Regulation on a Comprehensive Program to Preserve Forests in North of Iran.

The purpose of this Regulation is to regulate general principles concerning protection and governance of the Northern Forests of the Country. Increasing the protective equipment, modernization of the methods of forests’ conservation and reduction of the destructive elements are main objectives of this Regulation. Regarding the importance of the Northern Forests in preserving soil and water and in order to protect and develop these forests, land use planning principles shall be implemented in all Northern Provinces of the country. The Department of Environment shall set environmental standards regarding any plans to protect, rehabilitate, develop and exploit the forests and natural resources. The Ministry of Agriculture is the responsible Authority to implement the provisions of the present Regulation. Monitoring any qualitative or quantitative changes in the forests, as well as creation of a forests information bank are other tasks of the Ministry of Agriculture regarding the northern forests of the country. The Regulation consists of 18 articles, subdivided in 5 Chapters as follows: General Definitions and Principles (I); Classification of Tasks at Different Levels of Management of the Northern Forest (II); Policy and Administrative Measures to Protect the Northern Forests (III); Executive Strategies for Rehabilitation and Development of Vegetation (IV); Efficient Utilization of Resources and Technical and Administrative Reform (V); Monitoring and Evaluation of the Operational Measures.