Modifications of Protected Areas Will Promote Rural Development, Investment

Villages and inhabited areas across the country have been excluded from the borders of protected areas following the latest decisions made by High Environment Council, which is considered to favor both the local people and the surrounding environment.
"The overlapping or even proximity of villages to protected areas inevitably imposed limitations on rural development, somehow turning people against Nature," Ali Teymouri, director of the Conservation, Hunting and Fishing Office at the Department of Environment, said.
"For instance, 25% of Khalkhal City's rural areas in Ardabil Province were shared with natural reserves. That prevented investors and contractors to start new construction projects, for the regulations of preserved areas ban any sort of construction activities," Zist Online quoted Teymouri as saying. 
However, the conflict was prevented, thanks to the recent amendments in the environmental directives.