The head of Tehran Municipality’s Environment and Sustainable Development Headquarters Ali Mohammad Shaeri had told reporters earlier this week that installing catalytic converters in the vehicles would reduce 90 per cent of air pollution; “the Municipality is working to install catalytic converters in old vehicles which contribute negatively to air pollution; motor vehicles account for 70 percent of air pollution, with motorbikes playing a crucial role,” he added.
Shaeri also said that in the current year, a total of 94 days had been classified as ‘polluted,’ despite the fact that fuel quality had been extremely improved and the influx of polluting aerosols from western borders had been stopped; “3,000 vehicles and 2 million motorbikes moving around the city without any catalytic converter, operation of 320 industrial complex and higher energy consumption rate, the city of Tehran contribute the most to the pollution,” he said.
On Wednesday, Vahid Hosseini, head of Tehran Air Quality Control announced the latest report of air quality in the current year; “the air quality index of city of Tehran has greatly improved during last 10 months of this year compared to that in 2013 and 2012 with fewer days with high particle pollution.
On last Sunday, a report said that since the beginning of the year (21 March 2014), the number of killed bears has been dramatically increased. Death of 20 bears in ten months shows the speed in which wildlife became a victim of the mismanagement of valuable species protection. In 2013, 15 cheetahs disappeared from the nature, effectively leading the environmental experts to give the apt title of ‘the dark year of the cheetah.’ It steered much hostile reaction to the sheer mismanagement of protection of near-extinction animals even if it was lip service; some parliamentarians even said they would pass to the law stricter and harsher laws about the hunting of these species.
Environment and Wildlife Watchdog has announced the arrival of a flock of 16 grey crowned-cranes in the dried wetland of Bandalikhan in protected desert area of the Tehran Province. Keivan Houshmand said however that crane flock would soon leave the area, since they would find the wetland barren for nest building. “The wetland was hosting thousands of migratory birds of different species during winters about 25 years ago, when the wetland was a rich aquatic ecosystem,” he said.
On Tuesday, the head of Regional Environmental Coordination Office, Department of Environment announced seizing of a bear from a circus in Kazeroun in southern province of Fars. Amirhossein Dadashi said that Homayouni Circus was entertaining the audience with a bear; “with public reports delivered to the provincial office, the bear was seized and will be soon transferred to a qualified animal care center,” he asserted.
He also added that a lion serving as an entertainment object for a street circus without legal permits from the Department was seized and now “is in Pardisan Park Quarantine center.”
“A second bear from a street circus as well has been taken over, and the abusers will go before the Animal Illegal Abuse Court,” he asserted.
On Wednesday, a lion was also seized during entertainment of street viewers in Kermanshah and is now under treatment in Pardisan Park Quarantine center for injuries in his neck area inflicted on him by thick hosepipe and iron chains; “the lion is male and is two years old. He has been fed only by animal bones and is underweight proportionate to its age,” said Iman Memarian, veterinarian of the Pardisan Wildlife Park clinic.
He added that the lion was in satisfactory conditions and had received administrations of antibiotics. Memarian harshly criticized the shabby conditions in which animals are kept in circuses; “the most effective way to prevent abuse of the wildlife is a ban on the using new animals and removing the remaining animals from circuses via neutering,” he said.
“Since the Park has no center for lion care, and Tehran Zoo lacks the capacity to accept new lions, the lion will join the pride of male lions,” he predicted.
Still in different story on Wednesday, a member of board of directors of Fars Green Center, an NGO, announced preliminary steps to register Loot Desert in the UNESCO World Heritage. Bahman Izadi said that the Wednesday morning meeting of natural heritage committee examined larger portion of Loot Desert valuable landforms for national registration.
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