Environment and economic development in Iran

Abstract

In the early 1970s, Iran showed a strong desire to create a healthy environment. However, no one expected Iran to sacrifice economic growth for the environment. Therefore, the constitution included some principles that combined pollution control and environmental protection programs with current development programs to ensure that environmental activities are considered part of national development. Iran’s development programs show that in encouraging and preserving the environment, the role of the government before and after the Islamic Revolution, instead of promoting competition, efficiency, and protection through market mechanisms, was direct command and supervision. In this regard, the weakness of executive programs, lack of public awareness and disregard for individuals and factories of policies and laws, prioritization of annual budget allocation in areas other than the environment has led to the inability of environmental control policies in Iran. Therefore, it is very important to answer two basic questions in the future. Do the beliefs of the people of the society matter for the destruction of the environment and call for serious action to deal with the environmental hazards? Has the government provided a suitable platform and opportunity for environmental protection? Answering these questions leads to the formulation of policies and their operational implementation concerning environmental issues in the country’s program and budget, and the success of policies depends on the answers to these questions.