Environment

PayvandNews – Severe sand and dust storms (SDSs) has left 127 patients hospitalized due to respiratory problems in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan, head of provincial disaster mitigation and management organization has said. So far, 465 people have referred to hospitals due to respiratory, ocular and heart problems, 338 of whom have been provided with outpatient care, while the rest …

CHRI – Wildlife conservationists Niloufar Bayani and Sepideh Kashani have been detained in Iran without due process along with six other conservationists since January 2019. Niloufar Bayani and Sepideh Kashani, two of the eight wildlife conservationists detained in Iran since January 2018, began a hunger strike on August 3, 2019, a source with knowledge of their cases told the Center for Human Rights …

Radiofarda – The World Resources Institute’s (WRI) latest report says that Iran, along with Israel, Lebanon, and Qatar, are struggling with an “extraordinary water crisis.” The three are among the most water-stressed countries, according to the new data, consuming an average of 80% of their available water resources every year. Under these circumstances, “even small dry shocks – which are …

HRW – At least two environmental experts detained in Iran since January 2018 have likely embarked on a hunger strike to protest their continued detention after many months in legal limbo, Human Rights Watch said today. Authorities should ensure their adequate access to medical treatment.  They are among eight environmentalist experts detained for over 18 months without being provided with the evidence concerning …

PayvandNews – A Persian leopard has been captured alive in Razavi Khorasan Province, northeast of Iran. The Managing Director of Environment Department of Razavi Khorasan, Touraj Hemmati, said on Sunday that following a series of attacks by a leopard on the herd dogs in a village located on the edge of Tandoureh Protected Area in the north east of Iran, …

Radiofarda – A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck near the city of Ahvaz in southwest Iran, the Mehr news agency reported on Thursday. The quake struck at a depth of 14 kilometres (8.7 miles), acccording to Mehr. The agency did not provide any information about possible casualties or damage. (Reporting By Babak Dehghanpisheh Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)

Radiofarda – While eight Iranian ecologists have been under “temporary detention” since January 2018, the head of the Islamic Republic’s judiciary says only intelligence authorities are allowed to “comment” on their legal case, and “the judge will decide their fate.” In a meeting with several ecologists on Saturday, July 13, the mid-ranking cleric Ebrahim Raeesi (Raisi) responded to questions concerning …

PayvandNews – Some 25,000 hectares of Hyrcanian Forest in northern Iran undergo fragmentation mostly due to land use changes for agricultural and residential purposes, wood smuggling and overgrazing, an official with the national network for environmental and natural resources organizations has said. Unfortunately, lack of supervision and protective measures is exacerbating the condition for Hyrcanian Forest, ISNA quoted Masoud Molana as …

Radiofarda – The onset of extremely high temperatures in parts of Iran might lead to electricity shortages, the interior minister has warned and ordered conservation. In the oil-rich Khuzestan province, southeast, temperatures are expected to hit 49 degrees Celsius (120 F) on Sunday and Monday. The governor of the province has ordered office work hours to be reduced to 12:00 …

Radiozamaneh – Gholamhossein Esmaili, the Iranian Judiciary Spokesperson announced that the trial of the group of environmentalists who were charged with national security crimes will resume in upcoming weeks. “The espionage case is related to those who were spying from military sites undercover of environmental activists,” he told reporters. Iranian Judiciary has accused eight Iranian environmentalists of spying and they …