Fire Spreads in Wetland ‘Due to Lack of Access’
Anzali Lagoon in Gilan Province experienced a fire on Friday, September 2, for the multiple time in recent months.
The Anzali Wetland, covering an area of approximately 20,000 hectares in Gilan Province, is considered one of Iran’s most important and largest natural habitats for wildlife.
According to IRNA news agency, citing Mohammad Pourkhosh, the governor of Anzali, the fire “began at dawn on Friday in the central part of the wetland in the Charaghpashtaan area, and its scope expanded due to lack of access to surrounding areas.”
According to Pourkhosh, when the fire started, the area affected was 2 hectares, but by Friday evening it had expanded to 40 hectares, and due to the lack of human and vehicular access and the volume of fire, it continues to spread.
This is the multiple major fire in Anzali Lagoon in recent months.
Local authorities have repeatedly declared these fires to be “intentional” and aimed at “land appropriation in the region.”
In the first fire of this year in this wetland, which occurred on July 22, approximately 15 hectares of the wetland burned.
IRNA news agency had previously reported that in only 1400 (2021-2022), nearly 90 hectares of Anzali Wetland lands were burned by fire for the purpose of “land appropriation” and by “profiteers” and were destroyed.
Although reports of the arrest of those responsible for Anzali Wetland fires are occasionally published, this process continues nonetheless.
The Anzali prosecutor had previously stated that based on Article 675 of the Constitution, intentional arson is a crime, and the legislator can impose a death sentence for individuals who commit this act for the purpose of “warfare and disrupting social order.”
Beyond arson in recent years, factors such as sediments and industrial, domestic, and hospital wastewater, slaughterhouse waste, agricultural pesticides, waste and debris, the spread of invasive plants, and the reduction of water volume have exposed the health and life of Anzali Wetland to serious danger.
Hassan Khastehband, former representative of Anzali in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, had previously stated that 700,000 tons of sediment enter Anzali Wetland annually, which has caused a reduction in the wetland’s depth over the past few decades, with its depth decreasing from 10 meters to 2 meters, and even in some areas reaching complete desiccation.
Source: Radio Farda
