Iran is One of the Pioneer Countries in Desertification Control

Dr. Farhad Sardari, Director General of Desert Affairs Bureau of FRWO said that Iran is one of the pioneer countries in the region and world in mitigating desertification impact and has carried out extensive activities to control the phenomenon both in form of pilot and executive projects throughout the country.

According to FRWO's website, Dr. Sardari noted that FRWO employs the expertise of a professional team of consultants and experts in devising policies and plans the field of densification control, who are involved in site- selection and implementation of the afore-mentioned projects based on climatic condition and feasibility study.

Regarding the use of oil mulching in the natural resources fields, Dr. Sardari said: "The mulching project is limited to areas where it is not possible to establish natural vegetation cover due to very high mobility of moving sand dunes."

He pointed out: "Site selection and zoning studies for mulching operation in13 desert provinces of the country in 2018, used four criteria and more than 24 indicators."

Dr. Sardari mentioned: "According to site selection and zoning studies for mulching operation in wind erosion hotspots - which covers about 13 million hectares of the country's land area - a total area of 67 thousand hectares of active hotspots were identified for immediate intervention."

Dr. Sardari reiterated: "In case of full implementation of the mulching projects in the new priority areas, and taking into account the areas that had undergone mulching operation in the past, only a small portion of these areas including 1.1% of the affected areas, 2.2% of the hotspots and 5% of the country's sand dunes will undergo mulching operation." 

He noted that based on paragraph (h) of note (1) of the budget law of 2017 to 2019, FRWO is mandated to carry out soil fixation and mulching operations in priority areas with petroleum mulch. This project started in 2017 with the approval of Department of Environment.