Natural Resources and Watershed Management Organization

Emphasising that no shortcomings in the protection of forests will not be accepted, the President said, "It is necessary to investigate the construction within the forests, which is an obvious violation, and to prevent the continuation of construction violations in the forests."

Speaking in a meeting with activists and experts in the field of environment and natural resources of Mazandaran on Friday afternoon, Ayatollah Dr. Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi criticised the illegal constructions in the forests and said, "It is necessary to investigate the construction within the forests, which is an obvious violation, and to prevent the continuation of construction violations in the forests".

The President instructed the Governor-General of Mazandaran to send a working group to investigate the construction violations in the forest from tomorrow morning with the priority of the buildings under construction to determine with what permission these buildings are being constructed.

Dr Raisi added, "This working group is obliged to determine the list of violations in Mazandaran by the end of this year in order to prevent them".

Ayatollah Raisi emphasised that violations and damage to forests are not acceptable by any person or organisation, stating, "Government departments and organisations are not allowed to take advantage of natural resources".

Dr Raisi added, "Illegal constructions in the forest should be identified and stopped immediately, and the influential violators should be dealt with more severely than others".

The President emphasised, "From today, no damage should be allowed to the country's forests, and while dealing with the violators, it is necessary for the people to be informed about these issues".

In another part of his speech, Dr Raisi described Mazandaran province as one of the agricultural hubs of the country, and stressed the need to support rice cultivation in the province and said, "There is capacity and possibility of self-sufficiency in rice and this requires proper planning and support for farmers".

The President further referred to the issue of examining the condition of dams by Mazandaran universities and said, "The universities of the province can study the condition of dams without a climatic view and with a precise expert and scientific perspective and eliminate its damages".

Ayatollah Raisi also stressed the need for planning to prevent water loss and said, "It is necessary to seriously review water management".

Emphasising that protection and preservation of the environment does not mean blocking and enclosing natural areas, the President said, "Preservation of the environment requires scientific designs and specialised initiatives more than anything".

Dr Raisi further described the role of people and non-governmental organisations in preserving the environment and called on the head of the Department of Environment to cooperate with the Forests and Natural Resources Organisation to protect the country's national resources and wealth".

Source: President.ir