Participation of People Boosts the Natural Resources Conservation

Khalil Aghaee, Deputy Minister and Head of Forests, Range and Watershed Management Organization (FRWO) at the 11^th session of Working Group on Zagros Ecosystem Management in Yasuj, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province said that “FRWO's closer partnership with people facilitates the conservation of natural resources.”

According to FRWO’s website, in this meeting Khalil Aghaee referring to the strong support to natural resources from the Supreme Leader, Government and the Parliament said we should not delay our activities due to the shortage of budget, but we should seek to move forward on a timely basis with the mobilization of all capacities and capabilities.

He recalling the adoption of Para B of Article 29 of the National Development Plan said the legislation has provided a solid foundation for enhanced actual participation of local people in natural resources projects in the country, in the form of local associations and cooperatives that creates a tremendous capacity for developing IWM projects and natural resources management, and contributes to the realization of Resilience Economy.

Aghaee also urged the natural resource departments in eleven Zagros provinces to expand contacts with experts including faculty members of research centers and universities and freelance specialists, and emphasized to use their views in project planning and implementation.

In another part of his remarks, , Head of FRWO referring to the outbreak of fires in summer and the need for peoples' participation in fire fighting operations said: "We must both increase the speed of fire fighting and pay serious attention to prevention. The more advocacy and training programmes are organized for promoting natural resources culture for villagers and local people, the less wildfire will occur in forests and rangelands.

Head of FRWO also stressed the need for serious legal prosecution of land grabbers and concluded that “our closer partnership with people facilitates the conservation of natural resources.”