UN Habitat Award

The Environment Committee in Tehran's City Council provides an opportunity to promote environmental standards for a city of over 8.5 million inhabitants, a city known for its congested traffic and as the economic and political hub of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
This committee which held over 180 meetings during the past 5.5 years,  also presides over the activity of more than 25 subcommittees in diverse areas related to urban environment. In addition, during   hundreds of visits to districts and local communities in Tehran, we evaluated the conditions and status of the living environment. The environment committee endeavors to set a standard for inter-sectoral coordination and collaboration among the major stakeholders, including municipal, government, NGO and private sector as well as local communities benefiting from the enhancement of environmental standards.
During this period we have undertaken policy-making, coordination and social mobilization strategies, in addition to the oversight of all urban activities.
A vast spectrum of issues ranging from air quality, to water and waste water management, green areas,civil society roles, waste management, national parks and precious ecosystems adjacent to Tehran, noise pollution , electromagnetic radiation, food safety and many other important issues  are tackled in the committee.
One of the most important bills  adopted in 2007 was the State of the Environment (SOE) Report for Tehran. On the basis of the national experience we had in the Iranian Department of the Environment, and the preparation and publication of two National SOE reports (2004,2005), we adopted a bill to obligate the Municipality to produce an annual SOE for Tehran.
The first city SOE report was produced on the basis of our national framework and the UNEP model .  The second report is  recently finalized and will be shortly available.
There was an international ceremony in Tehran on Wednesday, which I could not attend due to previous engagements at the University. The United Nations Human Settlements Programme UN-Habitat  acknowledged the preparation of this report under the jurisdiction of the Tehran City Council, as a Good Practice and applauded its impact in improving the living environment. The letter is signed by Ms Wandia Seaforth the Chief of the UN Habitat Best Practices Program.
We have to applaud the efforts of all our partners, experts and personnel in the municipality who made this report possible.

This photo of Tehran was taken by a Canadian astronaut- Chris Hadfield 

Christmas in the Tehran City Council

Armenians Celebrating Christmas in a Church in Tehran

The Holy Scripture of Islam, which is believed to be a total revelation  to the Prophet Mohammad (SA), has several recurring references to the succession of Prophets who all came to deliver the message of the Creator. The Quran is unique in that it makes strong references to the beliefs and teachings of other Abrahamic traditions; emphasizing on the common themes of monotheism, abolition of all forms of slavery and subjugation,and the basic ethical and moral principles that all religions preach. The story  of  each prophet and their societies includes references to the incorrect beliefs and practices that have set blows to the livelihoods of peoples and undermined their dignity and each narration also points to the direction of salvation and eternal happiness for all humankind. Actually, most  divine Prophets deal with the lost ones, those who have not found their goal and direction in life, those who are disoriented and have forgotten their selves.
Among these narrations the story of Maryam the mother of Jesus, and the birth and life of Jesus is extraordinary. This story begins with references to the vow of the mother of Maryam, and that when she realized that her child was a girl, and was dedicated to serve the House of Solomon, she insisted to proceed with the vow; which meant that  a woman would serve in a Jewish monastery  for the first time. The chastity of Maryam and her status as a woman chosen to be a model for all are hallmarks of the Chapter and verses devoted to this lady.  The birth of Jesus and the fate of Maryam are also described in beautiful terms in the Quran.
Today ,in the Tehran City Council, a Christian member of the Friends of the Council, delivered a report on the conditions of district 8. This Armenian citizen who has been elected like hundreds of other Friends of the Council to oversee and facilitate the functions of local municipal authorities, was chosen to deliver the weekly district report. His report to the City Council included references to their activities, as well as  the social and environmental problems in the district.

Meanwhile, reformist members  of the Council took the opportunity to greet Christian Iranians on the occasion of Christmas and the New Year.

Earth Day: Red Apple in a Green Plate

The open session of the Tehran City Council yesterday was attended by many municipality officials as well as journalists and ordinary people. I had asked the procurement officer of the City Council to buy red apples enough for those present in the session. Mehdi Chamran, the Head of the Council was reluctant to accept my plan to distribute the apples, however I insisted and explained that on the occasion of Earth Day I intended to make a simple demonstration of how fragile the earth is. After some resistance he finally accepted , the apples were distributed with a green plate and plastic knife. I  reminded everyone that they should not eat the apples and wait for my explanations. There was a sense of suspense and anticipation, the Government supporters in the Council were very worried that I may use this opportunity to speak out as I had done before. Chamran finally gave me the floor to talk. I compared the apple to our planet earth and I asked everyone to cut the apple into 4 equal pieces. 3 pieces are water, the oceans lakes and wetlands where life has begun and is sustained. 1/4 of the apple is land. I asked them to half that one piece and told them that half of that land including mountain cliffs and  deserts is not habitable for humans. " Take one piece and cut it into four pieces"  that would be the equivalent of arable land where where humans can cultivate to reap the fruits and products,  I told them.  I then asked them to peel the skin off that very small piece , "this is the top soil in which we can hope to produce food for about 7 billion inhabitants of this planet. That is the lesson of the apple. Now we can eat it together."
Some members were eating the apple before I began and some were joking about the cooking lessons I was giving.
Yet the message came across, particularly when the combination of green plate and red apples came out in the media.

Green Spaces and the Presidential Race

Last week the Environment Committee of the Tehran City Council had two major visits . On Saturday we visited Tehran's waste management center in the southern district of Kahrizak. More than 7000 tons of waste is generated daily in Tehran. In recent years, with the establishment of the Environment Committee we have succeeded to promote sound and efficient waste management programs. Currently ,as we witnessed more than 2000 tons of organic waste is composted and more than 800 tons is recylced. On Wednesday we witnessed some of the activities underway to enhance green areas in Tehran. There are 1578 parks of different sizes in Tehran. Currently there is more than 12 square meters of green area per capita, but we believe it is not enough and not distributed evenly. We visited one of the two women's parks in Tehran. This park located in the south of the city is very large, over 170 hectares with all modern facilities, football, volleyball, tennis and badminton courts. Indoor body building and outdoor activities of all kinds were available but most important is that since only women are allowed in the park, they can take off their covering and stroll in the park area without hijab. This is very attractive for women and particularly the young .They enjoy the atmosphere and the opportunity to walk around without the usual covering . There will be at least four such parks in Tehran by the end of this year.
After Engineer Mousavi the former Prime Minister of Iran entered the race for the next Presidential elections , Khatami is reconsidering his decision to run . Khatami's popularity runs high and all polls show him between 20 to 30% ahead of other candidates . He however does not believe that numerous reformist candidates could win the race and is concerned about rivalry among the reformist camp. Khatami believes that ethics should prevail and that is the essence of any political game. He has shown he has no political ambitions and that he will not sacrifice his ethical principles for the sake of power. That's the man that we have known all these years.

Working with the civil society

Everybody is back to work now after the long holidays. The felicitations however are still going on. I sometimes wonder how many holidays we have in Iran and how long it takes afterwards to get back on track. We usually visit the family and friends and people we honor during these days .

We visited President Khatami on Wednesday and, along with Tehran city council members ,the Supreme Leader Khamenei on Sunday. Aside from these courtesy calls, I found some time to complete some of my unfinished work.

We have had two official Council sessions this week and today we completed a bill defining the procedures for close collaboration of the Council with NGOs . This bill provides grounds for the empowerment of NGOs and their integration in urban management processes. Part of the text reads: NGOs in Tehran are invited to take part in the decision making processes,to assist in the implementation of projects and to provide consultation and expertise for the proper management of city affairs. In addition NGOs may take part in regulation and oversight which is the most contentious issue that the council faces in its mandate. I spoke about the importance of providing opportunities for NGOs to take part urban management issues and I explained our successful experiences in working with NGOs in the Environment Committee in the council. I think this is an important step forward for the civil society.

During the Reform period under President Khatami the civil society in Iran began to flourish and NGOs grew in number as well as in strength and capabilities. The current Principalist and populist government has different priorities and they have not provided adequate support for non-governmental activites which are mostly critical of governmental policy.