Environmental issues in Iran include, especially in
urban areas,
vehicle emissions,
refinery operations, and industrial effluents which contribute to poor
air quality. A report by the
United Nations Environment Programme ranked Iran at 117th place among 133 countries in terms of environmental indexes.
Water scarcity is a serious issue, and the country is also threatened by
climate change.
Air pollution
The
World Bank estimates losses inflicted on
Iran's economy as a result of deaths caused by air pollution at $640 million, which is equal to 5.1 trillion rials or 0.57 percent of
GDP. Diseases resulting from
air pollution are inflicting losses estimated at $260 million per year or 2.1 trillion rials or 0.23 percent of the GDP on Iran's economy.
Most cars use
leaded gasoline
Tetraethyllead (commonly styled tetraethyl lead), abbreviated TEL, is an organolead compound with the formula Pb( C2H5)4. It is a fuel additive, first being mixed with gasoline beginning in the 1920s as a patented octane rating booster that all ...
and lack emissions control equipment.
Tehran is rated as one of the world's most polluted cities. However, buses and cars running on natural gas are planned to replace the existing public
transportation fleet in the future. Also, energy prices are kept artificially low in
Iran through heavy
state subsidies, resulting in highly inefficient and polluting consumption patterns.
Traffic management,
vehicle inspection, general use of
electric bicycle
An electric bicycle (e-bike, eBike, etc.) is a motorized bicycle with an integrated electric motor used to assist propulsion. Many kinds of e-bikes are available worldwide, but they generally fall into two broad categories: bikes that assis ...
s and
electronic government
E-government (short for electronic government) is the use of technological communications devices, such as computers and the Internet, to provide public services to citizens and other persons in a country or region. E-government offers new ...
are also part of the solution.
A rising incidence of
respiratory illnesses
A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...
prompted the city governments of
Tehran and
Arak, southwest of the capital, to institute air
pollution control programs. These programs aim to reduce gradually the amount of harmful
chemicals released into the
atmosphere
An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A s ...
.
Climate change
Iran is party to the
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that (part ...
on
climate change but not its
Doha Amendment
The Kyoto Protocol was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that (part ...
. It has signed but not ratified the
Paris Agreement
The Paris Agreement (french: Accord de Paris), often referred to as the Paris Accords or the Paris Climate Accords, is an international treaty on climate change. Adopted in 2015, the agreement covers climate change mitigation, Climate change a ...
on climate change.
Ecosystems
Much of
Iran’s territory suffers from
overgrazing,
desertification
Desertification is a type of land degradation in drylands in which biological productivity is lost due to natural processes or induced by human activities whereby fertile areas become increasingly arid. It is the spread of arid areas caused by ...
and or
deforestation.
Wetlands and bodies of fresh water increasingly are being destroyed as industry and
agriculture expand, and
oil and chemical spills have harmed aquatic life in the
Persian Gulf and the
Caspian Sea. Iran contends that the international rush to develop oil and gas reserves in the Caspian Sea presents that region with a new set of environmental threats. Although a
Department of Environment has existed since 1971, Iran has not yet developed a policy of
sustainable development
Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The des ...
because short term economic goals have taken precedence.
Signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification,
Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation.
Deforestation
Iran had a 2018
Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 7.67/10, ranking it 34th globally out of 172 countries.
Natural disasters
Iran experiences periodic
droughts, floods,
dust storms, sandstorms and
earthquakes along western border and in the northeast.
Soil erosion
Iran ranked worst in the world for
soil erosion
Soil erosion is the denudation or wearing away of the upper layer of soil. It is a form of soil degradation. This natural process is caused by the dynamic activity of erosive agents, that is, water, ice (glaciers), snow, air (wind), plants, and ...
in 2011.
Waste
An estimated 50,000 tons of trash is produced in the country every day of which something between 70 and 80 percent is disposed of hygienically but the rest is not. Iran produces over 8 million tons of
hazardous waste
Hazardous waste is waste that has substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment. Hazardous waste is a type of dangerous goods. They usually have one or more of the following hazardous traits: ignitability, reactivity, co ...
annually (2016).
Water
Industrial and
urban wastewater runoff has contaminated rivers, coastal and underground waters.
Water scarcity
See also
*
Clean Air Law of Iran
*
Automotive industry in Iran
Iran’s automotive industry is the third most active industry of the country, after its oil and gas industry, accounting for 10% of Iran's GDP and 4% of the workforce
The workforce or labour force is a concept referring to the Pooling ( ...
*
Department of Environment (Iran)
The Iranian Department of Environment is a governmental organization, under the supervision of the president, that is responsible for matters related to safeguarding the environment.
The origins of the department can be traced back to the Hunting ...
*
Economy of Iran
*
Energy in Iran
*
Environmental issues in Tehran
*
Geography of Iran
*
International rankings of Iran
The following are List of international rankings, international rankings for Iran:
Agriculture
Communication and information technology
Demographics
Economy
Education
Energy
Environment and ecology
General
Globalization
...
*
Iranian Economic Reform Plan
The economy of Iran is a mixed economy with a large state-owned sector and is the largest in the Middle East in terms of nominal GDP. It is the world's 21st largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). Some 60% of Iran's economy is centrally pl ...
*
Wildlife of Iran The wildlife of Iran include the fauna and flora of Iran.
One of the most famous wildlife of Iran is the critically endangered Asiatic cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus venaticus''), which today survives only in Iran.
History
The wildlife of Iran first ...
References
External links
Department of Environment – Islamic Republic of Iran* (2003)
– Environment Overview for Iran
Iran: Environment and NatureFirst Iranian site covering environmental news
{{Country study
Iran
Climate change in Iran