UNESCO Representative visits community-based project on sustainable natural resources management in Zanjan Province

“Sustainability requires changes in the ways we produce and consume. Fundamentally, it requires new ways of seeing the world, new ways of thinking about our responsibilities to each other and our planet”, said Ms. Kuisch Laroche, UNESCO Representative, at a meeting with the Zanjan Natural Resources and Watershed Organisation, AVA Diplomatic reports.

Forest areas in Zanjan Province are sparsely covered with large expanses of manually planted trees and local communities are increasingly dependent on forest ecosystems for their food and livelihoods. Unsustainable practices have led to the widespread degradation of forest ecosystems and have also reduced the effectiveness of climate change adaptation strategies.

Within this context, the Forests Range and Watershed Management Organization (FRWO), in close cooperation with the Zanjan Natural Resources and Watershed Organization (ZNRWO), is implementing a pilot project entitled “Enhancing Women’s Capacity for Sustainable Natural Resource Management” in the Ghezeltape Watershed in Agh-Golagh Village, located in Arpachai. The overall goal of the project is to empower women to participate in community-based decision-making processes related to managing and safeguarding local natural resources.

FRWO invited Ms. Kuisch Laroche to visit the project to discuss possible areas of cooperation with UNESCO.

On 23 May 2017, the UNESCO Representative met with the Governor General of Zanjan, Dr Asadollah Darvish Amiri, and other key provincial officials, as well as representatives from FRWO and ZNRWO.

Dr Amiri stressed that poverty is an important driver of degradation of forest ecosystems, as local communities resort to unsustainable use of resources to meet their immediate needs. He highlighted the importance of educating rural populations to be less reliant on natural resources and the promotion of sustainable alternative livelihoods to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

On 24 May 2017, Mr Javad Rahmati, Assistant Governor of Zanjan; Dr Khalil Aghajanloo, Director General of ZNRWO; Colonel Ghasem Sabzali, Head of Protection Unit of FRWO; Mr Mohammad Ebrahim Fallah Kohan, Deputy Director General of Public Relations and International Affairs of FRWO, provincial officials, and representatives of FRWO and ZNRWO met with the UNESCO Representative to discuss possible areas of collaboration in the context of the project “Enhancing Women’s Capacity for Sustainable Natural Resource Management in the Ghezeltape Watershed”.

Following the meeting, Ms. Kuisch Laroche visited Agh-Golagh Village and had the opportunity to meet with local community members who showcased their handicrafts, as well as the medicinal plants grown by the community.

Through its Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) and the World Network of Biosphere Reserves, UNESCO has gained precious global experience in fostering the harmonious integration of people and nature for sustainable development through participatory dialogue; knowledge sharing; poverty reduction and human well-being improvements; respect for cultural values and society’s ability to cope with change. The lessons learned from those experiences can be shared with communities around the world.

In addition, UNESCO has been spearheading global efforts towards Education for Sustainable Development since 2005, promoting the integration of critical issues, such as climate change, biodiversity, disaster risk reduction (DRR), and sustainable consumption and production, into the curriculum in order to enable a transition to greener economies and societies.