The right to the environment and the necessity of the Iranian government attention to the environment in Kurdistan province.
“In the Islamic Republic, the protection of the environment, in which today and future generations should have a growing social life, is considered a public duty. Therefore, economic activities and other activities related to environmental pollution or what destroys it irreparably is forbidden.”
This phrase was reflected in the 50th article of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran and indicates the great importance of the environment as one of the fundamental rights and the attention of the fundamental legislators of the Islamic Republic to this importance. The right to the environment as one of the human rights allows people to have a healthy and suitable environment for life and benefit from its gifts for their growth and excellence. This right is formed in the third generation of human rights, known as solidarity rights. Solidarity rights refer to those human rights that require international cooperation and interaction and benefit all humans and future generations, like the right to peace.
The right to the environment is recognized in international human rights documents, such as the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm in 1972, the declaration adopted there, said: “Man has the right to freedom and dignity and good living in a good-quality environment.” Also, in 1992, at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, a declaration was approved, which states that “human beings are at the center of sustainable development efforts and have the right to health and well-being throughout their geopolitical and ecological spheres.”
The right to the environment has a special place in divine religions. Islam has also emphasized this right. The relationship between man and nature is basically one of the relationships it has been concerned about. The nature is a divine gift and trust, and man must protect it and cannot endanger others and future generations at will.
Based on what was said, the right to the environment as one of the human rights, emphasized by the Islamic Republic of Iran and world religions and intellectuals as well as international documents, is a right that citizens and the subjects of the Islamic Republic have it and is directly and indirectly addressed by the constitution. The Islamic Republic claims that it was formed based on Islamic thought; therefore, it has a double obligation and so it is necessary to do all its efforts to protect the environment. Forests, as one of the most important examples of the environment, called breathing apparatus of the earth, are more important in protection in terms of having a lot of diversity in plant and animal species, and the use of all legal and executive capacities and possibly security in preserving these national capitals.
However, Iran’s forests are not immune to natural and unnatural events, and due to regional and security conditions, these risks are more apparent in some parts of the country. Therefore, in a land where natural and unnatural hazards are more possible and it is even prone to many vandalism and hostilities in various fields, and among them is the environmental issue, so it is necessary to pay more attention to the prevention of these incidents and prepare yourself to deal with them when they occur. Equipping environmentalists and security forces and special environmental and forestry forces in areas with high environmental importance is also an important issue.
However, recently the forests of Marivan have witnessed such a bad event and huge funds have been lost in fire, suspected to be sabotage. A fund that belongs not only to the honorable people living in the areas close to it, but a national capital for everyone. However, the group that suffer the most are the people living in this area. An incident that once again points out the importance of protecting the right to the environment as a fundamental right and the government’s duty to prevent these incidents and its readiness to deal quickly and decisively with such incidents. The Iranian Kurdistan Human Rights Watch emphasizes that the duty of protecting the special and beautiful forests of Iranian Kurdistan is the responsibility of the Iranian government, and the central government must seriously counter any destructive and anti-environmental actions. The lack of specialized firefighting equipment, the delay in sending special helicopters to fight fires, and any kind of shortcoming and negligence in dealing with the actions against the pristine nature of Kurdistan province, are not accepted in at all.
Watch reminds again that the nature of Kurdistan does not belong only to the Kurdish people, but it is a human heritage and belongs to all the people of Iran, and the Iranian government must have a special plan to deal with forest fires and respect the people’s right to the environment.
