TEHRAN – Elaborating on the late Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei’s mindset on the environment, the head of the Department of Environment (DOE), Shina Ansari, said the Leader’s environmental policies underlined the collective responsibility of each individual to protect the natural environment.

In the Leader’s point of view, preserving natural resources and combating environmental degradation constituted a governmental, national, and religious obligation that requires the participation of all the people and all the governmental bodies, IRIB quoted Ansari as saying.

The official made the remarks on Monday on the sidelines of the late Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei’s funeral procession.

From his perspective, the environment is not a luxury or a secondary issue; environmental conservation is a critical issue and a shared responsibility that must be embraced by all policymakers, planners, and citizens—regardless of their political leanings, she added.

Referring to the Leader’s expert and scientific outlook, Ansari said the Leader highlighted the need to criminalize environmental destruction, take decisive legal action against violators, and prevent encroachment and deforestation.

He believed that the conversion of public wealth into private wealth through the destruction of nature is a clear violation of the rights of future generations.

Promoting the culture of environmental protection and raising awareness in society were among his top priorities.

Highlighting the key concepts, including ‘intergenerational justice and rights’, ‘management of climate change impacts’, ‘development of green economy’, and the ‘establishment of an integrated national environmental system’, used by the Leader, Ansari said his statements delineated the roadmap for safeguarding the country’s environment for the coming years.

Martyred leader was devoted to environmental protection

Every year on the National Tree Planting Day, the martyred leader invited people to plant trees and protect the environment, saying that doing such important work requires national support.

In March 2025, the martyred Leader said planting trees is a beneficial act that highlights the nation’s foresight for creating wealth for future generations.

All people should participate in planting trees as a good and righteous act so that with the increase of trees, the living environment will be refreshed and clean, Ayatollah Khamenei stressed.

Experts believe that in addition to planting fruit trees, trees that produce wood should be planted because the export of wood has a significant effect on the country’s economy, the martyred leader stressed.

The destruction of forests and the environment and vegetation is equivalent to the degradation of national interests, and the depletion of part of the forests for construction, except in emergencies, is definitely to the detriment of the nation, he added.

He believed that planting trees is a beneficial act that highlights the nation’s foresight for creating wealth for future generations. Environmental degradation poses a big threat to the future of humans, so it has to be addressed.

So, all people should participate in planting trees as a good and righteous act so that with the increase of trees, the living environment will be refreshed and clean.

The martyred leader emphasized that planting trees is a profitable and rewarding investment. He noted that trees offer numerous advantages, like increasing oxygen levels and helping to reduce pollutants, making it a profitable investment choice.

He also reminded the importance of the connection between man and nature and the preservation of the environment in Islam, noting that planting trees is not only related to young people. All people of different ages should find enthusiasm and motivation towards this important, necessary, and beautiful work.

Referring to a national plan, kicked off in December 2023, to plant up to one billion trees across the country over the course of four years to combat desertification and restore forests, the martyred leader said: “If each Iranian plants three saplings, the government’s goal to plant one billion saplings over the next four years will be realized.”

The National Tree Planting Day (March 5) was observed this year in the special memory of the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei who always recommended planting trees as a good and righteous act toward environmental protection.

The day is observed annually on the fifteenth day of Esfand, the last month on the Iranian calendar, marking the first day of the natural resources and watershed management week.

The occasion has been approved to be registered on the national calendar as ‘Environmental Protection Education Day’.

In 2015, the martyred leader announced the general policies on the environment, emphasizing the need for comprehensive, harmonious, and organized management of vital resources based on ecological capability and sustainability, particularly by increasing capacities and appropriate legal and structural capabilities accompanied by public participation.

Improving environmental conditions with the purpose of helping society enjoy a healthy environment, administering justice and observing intra-generational rights, preventing and prohibiting the circulation of all kinds of unlawful pollutants, recording crimes related to the environment, administering efficient and preventive punishment of polluters and destroyers of the environment, and forcing them to compensate for their actions were also among the policies.

Now, the tree-planting campaign is still going on with a high level of participation in cities and villages of the country. The campaign would contribute to developing vegetation across the country, promoting the culture and the social responsibility of preserving the environment, combating pollution, and minimizing damage to the environment.

This year, the great man who had planted trees for years in Iran is not among us, but the trees that are planted in his memory indicate that the tradition will go on, and one day the planted saplings will turn into strong trees, narrating the story of a nation that puts a top priority on preserving nature.

MT/MG