Deputy head of the natural environment and biodiversity office at the Department of Environment (DoE) says the Ramsar Convention is working on a “five-year strategic plan” to help underpin the convention’s goals.
Speaking in a meeting held on launching the convention’s regional office at the 14th International Environment Exhibition in Tehran, Ahmadali Keykhah said international cooperation is necessary to meet such objectives, IRNA reported.
The Ramsar Convention, also referred to as the Convention on Wetlands, is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and judicious use of wetlands and their resources.
It recognizes the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural, scientific, and recreational value. It is named after the city of Ramsar in northern Iran, where the convention was signed in 1971.
“A regional office will be launched on March 2 in Ramsar, in a ceremony which will be attended by a several members of the convention. The office will be the executive arm of the Ramsar Convention in Iran,” the DoE official said.
Since the convention carries Iran’s name, the country should be able to draw on its “extensive capacity” to help protect wetlands and other water bodies in trouble, he said without elaboration.
Keykhah also stated that one of the convention’s main goals is to increase public awareness of wetlands and their protection efforts, urging the government and the DoE to help the regional office in meeting its declared goals.
Recalling the dust and particle storms crippling daily life in the southwestern regions over the past several weeks, he said the convention could help curb the formation of the storms.
“Since the dust problem afflicting Iran is an international crisis, the Ramsar Convention may play a key role in fighting it,” he was quoted by the news agency as saying.
He took stock of Turkey’s dam construction that has reduced water flow into Iraq, dried many rivers in the process and created large swaths of land susceptible to the creation of the harmful dust and particles.
