TEHRAN – The general policies declared in 2015 by the late Leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, serve as the primary basis for environmental protection, Shina Ansari, the head of the Department of Environment, has said.

The Leader constantly highlighted environmental preservation, and these policies cover all environmental challenges and issues. Virtually, had they been fully implemented, the country wouldn’t have been facing many of the current environmental problems, Mehr news agency quoted Ansari as saying.

Integrated management of biological resources is one of the key points of these policies; the implementation of this principle could prevent significant destruction and natural resources encroachment, she noted.

Some 11 years ago, these policies focused on issues like the green economy, which highlights the leader’s progressive outlook on the environment, Ansari added.

Other key aspects of these policies include criminalizing environmental destruction, developing environmental culture, and highlighting the role of education and public participation in environmental protection.

Preventing land-use change, forest and national land encroachment, as well as combating environmental degradation, were among other key policies announced by the late Leader, she further noted.

All these policies focus on a comprehensive, multidimensional, and inclusive approach; reliance on them can mitigate many of the current environmental issues and challenges.

The official went on to say that the DOE is not the sole entity responsible for environmental conservation; all governmental bodies, including the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, and even the armed forces, have to play a role in this regard.

Elaborating on the late Leader’s mindset on the environment, 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 on July 6, on the sidelines of the late Leader’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.

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’.

MT/MG