Since 1400 (2021), the process of destruction of Zagros and Hyrcanian forests has taken an alarming pace.
According to the latest reports of the Natural Resources Organization, statistics from 1403 and 1404 show that in the first half of 1403, the area of burned regions increased by 329% compared to the same period the previous year. New reports indicate that about 46,000 hectares of natural lands burned only in the early months of 1404.
The village of Ilat, one of the areas of Marzan Abad, was also affected on November 10, 1404, by fire and burning for two consecutive days due to human factors, and because of lack of equipment and weak management in the field of environmental governance and crisis management, more than 10,000 hectares of forests were burned.
Forest fires over the past 5 years:
• 1400: About 48,000 hectares (beginning of severe drought)
• 1401: Peak of the crisis with 50,000 hectares (focus on Zagros)
• 1402: Sharp decrease to 12,000 hectares (due to spring rainfall)
• 1403: Increase again to 18,000 hectares (329% growth compared to the previous year)
Some existing challenges in dealing with environmental crises
• Severe lack of equipment and inadequate aerial firefighting
• Lack of integrated management and delayed response
• Weak supervision over human factors and land grabbing
• Direct threat to the lives and safety of residents (fire and floods)
• Irreversible destruction of wildlife and ecosystems
UNESCO 2030 Agenda – Goal 15
Protection, restoration, and promotion of sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems; sustainable forest management; combating desertification; halting and reversing land degradation; and stopping biodiversity loss.
Convention on Biological Diversity
Defense of Human Rights Association in Iran
Defense of Environment Committee
Translated by Alireza Jahan Bin
