Iran: The Fight Against Climate Change

1
Iran The Fight Against Climate Change
2
Iran Facts

• Offical name, JOMHORI-ISLAMI-E-IRAN (Islamic
  Republic of Iran)
• Total land and water area 1.648 million sq km
• Population slightly under 69 million people
• (https//www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geo
  s/ir.html)
• Iran is the second largest OPEC oil producer and
  has the worlds largest reserves of gas.
  (http//www.undp.org.ir/iran-facts.asp)

• contains two of the worlds most arid deserts,
  Dasht-e-Kavir and Dasht-e-Lut, suffering floods,
  droughts, and landslides
• subject to numerous and often severe earthquakes
  due to its position in the Alpine-Himalayan
  mountain system
• (http//www.undp.org.ir/iran-facts.asp)

3
Consumption and Emissions

• Experienced nearly a three-fold energy
  consumption increase in 20 years
• Consumption mainly consists of
• Natural gas (50)
• Oil (48)
• Coal and other (2)

• Since the 1980s, carbon emissions have risen
  from 33.1million metric tons to 80.8 million
  metric tons in 2000. (240)
• Iran counts for 1.3 of worlds total carbon
  emissions

(http//www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/iranenv.html)
4
Temperature Effects

• Scenarios proposed by IPCC, estimated that if the
  CO2 concentration doubles by the year 2100, the
  average temperature in Iran will increases by 1.5
  - 4.5ºC
• These projects are conducted by a number of staff
  from relevant institutions in Iran, headed by the
  first National Project Manager, Dr. Taghi
  Ebtekar, professor at the University of Tehran
• The activity project supported by UNFCCC
  conducted scenarios that selected combinations of
  two GCMs (HadCM2 and ECHAM4) models, with three
  emission scenarios, and three different climate
  sensitivities to predict Irans future climate
  change.

http//unimaps.com/iran/print.html

• Temperature extremes cause significant changes in
  
• -water resources,
• -energy demand,
• -agricultural products,
• -coastal zones

(http//www.climate-change.ir/en/concept/)
5
Precipitation

• Severe drought is also recognized as a feature of
  Irans climate. In the last three years, the
  country has suffered severe desiccation and this
  lack of rainfall has resulted in extensive
  losses.
• The average rainfall in Iran is about 250 mm,
  which is less than 1/3 of the average rainfall in
  the world (860 mm)
• (http//www.climate-change.ir/en/concept/)

http//unimaps.com/iran/print.html
With increasing temperatures, summer months
drought will greatly affect agriculture,
forestry, and the sea coast in Iran.
6
Water Resources
Safid River Delta, Rasht, Iran

• Research has been undertaken on several rivers
  and lake basins by using historical
  hydro-meteorological data and runoff models in
  combination with the global warming scenarios.
• The result of historical runoff data surveys
  collected at 398 hydrometric stations shows that
  the Flood Index has changed in 47 of them
• Temperature rise will
• Increases runoff volume during winter and
  decreases it during spring.
• affects runoff of basins and decreases the amount
  of runoff variation of rainfall which leads to
  flooding in local areas.
• (http//www.climate-change.ir/en/concept/)

http//www.parstimes.com/spaceimages/safid_river_d
elta.html
A new delta is forming due to sediments being
deposited at the river mouth from increasing
river runoff.
7
Agriculture Impacts

• Agriculture
• The predicted increase in temperature due to
  global warming may lead to
• spikelet sterility in rice,
• loss of pollen viability in maize,
• reversal of vernalization in wheat
• reduced formation of tuber bulking in the potato
  for the areas near the threshold.
• The changing climate will affect wheat, which is
  the main staple crop. Wheat production will be
  sharply reduced, shrinking the food production
  for the consumers.
• (http//www.climate-change.ir/en/concept/)

http//www.undp.org.ir/iran-facts.asp

• Losses inflicted by the 1998-1999 droughts on
  wheat production nationwide are estimated at
  about 1,050,000 tons of irrigated wheat and
  2,543,000 tons of rain fed wheat.

8
Forestry and Biodiversity

• Climate change impacts biodiveristy
• the habitat location of forest species,
  especially the less tolerant ones and the
  extinction of low tolerant species.
• The natural regeneration regime of forest plants
  is upset and results in the reduction of wood and
  non-wood production in forests.
• pests and plant disease infestation and an
  intensification of land erosion, particularly in
  arid and semi-arid zones.

http//www.geographie.uni-stuttgart.de/lehrveranst
altungen/exkursionen/Iran_2004/persiangulf.htm

• Sea-based mangrove forests are degraded and
  sometimes destroyed because of the rise in sea
  level in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman.

http//www.climate-change.ir/en/concept/
9
Forest impacts on humans
Irans Organization of Forestry and Rangelands
found

• Environmental conditions for wildlife in forest
  areas decline sharply as does forage production
  in rangeland, signaling the onset of
  desertification.
• social consequence of this environmental
  downgrading is population migration because of
  ecological insufficiency.
• Soil erosion is the natural result of destruction
  of plant cover and all such conditions are
  exacerbated by high temperature and aridity.
• http//www.climate-change.ir/en/concept/

10
Coastal Zones
According to the National Center for Oceanography
of the Ministry of Science

• results of temperature and sea level rise on the
  Southern coastal zone effect
• coastal erosion in the north and south
• inundation of low lands such as the Miankaleh
  peninsula and Gorgan Bay
• mass bleaching of the coral reef,
• salt water intrusion caused by flooding and
  inundation
• Triggered by sea level rise combined with a low
  river flow, salt water is affecting the Karun
  River system, which is the main source of
  drinking water for the population centers of more
  than one million people
• (http//www.climate-change.ir/en/concept/)

• the 10-year hourly-recorded data in three sites
  (Chabahar, Bandar Abbas and Bushehr), the mean
  sea level in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman has
  been rising at an average value of 4.5 mm/yr

11
Health Concerns

• Climate change will cause direct adverse health
  effects. Global Warming is expected to lead to
  more cardiovascular, respiratory, and other
  diseases.
• In particular, one of the major vector born
  tropical diseases is Malaria, which is prevalent
  in different provinces of Iran. The research on
  the exposure rate to Malaria from 1982 to 1998
  indicates that the trend cases of those infected
  are on the rise.
• (http//www.climate-change.ir/en/concept/)

(http//www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/iranenv.html)

• The biggest environmental problem Iran currently
  faces is air pollution, especially in the capital
  city of Tehran
• approximately 4,000-5,000 Tehran residents are
  estimated to die every year from air pollution
• (http//www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/iranenv.html)

12
What is being done?

• Through the support of the United Nations
  Development Programme, Iran is working towards a
  cleaner environment. The majority of environment
  initiatives are funded by two trust funds the
  Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the
  Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the
  Ozone Layer (MP).
• (http//www.undp.org.ir/EnergyEnvironment.htm)
• By implementation of the overall aggregated
  policies, the amount of GHGs emission will be
  reduced from 752,150 Gg to 560,791 Gg by the year
  2010.
• (http//www.climate-change.ir/en/concept/)