The government of President Hassan Rouhani has made great strides in environmental affairs and has made combating land grabbing a priority, Iran’s vice president for the environment, Massoumeh Ebtekar, told reporters in Hamedan on Thursday. The official said the Department of Environment, in cooperation with other government bodies, has seized illegally acquired lands in vulnerable regions such as Varjin Protected Area in Lavasanat, Tehran Province, and Miankaleh Wildlife Refuge in Mazandaran Province, ILNA reported. Ebtekar hailed the efforts of Iran’s judicial system that enabled DOE to reclaim possession of the lands and said, “We have a strict, no-nonsense policy when it comes to land grabbing.”
