We do not allow the implementation of the petrochemical project in the north of the country
According to Moj News Agency, Ali Selajgeh, referring to the impact of internal and external crises on the country’s environment, said: “Climate change has caused biodiversity and diversity of cultures, while Iran’s environment in the world is struggling with many problems.” Softens. Therefore, we should not compare our rankings with other countries. In Nairobi, Kenya, the issue of plastics was discussed, and out of the 13 issues discussed, three were approved, and even in the plastic debate, we had some restrictions.
He added: “In the environment, two basic issues should be on the agenda. These are the two issues of domestic and foreign diplomacy. In the water debate, when the environment ministers of different countries were invited to Iran in 1990, the Saudi Minister of Environment did not participate in this meeting. We have identified internal and external sources of air pollution and dust and 270 million hectares of the source of these particles. Most of the fine dust that enters Iran from outside our borders is from the Arabian Peninsula, which does not cooperate with us.
The need to strengthen foreign diplomacy
Selajgeh continued: “Environmental issues are effective in creating public dissatisfaction.” The problem with water is not entirely internal. We have a problem with Helmand. There is the Kajaki Dam with a capacity of 1.7 billion cubic meters, and we expect 21 cubic meters of water to enter. Also, the Kamal Khan Dam and the Turkish Gap project have made our water situation more dangerous than ever. It does not come in and we pay for these plans. It must be admitted that Turkey is managing the water issue in the region. We do not have water in the Zabul basin to enter Hamun and all our hopes are for Helmand. Foreign diplomacy must be strengthened to solve these problems.
Complex condition of groundwater aquifers
The head of the Environmental Protection Organization continued: The Environmental Protection Organization should be the most powerful organization in the country. We compiled the water table of wetlands and rivers based on the period of water shortage, between water and high water and gave it to the Ministry of Energy. The allocation of these water rights is beyond our control and the Ministry of Energy must take action. Also, the situation of the country’s aquifers is complicated.
“The waste working group is formed every week by the Environmental Protection Agency,” he said. On the issue of air pollution, the Minister of Interior held a meeting with the presence of all responsible parties, and the duties, responsibilities, and the percentage of progress of the devices’ actions were determined, both quantitatively and qualitatively.
The head of the Environmental Protection Agency added: “When it comes to polluting motorcycles, there is talk of burning 700,000 motorcycles and dismantling carburetor engines.” At this stage, it must be determined which person or institution is responsible for implementing this plan. In this working group, what is the role of the governor, the municipality and any other responsible institution?
Referring to the issue of waste, Selajgeh continued: “In the discussion of waste, we are creating space and culture and we are completing the infrastructure. We always say that we start culture building first from the executive apparatus and we have reviewed it in the instructions.” Establishment criteria have also been reviewed.
He added: “We have 48 industrial spots around Tehran, many of whose units operate illegally, destroying water and soil and polluting them.” That is why the Environmental Protection Organization must be the strongest organization in the country. The incident must be treated before it occurs.
Calculate dirty waste money turnover for the first time
“For the first time in the field of waste, we have calculated the dirty money turnover of waste,” said the head of the Environmental Protection Agency. Our waste management working group is also formed every week.
We do not allow the implementation of the petrochemical project in the north of the country
Referring to the project to build a petrochemical plant in the north of the country, Selajgeh said: “This project has no environmental permit at all and we will stand against it.” We at the Environmental Protection Agency will not allow anyone to carry out this project without obtaining an environmental permit.
Referring to the environmental duties of municipalities, he said: Municipalities must fulfill their duties in solving environmental problems. 20% of the pollution tax was supposed to be spent on the environment, but now this revenue goes to the municipalities. Why is this budget going to the municipality when problems such as the sewage problem – which is a common cause of urban and environmental problems – have not been solved?
Regarding the management of wetlands, especially Lake Urmia, Selajgeh said: “Hardware projects were successfully implemented to rehabilitate Lake Urmia, and the second phase of this software project has been prepared.” This software plan for managing Urmia is a program for managing all wetlands in the country.
We do not have a cultivation pattern map yet
He added: “Today, our problem is no longer the problems of little water. Fertilizers and toxins that enter the waters in addition to quantity; Water quality has also changed. This is where the Ministry of Jihad for Agriculture must be held accountable. There is no map of cultivation pattern in our country yet.
“Assessing ecosystem potential is on the agenda of the Environmental Protection Agency,” Selajgeh stressed. Any industry that wants to be launched is priced by us and loading is done only if it is cost-effective and environmentally friendly. In our latest action, we introduced 411 projects that do not have an environmental assessment. There are many problems in the law on environmental assessment that need to be addressed and this law should be prepared as soon as possible.
Insignificant environmental budget
He added: The system of the Environment Organization is one of the best systems in the whole government system. This system also has problems and we are trying to fix it. The total budget of the Environmental Protection Organization is 2,000 billion tomans, and with a simple calculation, we can see how small this figure is compared to the problems that the environment is struggling with.
He continued: The team of the Environment Fund is very young and efficient. It is determined that the money of this fund will be used only to provide facilities and solve the country’s environmental problems. There are many problems. Repeated Article 22 of the country’s trade union law seems to eliminate the environment and mines operate without environmental permission. In mines in areas such as Natanz, we have reached the threshold of fragility, and road construction and mines have destroyed vegetation. The existence of this fund, which has an operating bank for each issue, is effective in solving environmental problems. The fund has a credit of 1000 billion tomans and banks should also add their credit to this number.
“According to the IUCN, protected areas should cover 17% of the country’s area,” Selajgeh said. In our country, this number is currently 11.5 percent. People live in this defined area. Therefore, in addition to protection, we try to have a sustainable livelihood. The environment is a grassroots issue, while the abandonment of government institutions is common. The system of government must address these problems, and the people must monitor and hold the EPA accountable.
“Using the new technologies of knowledge-based companies can also help us a lot,” Selajgeh concluded. If we could use technology instead of manpower, we would have far fewer casualties. The presence of this equipment reduced the number of our 145 martyred guards – 47 of whom were recognized as martyrs.