سازمان منابع طبیعی و آبخیزداری کشور

FRWO and Basij (Sāzmān-e Basij-e Mostaz'afin) Organization/ OMO (The Organization for Mobilization of the Oppressed) signed on Tuesday a memorandum of understanding to boost protecting Hyrcanian forests. The Basij Organization is subordinate to and receives their orders from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Supreme Leader of Iran.

According to FRWO’s website, at the signing ceremony which was attended by IRGC commanders and Director Generals of natural resources and watershed management in the northern provinces held in the form of a video conference at FRWO Headquarters on Tuesday, Dr. Massoud Mansour, Head of FRWO and Brigadier General Gholamreza Soleimani, Head of the Basij Organization signed a memorandum of understanding to develop the cooperation aimed at boosting the protection of the Hyrcanian forests.

This memorandum of understanding was signed in order to realization of guidelines of the Supreme Leader to use the great potential of the youth and to boost the protection and preservation of forests in the north of the country.

Massoud Mansour, Head of FRWO at the signing ceremony of the MoU between FRWO and the Basij said:" FRWO, as a state authorized body has the responsibility of land recording of more than 80% of the country's public lands, and the activities of FRWO are carried out in the provinces by Natural Resources and Watershed Management Departments (NRWDs).

He reiterated: "When issues such as dust storms, soil erosion, floods and the expansion of green space and oxygen production are raised, the responsibility and scope of natural resources management activities is on the whole area of ​​the country and the people."

In another part of his speech, Head of FRWO spoke about the preservation and importance of the country's natural resources and noted: The Zagros forests produce a significant part of the country's water and thousands of Iranian households' life depends on natural resources, and natural resources management guarantees the food security of the country.

Mansour said that our country is located in an arid and semi-arid belt and its ecosystem is fragile, and noted: "Iran is a developing country and development is inevitable. Therefore, carrying out any development action in any way affects natural resources and the environment and complicates the work and management in this area".

In other part of this ceremony, Mansour referring to the importance of preserving the Hyrcanian forests said: "Hyrcanian forests store billions of cubic meters of water annually, and one of the Supreme Leader's concerns has always been to preserve these valuable forest resources, and we have a duty to protect the Hyrcanian forests in the best possible way".

In this ceremony, Brigadier General Gholamreza Soleimani, Head of the Basij Organization, said: "The forest are a public asset and Basij besides FRWO is mandated to pass this heritage on to the next generations. In this way, Basij will not withhold any assistance from FRWO for protection, restoration and development."

Soleimani reiterated: "The Supreme Leader symbolically plants trees every year, and this action by the Supreme Leader promotes natural resources culture including of development and protection of forests."

Based on this report, developing the protection of Hyrcanian forests and preventing the illegal logging and transportation of forest trees and preventing destruction and land grabbing in the country are among the important goals mentioned in the subject of MoU.