Nowruz, Revival of Nature and Heart

The Iranian new year or Nowruz is celebrated  when the culmination of change and new life in nature appears. When temperatures increase, signs of the cold winter and  sleeping nature vanish, as blossoms grow on branches and flowers bloom.The Iranian new year coincides with what is called the Equinox and the true shift in the earth's axis and change in climate. The moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator and equalizes night and day is calculated exactly every year and Iranian families gather together to observe the rituals.

Nowruz has been celebrated for thousands of years in Iran and within the radius of Iranian civilizational influence. Countries like Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkemenistan, Kirghistan and Kazakhstan  where Farsi is spoken and signs of  Persian culture, customs and tradition are evident in ordinary life, all celebrate Nowruz. Hundreds of thousands of expatriate Iranians living in Europe and the US also celebrate this important occasion.  Nowruz is a time for friendship and forgiveness, it is a time for cherishing the blessings of life and nature.
Iranians and many other nations who enjoy the Persian culture and civilization celebrate Nowruz  as a symbol of their common heritage. Celebration of  Nowruz is the celebration of peace and friendship among nations and  has great cultural implications for humanity. For this reason the UN has designated this day as an international celebration.

The Haft Seen Table is the tradition followed in every Iranian home

Its a symbol of preparing for new times and better days. It is also a symbol of the changes we all need to bring about in our hearts and minds, we need to mend broken hearts and to heal the scars left behind. In Islamic ethics as individuals, we need to revisit our practices and behaviors and to evaluate them.  We need to clean the greed, deceit and hatred that plagues our hearts and prepare for an inner Spring and new life.
Family unions are very common and Iranians travel around the country to visit their loved ones and to see the beautiful scenery of spring in different cities throughout the country. 

The upcoming Presidential elections are the subject of many family gatherings. The Ahmadinejad team are trying to promote traditional Persian holidays like Nowruz to focus on nationalism rather than the more religious aspects of the country's Islamic Republic. Reformists have recently  produced an in depth analysis and plan concerning the very difficult conditions Iran is facing. They demonstrate how social and economic indicators have plummeted  due to current mismanagement and  they have given a plan how to tackle the crisis. 

Sprouts are a symbol of revival and spring 

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 

Awards for Environmental Activists and Researchers in Iran

The Center for Peace and Environment convened the annual environmental award ceremony of Dr. Taghi Ebtekar in Tehran. The eighth round of Dr. Taghi Ebtekar Award Ceremony was held on Wednesday March 7. Three activists and researchers , three NGOs, one journalist and the family of a forest ranger killed by smugglers were all awarded by the CPE Board of Referees. www.pengoo.ir

Argo is Disappointing

Iranian films are now quite popular worldwide, indicating that Iranian cinema has taken great leaps to compete at global levels. Iranian cinema has taken a aesthetic  and hermunetic approach during the past decades. Many Iranian directors and producers have embarked on a quest to produce quality films for the Iranian audience without government support and funding. They see the cinema as a cultural affair and hope to maintain a dialogue with the people through the cinema. 
Many Iranians also wished to see a cultural dialogue with Americans via the  film industry. Hopes were high after Asghar Farhadi's the Separation won the Oscars a few years ago. This year however, the selection was disappointing.  After the Oscar's best movie award was given to Argo,the BBC World Newshour asked me to speak about my views on the film. I told them I expected more from Hollywood. I told them they could have used cinema to promote understanding and peace among nations not as a means to distribute a negative impression and biased image against a great civilization and nation like Iran. You may listen to the interview through the links below.


http://audioboo.fm/boos/1232355-dr-massoumeh-ebtekar-iran-s-first-female-vice-president-and-once-the-spokeswoman-for-the-hostage-takers-in-1979-says-argo-is-disappointing#t=4m9s  

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/newshour

Biodiversity Conservation in Iran

One of the major strategies pursued by the Department of Environment during my tenure was to protect our national biodiversity. Thus various measures were taken to increase the level of protected areas, protect the natural habitats of endangered or indigenous species and to prevent damage to precious ecosystems such as the wetlands, range lands and forests. Since forest exploitation projects had been underway long before this period and since the jurisdiction of forest management had been given to another ministry, it was very difficult to maintain this protection policy for the pristine forests in Alborz and Zagros mountain ranges. These forests and rangelands which were considered stemming  from the ancient Hirkanian forests had to be brought under the protection scheme of the Supreme Council of Environmental Protection based on the related laws and regulations. Many groups and individuals were seriously against this strategy since, the exploitation of natural forests and felling of trees and the ensuing profits would be seriously affected. During those years we adopted several measures to enhance biodiversity conservation through the protection of habitats. In 1998 we adopted a bill designating 10 % of all pristine forests in Iran as protected area, During these years the Supreme Council of the Environment approved several new protected areas as well as National Parks in precious ecosystems including forests and wetlands, thereby increasing the area of protected areas to over 7.5% in 2005 from 4.5% in 1997. In those years we also adopted a bill seriously limiting exploitation of natural forests and then another bill on the standards for sustainable management of forest ecosystems. In addition a major project to protect the Zagros forests was also enacted. Most important I felt was my constant visits and news conferences and interviews on the specific subject of forests and protected areas, which would create a difficult atmosphere for opponents of this policy. These policies were promoted by DOE employees, rangers, NGOs and independent media, thus transforming the concept into a nationwide campaign.
The change of government in 2005 brought about a change in strategy and priorities. The Supreme Council of the Environment was illegally annulled  many conservation policies abandoned while NGOs and independent media faced severe setbacks. Even though certain positive measures have been taken during these years and while many efforts are still underway, the general conditions of natural ecosystems are not favorable and protection schemes do not face priority.

Sarigol National Park , North Khorasan

Paband National Park , Mazandaran

Nevertheless, prospects for change  are positive. since we have elections both for a new President and for nationwide city and village councils in June 2013. We look forward to a revival of environmentalists and pro conservation policies in Iran in the future.

Defense Budgets in Today's World

 Why are global politicians so intent on promoting arms sales and military expenditures? Why do we witness recurring and endless cases of war , armed conflict, ethnic strife and terrorism in today's world?   According to recent estimates global military expenditure stands at over $1.7 trillion in annual expenditure at current prices for 2011 (or $1.63 trillion dollars at constant 2010 prices), and has been rising in recent years. In the  Swedish Institute for Peace Research Report SIPRI, once again authors have noted that:
, “There is a large gap between what countries are prepared to allocate for military means to provide security and maintain their global and regional power status, on the one hand, and to alleviate poverty and promote economic development, on the other.”

This money could save thousands on the verge of starvation and provide education and health care for millions of children throughout the world.
Human civilization seems to have advanced in many areas during the recent centuries and this advancement has bought a luxurious or at least confortable life for some, but only at the expense of severe loss in the quality of life for others.
Indeed, compare this military spending with the entire budget of the United Nations:

The United Nations and all its agencies and funds spend about $30 billion each year, or about $4 for each of the world’s inhabitants. This is a very small sum compared to most government budgets and it is less than three percent of the world’s military spending. Yet for nearly two decades, the UN has faced financial difficulties and it has been forced to cut back on important programs in all areas, even as new mandates have arisen. Many member states have not paid their full dues and have cut their donations to the UN’s voluntary funds. As of December 31, 2010, members’ arrears to the Regular Budget topped $348 million, of which the US owed 80%.

• Military protection manpower per 1,000 people in North Korea in 2008 was 46, the highest in the world.
• The 15 countries with the highest spending account for over 81% of the total;
• The USA is responsible for 41 per cent of the world total, distantly followed by the China (8.2% of world share), Russia (4.1%), UK and France (both 3.6%)

The US government has a firm grip on its number one rank on military budget and spending in the world. While Americans and the global public opinion were told that 535.4 billion US dollars were spent in 2012 on defense , a report by Winslow Wheeler of the Project on Government Oversight suggests that reported defense spending figures underestimate the overall cost of defense and national security programs by a mere 400 billion dollars in FY 2012.

 Probably the most  interesting military-related budgetary  gossip  has been the practice of keeping the operational costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan separate from the main Pentagon budget, as if those costs should not count as much because they are , sort of temporary. There is, admittedly, a sense in which the Iraq War should not be counted as “defense” spending. The war was not an act of defense; it was offense. But that, of course, is not the reason for the practice (begun by the administration that launched the Iraq War) of separating costs of the war from the main defense budget. The reason had much more to do with wanting to understate the actual amount the United States spends on its military. Since high military expenditures are not justified in terms of public opinion within and out of the US. The US in not alone in this race, China, Russia and North Korea and NATO members are in the same category.

 Observers have shown how the true total cost of an endeavor such as the Iraq War goes far beyond what shows up in the federal budget and includes various secondary economic effects.   A big part of the follow-on cost of recent wars is the long-term care of military veterans, especially grievously wounded ones. Such costs are proportionately greater than for previous wars. Due  to modern  body armor and a splendid military medical system, many who would have died in earlier conflicts instead survive—but they are still maimed by the incidents.
War is a very painful and disastrous entity both for humanity but also for nature as well. 
Civil societies should engage in global campaigns to ask governments to stop the arms race and to start more responsible spending for health, education and employment thereby giving all humans the right they deserve to dignified livelihoods. 
Peace is a prerequisite to development and human advancement, the selfish excesses of a minority has led the world to instability and war.

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Iran, Land of Diversity

The ethnic diversity of Iran is both amazing and unique in many respects. Iranians  come from Persian, Turk, Lor, Kurd, Arab, Baluch, Sistani, Turkemen backgrounds. This ethnic diversity and intercultural interaction has made the Iranian society one of the most dynamic and attractive in terms of national heritage and culture. Local dialects and accents and even ethnic languages are very popular. Local cuisine and traditional dishes are welcomed in every home. Traditional and ethnic art including drama, music, painting and folklore have all evolved to create a very rich cultural backbone. Traditional costumes and colorful clothes are also one of the attractions  specific for each Iranian ethnic group.