Iran’s Department of Environment has refused to issue permits for the construction of four new dams in the country. Referring to reasons behind the DOE’s opposition, Hamid Jalalvandi, head of the Environmental Evaluation Office, said that due to water shortage in the proposed dams’ catchment areas in recent years, constructing the giant structures is neither necessary nor feasible, Mehr News Agency reported. “The projects were rejected because water right permits cannot be issued,” he said. The four dams were supposed to be constructed over Zohreh and Shabliz rivers in Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad Province, Qomchoqay River in Kurdestan Province and Jazman River in Ilam Province. Iran is pressing ahead with new dam projects, despite calls by experts to curb the trend of dam construction. Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian had once said dam-building on a large scale was justified 15 years ago, but not anymore. Experts say heedless dam construction poses a threat to the environment, desiccating some of the country’s water-rich areas. Iran is the world’s third leading country in dam construction. Over the past 30 years, it has built an average of 20 a year to irrigate farms and generate electricity.
