Ardebil -- Vice President and Director of the Environmental Protection Organization (EPO) Masoumeh Ebtekar here on Sunday said that the EPO is preparing a plan to ban all exploitation of northern forests as part of its conservation measures.

Ebtekar, addressing a meeting of provincial environmental protection department directors, said that the plan is currently being studied by the Supreme Council for Environmental Protection, and once approved, it will ban all exploitation of northern forests and introduce tougher measures to combat illegal logging.

She said that if the plan is approved, the northern forests will be declared protected zones and national parks.

"The forests of northern Iran are on the verge of destruction as a result of incorrect exploitation.

The EPO is determined to adopt the measures necessary to better preserve forests, a vital natural resource, for future generations," Ebtekar said.

The vice president also highlighted the need to adhere to government conservation programs and said that the national development plans that are continuously being implemented throughout the country all contain conservation measures.

"Economic development must not be achieved at the cost of environmental destruction," Ebtekar said.