafe days, 2004-2005 Source: Office for Air Pollution (DoE), 2004 Source: Office for Air Pollution (DoE), 2004

44 4 Air intended outcome of this project: •Equipping vehicle testing centres. •Reduction in air-polluting substances; (3) Study, Research, Monitoring and Training •Optimizing energy carrier consumption; Project •Improving and renewing energy consumption •The goal of this project was to determine systems; commuting patterns, to establish a better energy •Reducing petrol consumption of privately- consumption culture and to mobilize the public owned cars. to alter their energy use habits. To achieve these (2) Petrol Station Repair and Rebuilding goals, the following projects are being carried out: Project •Enhancing technology and developing a plasma •There are eight cities in the country with air to eliminate exhaust from diesel fuel engines; pollution problems from vehicle exhaust emissions. •Development of national standards for the This project is being implemented to reduce the release of gases from domestic heating pollution a standard level in those cities. systems; •Adjusting taxi and car engines to emit less •Investigating the effects of electromagnetic harmful gases; fields on the human immune system; •Optimizing car ignition systems with •Development of standards for mobile telephone Electronically-controlled Utility; electromagnetic waves; •Removing sump from the engine and cleansing •Studying methods for dismantling old and it; obsolete cars; •Procuring and installing electronic carburetor •Examining and comparing the technical- systems; economic advantages of electric vehicles •Changing fuel to CNG; to combustion-engine vehicles in public •Installing three-way catalytic convertors; transport; DoE Actions to Eliminate Ozone-depleting Substances Implementing Projects to Eliminate or Substitute Ozone Layer Depleting Substances: Since 1994 till the end of the year 2005, by using the financial resources obtained through the implementation of 112 investment projects, 209 industrial units that used ozone depleting materials as defined in Montreal Protocol, were given financial support to stop using such materials. In this way, about 4,428 tons of ozone-depleting substances were removed from the production cycles of those units using the materials (Figure 4-20). There are still 843 tons of such substances to be removed by the end of 2006. That being accomplished, 95% of all Freon gas used in refrigeration and 71% of other types of harmful gases, used in foam industry, shall no longer be used. Legal Actions and Law Enforcement: • Ratification of the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer. • Ratification of Montreal Protocol and the London and Copenhagen Additional Protocols. • Prohibition on the Import of the Compressors that use Ozone-depleting Substances. • Prohibition on the issuing of operating licences for starting businesses that use ODS. • Prohibiting the development of businesses that use ODS. • Collection of information about all businesses that import ODS. • Reduction of custom duties on non-Freon compressors. Establishment of the system of acquiring import-export permits for ODS Figure 4-20: Ozone-depleting substances in different units, both used and removed Source: Office for the Protection of the Ozone Layer (DoE), 2004

State of the Invironment 45 •A Comprehensive Plan for raising public The project was initiated in 2000 following the awareness about reducing air pollution. adoption of a ten-year comprehensive programme (4) Reduction in Air Pollution from Natural and it has so far accomplished many of its goals. Disasters In Tehran, the programme hinges around seven The following sub-projects are to be carried axes as follows. out: Axis 1: Renault Cars: In 2001, in accordance •Establishing a database; with the Air Pollution Prevention Act and its related •Studying the air pollution potential of by-laws, DoE was given the task of controlling atmospheric phenomena, such as inversion; the polluting potential of all cars manufactured •Examining the quantitative and qualitative in the country. The following standards had to be effects of man-made air pollution as well as observed by all car-makers: that caused by natural phenomena; •Standard 1504–ECE, resulting in a 50% •Education and Training; reduction in emissions from car exhausts; •Surveying the means of remedying air pollution •Standard EURO II; caused by the running gas network in the event •Standard EURO I for diesel fuel engine of a natural disaster in large cities; vehicles; •Surveying forest natural resources to calculate •Standards 01 and 40 ECE for motorcycles; their pollution potential in the event of Axis 2: Worn-out cars: surveys show that accidents. ageing, worn-out cars are responsible for 80% of (5) Comprehensive Air Pollution Programmes air pollution in Tehran. Attempts are being made The most noTable 4-achievements of DoE in this to improve the condition of such cars or to stop area have been in the eight cities of Isfahan, Arak, them running and remove them from the streets. Ahwaz, Tabriz, Tehran, Shiraz, Karaj and Mashhad. Axis 3: Public Transport: CLEAN-AIR DAY The Executive Committee on Air Pollution Reduction declared the 19th of January every year as Clean Air Day to sensitise the public about environmental issues. Taking account of the axes of the comprehensive programme for reducing air pollution in Tehran, a specific topic has been attached to the Clean Air Day in each year. This began in 2002 and continued as follows: •2002 The Year of Technical Testing of Motor Vehicles; •2003 The Year of Clean Fuel, Clean Air (CNG Year) •2004 The Year of Green Public Transport; •2005 The Year of National Determination to Substitute Worn-out Cars; AIR | •Develop Approaches to Reduce Air-Pollution; •Develop cooperation among regional countries and establish monitoring systems for the release of sulfur, nitrogen and evaporating organic compounds;

46 4 Air •Putting 1,700 CNG Buses into service in Tehran shown on TV. and 10 Buses in Mashhad; ●Environmental Activities and International •Improving rail transport in some cities, Co-operation including Tehran. a) Iran-France Letter of Understanding Axis 4: Fuels: improving fuel quality and substi- aimed at: tuting highly-polluting fuels with less-polluting •Enhancing the level of public awareness; ones play an important role in reducing pollution. •Reviewing and Revising Rules and Regulations AIR | on Pollutants in Tehran; Improving fuel quality includes the following •Assisting in making useful future technical measures: using lead-free petrol, distributing decisions. high-octane petrol, adding authorized dditives b) Iran-Japan Joint Programme for Air to petrol, distributing low-sulfur diesel fuel, Quality Management (Jaika, 2002-2005): standardizing diesel fuel and using CNG. •This programme focuses on the training Axis 5: Motor Vehicle Technical Testing: this is of expert manpower able to make use of the easiest and cheapest way to ensure car safety modern technologies for air quality control and to reduce pollution caused by inefficient fuel management. combustion. c) World Bank Financial Facilities Axis 6: Traffic Management: traffic jams are for Strengthening Environmental the most notorious cause of air pollution and Management: cause many economic, psychological and social •Strengthening environmental management in problems. Traffic Management is the modern, Iran; scientific approach to solve traffic problems. •Increasing DoE capacity for monitoring water Using computerized traffic lights, especially in and air pollution; over-loaded and jammed cross-roads, designating •Enforcing laws and standards concerning certain districts of Tehran as Traffic Zones where water and air quality; a special permit is required for the cars to enter d) The Mallet Declaration Project: those zones, and other decisions of this kind are •The 7th Session of the Governmental Council discussed in traffic management courses. for the South Asia Cooperative Environment Axis 7: Education and Training: among other Programme (SACEP) the in Maldives’ capital factors the, enhancement of public awareness approved this project to achieve, amongst of the environment plays a significant role in other things, the following goals: preventing rather than remedying pollution. The •Investigate the origin and causes of air following activities were carried out in relation to pollution in the region; this. •Nomination of certain days for environmental events such as Clean Air Day; •Establishing the Blue Sky Site: www. 3 • 2 Environmental Performance of iranbluesky.net; •Publication of the Clean Air Periodical; Organizations and Ministries •Holding a National Congress on Air Pollution; •Presentation of specialized scientific articles; Fuel Consumption Optimization •Production of environmental films to be Organization of Iran Table 4-2: Some projects carried out to reduce air pollution Title of the Project Outcome Preventing the Burning Reduction of Pollutants 241 million Cubic Ft of Release (18000 Tons) in Gas through AMAC the Air Preventing the Burning Forestalling National of 320,000 Barrels of Oil through MOT Capital Loss Installing Spare High Forestalling the Burning of Pressure Gas Compressors 90 Million Cubic Ft of Gas Collecting and Processing Reduction of Nitrogen 40 Million Cubic Ft of Sour Gas per day Oxides in the Air Figure 4-21: Use of LTE in Tehran Refinery Source: Ministry of Petroleum, 2006 Source: Ministry of Petroleum, 2006

State of the Invironment 47 •CNG Project (two-phase); REFERENCES •Bringing a gas network to Chaharmahal-o- Bakhtiyari Province; 1.DoE, 2003. First Research Periodical on the Environment. •Increasing the output of kerosene heaters 2.DoE, 2004. Government Report on the Environment. and teaching their correct utilization; 3.DoE, 2005a. SoE Report of Iran. • Project for using solar energy to heat water; 4. DoE, 2005b Office of Air Pollution Survey, Report on the •Manufacturing and distributing high output Comprehensive Programme for Air Pollution Reduction in Tehran and other Polluted Cities. heaters and water heaters; 5. DoE, 2006. Eight-Year Performance Report. 6. Fuel Consumption Optimizing Company Website: Ministry of Petroleum http://www.ifco.ir. •Growth of natural gas share in the total 7. Ministry of Energy,2004. Deputy for Energy Affairs, Office of Energy Planning. national energy basket from 38% in 1997, 8. Ministry of Petroleum, 2006. A Review of the Major to 57% in 2005, Activities. •Supplying 10 million households with natural 9. National Transportation and Terminals Organization, gas facilities in 2005; 2005. Transport at a Glimpse. 10. Office for Air Pollution (DoE), 2004. Eight-year •Building 71 CNG filling stations in 19 cities; Performance Report. •Reducing the burning of gases accompanying 11. Office for the Protection of the Ozone Layer (DoE), crude oil extraction in the southern oil fields, 2004. Statistical Office for Ozone-depleting Substances. from 45% in 1993 to 26.34% in 2004; 12. Statistical Centre of Iran, 2004. Statistical Yearbook. 13. Statistical Centre of Iran, 2003. Statistics on •Total elimination of lead from petrol and the Workshops with a Workforce of Ten or More. distribution of lead-free petrol throughout 14. Statistical Centre of Iran, 2001. Environmental the country since 2003; Impacts of Industrial and Mining Activities from a •Reducing the use of lead tetra ethylene (LTE) Statistical Viewpoint. 15. Statistical Centre of Iran, 2002. Environmental in Tehran Refinery (Figure 4-21); Impacts of Industrial and Mining Activities from a •Distributing low sulfur diesel Fuel in Tehran, Statistical Viewpoint. Isfahan, Shiraz and Karaj since 2001; 16. Tehran Transportation Traffic Comprehensive Studies Company, Transport at a Glimpse, 2005. 3 • 3 Studies and Activities Clean Technologies •Equipping the refrigeration industry with modern technologies; •Encouraging the industries that use ODS to convert to environmentally-friendly materials; •Optimizing the fuel consumption of domestic heating systems; •Supplying electricity to agricultural water pumps; Green Spaces •Re-forestation of the area around Tehran and increasing the green space available per capita, especially in the larger, more polluted cities; •Creating Green Belts around the larger cities. •Creating Green Breathing Lungs. Renewable Energies The use of hydro-electric power stations, hydrogen, wind, solar, and geo-thermal energies is now being considered as the appropriate substitute for fossil fuels. Figure 4-21: Use of LTE in Tehran Refinery Source: Ministry of Petroleum, 2006



5 The Earth State of the Invironment 49 The Earth people to use and reuse land repeatedly, causing ntroduction a deterioration in land quality. Soaring land ILand is one of the resources of the Earth and, prices, using agricultural land for housing and the as such, it is limited. Apart from climate, land is lucrative business it provides are amongst the considered to be the most important component factors that lead to changes in land use. of the environment and it is also an ecological ecosystem. It is composed of a variety of diverse 1 • 2 Direct Factors biological societies in a voluminous bed of minerals 1 • 2 • 1 Agriculture and organic as well as inorganic substances that Among the factors that lead to land degradation are widely dispersed and have complicated, are the following. sophisticated interrelationships that present them •Use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides; all as a unique living body. •Inappropriate choice of products for cultivation; 1 • Pressures •Traditional methods of irrigation and 1 • 1 Indirect Factors ploughing; Indirect factors such as climate, population •Repeated use of the land. and economic activities play a role in the Earth’s degradation. As the climate changes in different parts of the country, it affects the land differently. The land in the Caspian coasts, for example, is 1 • 2 • 2 Urbanization and Changes in Land- mostly affected by water erosion; while the land Use Some of the factors influencing land quality in the desert is mostly eroded by wind. A larger include: population also means using, or even overusing, •Migration from villages to larger towns and the land more than its capacity allows. Iran’s population has more than tripled over the last 40 cities; • Development of villages into towns and years, during which time the usable area of the towns into cities; country has decreased. Economic factors force •Population growth; Figure 5-1: Use of different types of chemical fertilizers Figure 5-2: Different types of botanical pesticides sold in in 1998-2004 1998-2004 Source: Statistical Centre of Iran, 2002 Source: Statistical Centre of Iran, 2002

50 5 The Earth •Need to build new roads, more houses and of the country, burning about 5,000 hectares of other facilities. the woods. 1 • 2 • 3 Forest Exploitation Forests, the invaluable and treasured assets a 1 • 2 • 4 Rangeland Utilization nation may boast, are home to a vast variety of Over the last 15-20 years, ground cover wildlife. Endangering the life of forests endangers vegetation has been degraded due to various our own lives. Cutting down trees and destroying factors. Hydro-climatic reports show that the forests affect the ability of the forests to retain precipitation has decreased and evaporation has rainwater. Without the requisite humidity more increased, causing the condition of vegetation to trees and vegetation are then lost. The less the deteriorate even further. The main reasons for vegetation, the greater the erosion of land - the the reduction of the number and density of the vicious cycle is endless! rangelands include: Surveys show that the area of the forests has •Over-grazing of Livestock. (See: Figure decreased from 18 million hectares to 12.4 million 5-6) hectares over the last few decades. Northern •Fires. (See: Figure 5-7) forests have also decreased from 3.4 million hectares to about 1.8 million hectares. •Commercial: Industries such as carpentry, 1 • 2 • 5 Burning Crop Residues papermaking, or home and office decoration and After the harvesting crops such as corn, appliances, are responsible for much of the man- wheat or rice their residues in the form of roots, made deforestation. •Non-Commercial: The result of stems, and stalks, remain on the land and are a food source for the micro-organisms that live The Earth | in the land. It is unfortunate that most farmers inappropriate methods of forest and woodland burn these, causing the better part of the carbon exploitation, this has also contributed to they contain (50 to 70 per cent of the organic deforestation, despite the fact that some vast areas have been allocated to tree plantation in substance) to be wasted. recent years. 1 • 2 • 6 Mining •Land clearance: Clearing the land of trees Iran is rich in mines and mining is a common for growing crops is another human activity that activity in most parts of the country. Mining, the leads to deforestation. use of explosives, digging and excavating all affect •Fire: This is another important cause of forest the environment and degrade not only the surface destruction and human activity is the commonest of the land, but deep inside it as well. cause of forest fires. In 2004 alone, more than In 2003, there were 2,955 active mines in the 500 cases of fire have been reported in the forests country, 2.2% more than in 2002. Figure 5-3: Wood products from the northern forests Figure 5-4: Unauthorized wood collecting and charcoal Source: Statistical Centre of Iran, 2002 production 1998-2004 Source: Energy Planning Office, 2004 Figure 5-5: The number of forest fires and the areas burnt, Figure 5-6: Different types of livestock in the country, 1994- 1997-2004 2004 Source: Statistical Centre of Iran, 2002 Source: Statistical Centre of Iran, 2002