During a High Council for Environment’s session last month presided over by President Hassan Rouhani, the borders of protected areas were revised and the alterations have drawn the ire of the environmental community.

The meeting had two items on the agenda: to study and approve the status of 11 protected zones and revise the borders of 28 others. The 11 zones had been designated as such during past administrations without the council’s approval. The official website of the Department of Environment reported that following the request of the General Inspectorate Organization of Iran, the council reviewed the cases in last week’s session and issued an official license.

With regards to Aichi Biodiversity Targets for the 2011 – 2020:
Strategic Goal C: To improve the status of biodiversity by safeguarding ecosystems, species and genetic diversity.

Target 11
By 2020, at least 17 per cent of terrestrial and inland water, and 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services, are conserved through effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative and well-connected systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, and integrated into the wider landscapes and seascapes.

Target 13
By 2020, the genetic diversity of cultivated plants and farmed and domesticated animals and of wild relatives, including other socio-economically as well as culturally valuable species, is maintained, and strategies have been developed and implemented for minimizing genetic erosion and safeguarding their genetic diversity.

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Chairman of the Parliamentary Environment Fraction
Mohammad Reza Tabesh
Email: tabesh.mr@gmail.com

Head of Department of Environment
Dr. Isa Kalantari
Tel: +98 21 88233060-1

Deputy Minister for International Affairs
Alireza Da’emi
Email: daemi@moe.gov.ir

Legal Assistant, Parliament
Reza Anjom
Email: anjom@moe.gov.ir