Environment

PayvandNews – Lake Urmia water level has increased by 50 centimeters compared to the same time last year, Farhad Sarkhosh, head of the Lake Urmia Restoration Program’s office in West Azarbaijan province, has announced.  According to the latest monitoring, the lake’s level has reached 1,271 meters and 64 centimeters, which is 50 centimeters higher than the last year’s level, he stated, …

CHRI – The families of eight conservationists imprisoned in Iran on trumped-up charges have called on Iranian Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raisi to release them on furlough along with the some 54,000 other prisoners who were released in March 2020 after rights organizations expressed serious concerns for their safety amid the country’s deadly COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. The families’ letter was published by the state-run Iranian Labor News Agency in …

Radiofarda – Massive swarms of desert locusts (Schistocerca gregaria) have been arriving in Iran’s southern regions since late February. Government officials say the invasion is too huge to counter except with the use of pesticides. Reza Mir, Spokesman of Plant Protection Organization, on Tuesday said the locusts have invaded the provinces of Hormozgan, Sistan and Baluchestan, Bushehr, Fars and Khuzestan. …

carbonbrief.org – In the latest article in a series on how some of the world’s key emitters are responding to climate change, Carbon Brief profiles Iran, a major petrostate stricken by long-running droughts.Carbon Brief’s country profile series. Iran was the world’s eighth largest emitter of greenhouse gases in 2015. It is a resource-rich nation with enormous reserves of oil and …

Radiofarda – First Vice-President of Iran on Wednesday said he was unaware of revelations about the torture an environmentalist in prison has suffered in the hands of her interrogators, but he said he will discuss it at the Cabinet meeting on Sunday. Es’haq Jahangiri made the comment in response to a reporter’s question at the sidelines of a Cabinet meeting …

HRW – An Iranian revolutionary court has upheld the unjust sentences against eight environmental experts already detained for over two years, Human Rights Watch said today. Iranian authorities have failed to produce any evidence to support their charges against members of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation and should free them immediately. On February 18, 2020, Gholamhossein Esmaili, Iran’s judiciary spokesman, confirmed …

CHRI – Prison Terms Range from 4-10 Years Based on No Evidence and False “Confessions” February 18, 2020 – The Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) condemns the Iranian appeals court’s decision to uphold lengthy prison sentences against eight wildlife conservationists detained since January 2018 without due process on charges that were refuted by three major Iranian state agencies including the Intelligence Ministry. …

RFL/RE – Iran’s judiciary says it has issued prison sentences for eight environmental activists, including an Iranian who also has British and U.S. citizenship, on charges of spying for the United States and acting against Iran’s national security.Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili says an Iranian appeals court issued “final verdicts” in their cases on February 18.Two of the activists, Morad Tahbaz …

Iran-HRM – 30,000 die every year due to air pollution, and 16,000 in road accidents. This was admitted by the head of the Environmental Protection Organization. Esa Kalantari, presidential deputy and head of the Environmental Protection Organization said while around 16,000 get killed in road accidents, 30,000 die every year due to air pollution which is twice as much as …

Radiofarda – Four days after heavy snowfall hit the province of Gilan, northern Iran, thousands of people in the urban and rural areas of the region are still without water and electricity. At least eight people have been killed and 145 more injured in the snow-hit province, while many rural roads are blocked. Over 250,000 people in Gilan are suffering …