Forests Should Not be Sacrificed for Development

Acting Head of FRWO told the Governor General of Gilan that forests are unique assets that belong to present and future generations. Therefore, they should not be sacrificed for mining and development activities.

According to FRWO’s website, Dr. Khosrow Shahbazi Acting Head of FRWO in his visit to Gilan Province met with Dr. Arsalan Zare Governor General of Gilan. In this meeting he said: “Although construction and mining projects are essential for development of the province, but they should be implemented with minimal damage to natural resources and forests.”

Dr. Shahbazi added that recent satellite imageries show that conservation activities of FRWO in forests have proved to be satisfactory, but there are still much to do in this area to optimize the performance.

Acting Head of FRWO said that evacuation of the coastal lands from illegal constructions should be done according to law and religious requires the cooperation of all agencies, especially the Governorate.

In this meeting, the Governor General of Gilan said that the Governorate has assigned over 6,000 hectares of lands for wood farming development, that will be at the disposal of investors with different facilities.

Dr. Arsalan Zare said that the first recommendation of the President in my introduction meeting was the development of wood farming; therefore, the governorate formed the province's wood farming committee at the earliest.

Governor General of Gilan also added that we support natural resources and sustainable development, and mining companies must restore lands and degraded forests through afforestation.

He said “Accelerating the implementation of national land cadastre can play an important role in resolving disputes over national lands”.