Head of the Department of Environment (DoE) Masoumeh Ebtekar declared that government alone cannot shoulder efforts to tackle environmental problems and all social institutions including NGOs should join hands to achieve “a sustainable, safe environment for the country.”
Ebtekar who was addressing the first meeting of environment executive mangers said the aim of these meetings “is to coordinate efforts and plans of all the institutions and branches affiliated to the DoE to pave the way for addressing the issues more efficiently”, ISNA reported.
The DoE head suggested that to ‘’get things done quickly,’’ provincial executives should participate in meetings and discussions through video conferencing.
She further stressed the need for inter-organizational collaboration and said one of the biggest contributions made by the ‘’prudence and hope’’ government is ‘’organizational vibrancy and harmony. This is also the people’s demand,’’ she added.
Civil Institutions
Ebtekar emphasized the need for civil institutions to join the campaign to address the environmental crises and said a ‘’positive social atmosphere’’ is a must for responsible stewardship of the environment. ‘’We should utilize the opportunity that is brought by the cohesion that exists among the government, media, academia, and experts,’’ she maintained.
She also highlighted the need for ‘’creativity’’ and ‘’novelty’’ for achieving better results and said these two factors make things work even in dire situations when human and financial resources “are all but sufficient.” Social awareness “must be triggered among the youth, students, athletes and artists regarding environmental issues; but this will not do away with the need for organizational restructuring and budget increase.”
Pointing to the environment protection laws proposed by the government, the DoE head said protecting soil, water, air and wetlands are uppermost on the department’s agenda.
