The extreme arid climate dominating the southeastern province of Kerman could destroy over 80% of the wildlife diversity by mid-fall if urgent action is not taken, a senior official at the Department of Environment warned.
Beleaguered by many environmental issues including high evaporation rates, special topographical situation as well as wrong traditional farming methods and unfulfilled water rights, the desiccated land has nothing to offer to the starving and parched wildlife, said Reza Jazinizadeh, head of provincial DOE.
"Drought has long been enveloping the land over the last several decades but the vulnerable environment has always been the last thing to get attention," IRNA quoted him as saying.
To help alleviate the condition, the DOE has identified and communicated the primary environmental needs of each inflicted and vulnerable region to the Disaster Mitigation and Management Organization, according to Jazinizadeh.
However, he said, officials alone could not take on the trouble unless they enlist the public's collaboration.
"Environment is not a luxury or peripheral issue to be lost amid other preferences. If the biodiversity and environment suffer harm, all other efforts in economy, politics and development will be of no avail."
Kerman is spread across 181,000 square kilometers making it the widest province throughout the country. The province totally embraces 2.4 million hectares (almost 13% of its total area) of protected areas under the jurisdiction of DOE, including national parks, natural monuments, wildlife sanctuaries and protected areas. Unrelenting drought has pushed Kerman to the edge of dangerous limits, climate-wise. Wildlife habitats, wetlands and vegetation are being seriously menaced to the point of demise.
