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Chaloos,
Iran- June 1, 1999
A
biodiversity workshop was held in the northern city of Chaloos
to discuss the environmental issues in forest ecosystems. This
workshop was held by the Iranian Department of Environment in
collaboration with UNDP, GEF and IRGWF.
The
workshop was a good opportunity for researchers, government
officials and environmental activists to share their views
regarding problems facing conservation and protection of Iranian
forests. Mr.
Roshan-Zamir, the head of DOE in the province of Mazandaran,
delivered the inauguration speech. He mentioned that there were
about 500,000 ha. of land under the protection of DOE in that
province. He further introduced the protected areas and the
activities of DOE to protect valuable land resources.
Mr.
Fazel, the coordinator of the Biodiversity Action Plan of Iran,
was the next speaker who elaborated on the importance of the
Plan from the national and international viewpoints. He further
discussed the need for coordination between the strategies and
the action plans and also the need to look at the action plans
as a project with complete structural functions.
Mr.
Smart was the next speaker. He gave a brief introduction of IUCN,
including its history and activities. He further mentioned the
Biodiversity Convention and the rapid increase of member
parties. He added that the forest ecosystems of Iran, especially
forests in the northern parts of Iran, were important ecosystems
from the international viewpoints.
The next speaker was Mr. Manser who
talked about the concept of biodiversity and the need for
cooperation among government agencies, non-governmental
organizations and the public for implementation of environmental
programs.
A
discussion group was formed to discuss issues regarding the
management of forest ecosystems in Iran. A brief summary of
discussed issues is presented below.
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The area of Iranian forests is about 12.4 million ha,
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Forests cover seven percent of Iran,
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The average forest area per capita in the world is 1.6 to
1.9 ha. / Person, whereas this figure is 0.24 ha. /person in
Iran,
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There is a need for a comprehensive study on forest
distribution,
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The experts should be invited in planning sessions,
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Public involvement in decision-making process would
benefit forest conservation,
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The concept of land use was defined,
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There is a direct relationship between deforestation and
occurrence of floods,
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Contradictions among presented figures and data were
caused by sectorial view rather than wholistic view in planning
programs,
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It was announced that during the last 70 years the forest
regulations have not been changed in
accordance with national development requirements,
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There is a lack of executive power in many environmental
regulations,
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The issue of resettlement for those who reside in forests
and the obstacles in the implementation of resettlement projects
were discussed,
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Forests should be looked upon as a valuable ecosystem
with economic values,
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Biodiversity preservation encourages ecotourism,
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There is a need to preserve domestic species rather than
to introduce foreign species to the ecosystem.
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