The Convention on Biological Diversity is an important document reflecting a turning point in attitudes towards nature. The Convention emerged with the backing of extensive scientific research, comprehensive global concern and widespread willingness to conserve nature, and acknowledges the inherent values of nature and biological diversity.

Conservation of biological resources and the environment has always been a way of life for Iranians, but the new concept of conservation of biological diversity is in line with the increasing degree of man’s influence on nature. As the disturbing and deteriorating influences of man have become increasingly more evident, establishing protected areas and safe refuges for wildlife has become essential. However, most of the damage is caused by the increasing demands of man for consumer goods and energy.

Biological diversity is seriously threatened, and the number of species listed as extinct grows daily. The Convention on Biological Diversity changed protection priorities from species to ecosystem rank. The approach may be clear, but the implementation of regulations faces many problems, mainly due to the inadequate size of protected areas, technical and administrative management inadequacies, and the discouraging rigidity of protected area laws. The new approach to protected areas and conservation of biological diversity calls for inclusion of environmental concerns in any national or regional development policy, with a broader understanding of the interactions of man and nature.

2.1 Laws, Planning and Management

The Environmental Protection Act (1974) is the major law for environmental conservation in Iran. According to this Act, four categories of natural protected areas have been established in Iran and are administered by the Department of the Environment. Although these sites have been carefully selected to represent all types of environments and habitats in Iran, it is obvious that a very low percentage of Iranian territory has been designated for conservation. This small percentage is not adequate for conservation of such a vast country. It has also been suggested that only in the protected areas do plants and animals enjoy acceptable degrees of protection. Legislation governing the environment declare many species of wildlife as “protected” and these species are legally protected wherever they may occur, but this may not always accord with “de facto” protection. Of course, protection is more effective within the protected areas where environmental protection guards are continuously present..

The Supreme Council of the Environment is a legislative body that enacts relevant regulations and the classification of protected areas. The Chairman is the President of the Islamic Republic. Other members of the Council are the Ministers of Agriculture, Foreign Affairs, Industry, Interior, Jehad-e-Sazandegi, Health and Medical Education, the Heads of the Department of Administration and Planning (formerly Plan and Budget Organization) and the Institute of Standard and Industrial Research.

Major projects require an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to evaluate the degree of damage inflicted on the environment, and the ways to reduce, eliminate or remedy these impacts. The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran is in the process of formalizing the EIA process. Biodiversity is one of the major factors which has to be fully considered and studied in the process. Special attention must be paid to the protection of natural ecosystems, such as forests and habitats of wildlife. The concept of “no net loss” of biodiversity assets will be implemented in development assessments and approvals. Projects needing an EIA and the methods of assessment will be reviewed and updated at intervals, to ensure that progress is made in keeping up with the technical know-how of international environment bodies. In international terms, Iran is the birthplace of the Ramsar Convention, which focuses on the conservation and wise use of wetland habitats and in particular their waterfowl. Much of Iran falls into the dry or semi-dry category. In such a climate the presence of wetlands, marshlands and water bodies play an important role in the well-being of the natural environment, wildlife and human beings. There are more than one hundred sizable wetlands in Iran, 20 of which have been listed in the Ramsar Convention’s “List of Wetlands of International Importance”. 2.2 Management of Ecosystems 2.2.1 Sustainable fisheries in the Caspian Shilat Organization (Affiliated to the Ministry of Jehad-e Sazandegi) has put great emphasis on development of sustainable fisheries. Large sums of money are allocated for preservation of sturgeons. Because of their economic importance, fishing of caviar-producing sturgeons is the sole responsibility of Shilat. On the other hand, Shilat also monitors fishing methods to prevent over-fishing and damage to fish stocks. For example, beach seining is the only allowed fishing system by which licensed cooperatives are allowed to catch bony fishes other than kilka. In order to prevent illegal fishing, marine guards control fishing activities in the Caspian. Shilat has established the Iranian Fisheries Research and Training Organization to give technical and scientific support for fisheries related activities. Funds are allocated to research on identification and conservation of fish stocks. Millions of fingerlings of Rutilus frisii kutum, Acipenseridae (sturgeons) and Abramis brama are produced annually in propagation centers, and released into the Caspian.

2.2.2 Sustainable fisheries in southern waters

There are nearly 336 fish species in the southern region. More than 150 are marketable within the country. At present about 35 to 40 commercial species are distributed in Iran. The total catch in southern waters was 265,000 tons in 1996. The commercial fish species include Scombermorus commerson, S. guttatus, Auxis thazard, Katsuwonus pelamis, Thunnus tonggol, and Istiophorus playpetrus. Fishing in the southern waters is being carried out by the following official bodies: Industrial Fishing Company, Fishermen’s Cooperations, and by the private sector. Shilat Organization, in order to ensure sustainable fisheries, has forbidden bottom trawling for pelagic fishes. Major     fishing methods are encircling methods, driftnet fishing, purse seining and gillnet fishing. Unlike fishing, catching shrimps is a very localized activity and most of the catch is in the three areas: Bushehr-Dayyer, Bandar Abbas-Kolahi, and Deylam-Mahshahr, all on the Persian Gulf within the main inter-tidal zones and sea-grass areas. Among other valuable aquatic resources are the bivalves. Iranian fishermen have long known pearl oysters; their natural habitats are primarily the coral islands in the Persian Gulf, but harvesting is now restricted to Lavan, Qeshm and Hendurabi islands. Shilat, in order to preserve valuable bio-resources, has taken measures to promote scientific research and to execute regulations for resource management. One of its main objectives is to conserve the fishing grounds, which helps conservation of biological diversity.

2.2.3 Sustainable Forestry

Forests are of great commercial value, and the Forests and Rangelands Organization (Affiliated to the Ministry of Jehad-e Sazandegi) is responsible for their management. According to the latest statistics from 1997, the area of afforestation is 31,685 hectares, of which 12,771 hectares were managed by government and the remaining 18,914 the private sector. During the same period more than 65 million seedlings were produced. Different research studies are being carried out on forest conservation subjects. Afforestation should not only focus on the quantity, but on species and management, and the spatial locality (coupe size, shape and place in landscape) should also be taken in to account.

2.3. Threatening Processes

Iran has been losing her biodiversity in an alarming rate. The Persian Lion Panthera leo persica and the Caspian Tiger Panthera tigris virgata were magnificent mammals, which are no longer with us. The Government of the I.R. of Iran is determined to make sure that these losses do not continue in the future. In recent years, there has been a growing awareness of the value of biological diversity. This increased awareness followed a period of relaxation in the conservation of nature and sustainable use of the environment and its components, which was mainly due to the following parameters:

• High rate of population growth.
• Inflexibility in application of conservation laws in protected areas.
• Inequity in the ownership, management and flow of benefits from the use and conservation of biological resources.
• Inadequacy and deficiencies in knowledge bases regarding biological diversity and ecological features.
• Constraints and institutional inadequacies (implementing capabilities) and lack of adequate policies and economic systems to determine the actual value of natural resources and biological diversity components.    

Activities which pose a direct environmental threat to the biodiversity of the country include: overgrazing, poaching, tree-cutting, removal of shrubs and bushes for fuel, land conversion to agriculture, road construction, mining, power transmission, grazing and military activities. Many of these practices have neither ecological justification nor economic rationality. For instance, overgrazing may produce a very short-term increase in production but long-term degradation and economic loss of the asset, i.e. decline in productivity or absolute loss of potential due to soil erosion and decline in forage quality and quantity. Improved land use and management practices are urgently required. Although the above activities have been minimized (or eliminated) in protected areas, throughout the rest (95%) of the country, there is little control over these threats.

2.3.1 Threats to biodiversity in the Caspian

The Caspian is the largest lake in the world and is connected to the distant Baltic through canals and the River Volga. This makes it very vulnerable to the effects of industrial pollution. Oil exploration activities by the Caspian littoral countries have increased in the past decade. There are also international plans to transport oil and gas through pipelines under the Caspian. These activities will certainly have adverse effects on marine and coastal ecosystems in Iran. On the domestic side, development of coastal communities, release of sewage into coastal waters, as well as polluted rivers, threaten coastal ecosystems. Population increase and unemployment in the region also increase illegal fishing. Man-made barriers and obstacles close the migration routes of fishes, and no fishways are built along their migration routes; therefore, many spawning grounds are destroyed.

2.3.2 Threats to biodiversity in southern waters

Major fishing grounds are in the vicinity of oil production areas and transportation routes. Destruction of spawning grounds and nurseries is one of the major threats to biological resources in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. Over-fishing and illegal fishing by international fishing vessels is one of the major sources of concern. Limited bottom trawling is still used for shrimp catch, which seriously threatens seabed habitats. Iran benefits from coral islands and, as in many other regions in the world, these habitats need great care.

2.3.3 Threats to biodiversity in rivers

Rivers are under severe pressure because of population increase and human activities. Dam construction throughout Iran has changed the biological characteristics of many rivers. Many man-made water reservoirs have closed the migration routes of fishes coming from the sea. No fishways were planned for these dams. In many highly populated areas, communities living along riverbanks destroy vegetation and habitats, as well as causing water pollution. The biological diversity in many rivers, near urban communities has been sharply reduced.  

2.3.4 Threats to biodiversity in coastal areas

Coastal pollution is one of the major causes of habitat destruction and biodiversity reduction. Estuaries and coastal wetlands such as mangrove forests are very vulnerable to water pollution. The population of marine turtles has decreased throughout the world. Among the reasons for this decline are water pollution, destruction of habitats as well as theft of eggs. Habitat fragmentation is an increasing problem in the coastal regions. Wildlife sites have become fragmented as a result of increased coastal development, effectively removing areas of scarce habitats. One of the other impacts of fragmentation is the formation of obstacles and barriers to movement of animals between habitats, which, in turn, reduces the interaction between populations. The major sources of coastal pollution include the ballast water of oil-tankers, offshore oil exploration facilities, flow of wastewater and sewage, heavy metal pollution caused by import and export activities, and thermal pollution from the return water in the cooling systems of large industrial facilities (such as oil refineries).

2.3.5 Threats to biodiversity in forests

Forests are parts of terrestrial ecosystems, which are vulnerable to rapid destruction, especially in Iran, which is relatively poor in terms of available forest area. One of the problems threatening Iranian forests is illegal logging, over and above the logging permits issued by General Office of Natural Resources. Rural people who reside with their livestock in the forests are among the other threats. There have been remobilization efforts, but they have not been completed. Another source of forest destruction is the large number of fires. In 1996 during a national study, 439 fires were recorded, affecting a total forest area of 5829 ha. Clearing of native vegetation has caused both habitat destruction and fragmentation. Implementation of major industrial forest projects accompanied by traditional exploitation by the rural communities have widely modified, and in many cases, destroyed the northern forests of the country. Removal of trees and vegetation cover is now estimated to contribute to about 43% of total soil erosion in Iran. Clearing land for agricultural use, forage production and grazing, firewood and charcoal production has reduced forests by 30% over the last 40 years. Pressure on forests primarily derives from overgrazing, clear cutting for cropland and fuel wood demand in remote areas. The annual cut of fuel wood exceeds the sustainable yield. Measures to improve the efficiency of fuel wood use, to substitute alternative fuels for fuel wood and to improve harvesting operations in the commercial forests will be required to reverse this trend. Agricultural land clearing is now under control but overgrazing continues to be a persistent problem in all forest areas, due to over licensing of grazers and enforcement limitations on illegal operations.

2.3.6 Threats to biodiversity in rangelands

Conversion of marginal rangelands into agricultural lands has caused up to 43% of destruction of pastures and has led to soil erosion. On the other hand, the livestock population is three times more than the carrying capacity of the rangelands. Among the major functions of pastures in Iran are: sustainable production of agricultural products, balancing role in the climate in and water flow, production of forage, production of medicinal and industrial herbs, and conservation of soils and of wildlife habitats. The rangelands are being destroyed and their productivity reduced up to 1.5% per year. Each year 15 million tons of forage is harvested but only 10 million tons are legally taken. These amount feeds 120 million livestock units that means about 50 millions of livestock units don’t receive enough food for economic productivity. Lack of management policies has exacerbated the crisis.

2.3.7 Threats to biodiversity in wetlands

Various factors threaten wetland ecosystems and undermine their productivity and functional role. These factors include infilling for land reclamation, dam construction, up-stream development (erosion and sedimentation), aquaculture activities, pollution and nutrient input, water diversion (irrigation), overgrazing, overfishing, as well as uncontrolled recreation and tourism activities.

2.4. Biological diversity and people

The population growth rate in Iran has been very high during the past few decades. Previously, the population doubled during a 60 year period (1891-1951) but this doubling period is now reduced to 26 years. According to the most recent official population census in 1996, the population is over 60,100,000, which indicates reduction in the average annual growth. It is estimated that, if the present decline in the growth rate persists, the population will be over 100 million individuals in 2010. The population of Iran is composed of about 12,400,000 households with an average of 4.8 individuals in each. Men and women comprise 50.8% and 49.2 % of the population respectively. As regards geographical distribution, the population in cities and villages is 61.31% and 38.34%, the remainder being nomads. Age distribution demonstrates a young population. The largest age group is the 10-14 years old age group (9,080,676 individuals). Literacy of people over 6 years of age is 79.51%. About 91% of the population over 10 years of age have employment and the remaining 9% are unemployed. Across Iran the mean population density is 37 individuals per km2 with Tehran (372 individuals per km2) having the highest and Semnan the lowest (5 ind./km2) densities. (add about refugees)

2.5 Access to genetic resources

Genetic diversity is an important element of biodiversity, and that is why the reserve system must be comprehensive, adequate and representative, to conserve in situ, not only ecosystems and species but also populations and the genetic diversity that they contain.     Iran needs to expand its knowledge base of the genetic diversity within its biodiversity, establish a framework and policies for access to, and use of, genetic diversity based on public and environmental good. Activities regarding conservation of genetic diversity include data collection of genetic resources and preparation of the “Domestic Animal Diversity - Information System of Iran”. There are research stations on cattle, sheep and goat, buffalo, camel, horse and poultry used for research on genetic resources.

2.6 Introduction of exotic species

I.R. of Iran is a vast country sharing boundaries with seven countries and two large water bodies; hence the process of exchange of species across the man-made boundaries occurs regularly. The natural introduction of species is inevitable and does occur naturally throughout the world, as and the species with the greater powers of adaptation survive, expand and dominate new territories. Iranians have aided this process and in the past have introduced some species of plants and animals, in many cases with disastrous results. One example is the introduction of Azolla Azolla pinnata from the southeast Asia into the Anzali wetland. Although this aquatic plant was meant to be quarantined in a small pool, it escaped and found its way into the natural environment where it flourished. Now this species (which is quite useful in southeast Asia) has become a pest, competing with the other native species for vital resources such as light and nutrients. Similarly, introduction of Grass Carp Hypopharyngodon idella to the Hamoun Wetland, one of the most natural and unpolluted aquatic ecosystems, yielded disastrous results, destroying the natural integrity of this ecosystem. As in many other parts of the world, the introduction of exotic species into the wild has resulted in disastrous consequences in Iran. Responsible organizations, such as the Department of the Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture, are anxious to control any such actions and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran is determined to control any such transboundary transits. I.R. of Iran is a signatory to the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna) and is determined to observe the rules set by the Convention.

2.7 Pollution control and biodiversity

Observation of environmental regulations and pollution control guidelines will certainly have positive effects on conservation of biodiversity. Rapid industrialization and urbanization exert great pressures on the environment, which make the implementation of pollution control acts an important obligation. The Department of the Environment is responsible for implementation of pollution control acts. The Air Pollution Control Act (1974) gives the DoE the task of compiling standards for each district and of setting standards for emission of pollutants from various sources (including specifications for each source) with the assistance of related organizations. The DoE is also in charge of implementation of air pollution control and of specifying permissible fuels and conditions of their consumption. Recently, the DoE adopted some new regulations pertaining to the     location of new factories. According to these regulations, the establishment of polluting industries in city suburbs is prohibited, the more polluting factories must be established at a specified distance from metropolitan areas, and measures designed to reduce air pollution will be implemented.

2.8 Public Awareness

Public awareness will lead the community to increase its appreciation of biodiversity assets and in the medium to long term, to support the allocation of resources for biodiversity conservation. Obviously, improving public knowledge has a direct relation to the quality and quantity of information about biodiversity. This information is the result of research and most critically should be presented to the public. There needs to be an increase in expertise in addressing strategic questions and better analysis of the information, leading to management orientated outcomes. Equally, there is a need for the development of databases to make the information accessible to a broader audience (including all land and water managers) and results of research should be “translated” and presented for public use. The greatest problems inhibiting increased public awareness include:

• The low level of general knowledge on the environment and biodiversity.
• Lack of accessible information about the country’s environmental condition.
• Irregular exploitation of resources.
• Production and consumption patterns incompatible with environmental conservation.
• Inappropriate establishment of economic activities.
• Ignoring the environmental considerations in sectoral and regional macro policies and programs.
• Weakness in executing the Environmental Acts.
• Regulations and monitoring programs, lack of accepted environmental standards.
• Lack of clear definition of land use and management, population concentration in several ecosystems.
• Inclarity of policies, and a shortage of experts in environmental protection and management.
• A shortage of resources available to DoE, lack of co-ordination and promotion of community participation.
• Weakness in coordination between responsible executive organizations.

The Department of Environment has formed a “Participation Bureau’ to assist environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs). This action should help the process of public awareness regarding environmental issues.