9th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION

IN BUILDING
9° Congreso Internacional De Innovación Tecnológica en Edificación
DEPARTAMENTO DE TECNOLOGÍA DE LA EDIFICACIÓN · E.T.S. DE EDIFICACIÓN
UNIVERSIDAD POLITÉCNICA DE MADRID

THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT:

Seyed Behbood Issa Zadeh

has presented the communication entitled

ASSESSMENT OF THE SUSTAINABILITY OF URBAN ENVIRONMENTS WITH A FOCUS ON

SUSTAINABLE URBAN GROWTH

At the IX International Conference on Technological Innovation in Building

(IX Congreso Internacional de Innovación Tecnológica en Edificación)
CITE2024
Held between 13th to 15th March 2024
Organized by Departamento de Tecnología de la Edificación
Escuela Técnica Superior de Edificación (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid)

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El Comité Organizador CITE 2023

D. Carlos Morón Fernández

Director del Departamento
 IX Congreso Internacional de Innovación Tecnológica en Edificación

ASSESSMENT OF THE SUSTAINABILITY OF URBAN ENVIRONMENTS WITH A FOCUS

ON SUSTAINABLE URBAN GROWTH

M. Rea Rezaei 1, and Seyed Behbood Issa-Zadeh 1,2

1 Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain.

2 National University of Science and Technology, International Maritime College, Oman.

* Correspondence: sb.issazadeh@gmail.com

Abstract: There is an emphasis on environmental sustainability assessment since it is regarded

as one of the most crucial tools in the planning process for sustainable development. Planning
and politics are unavoidable. It is considering the swift alterations that have transpired in
numerous Iranian cities. The assessment of cities' ecological sustainability concerning
appropriate urban planning has been ongoing for the past ten years. Additionally, given the
fluctuations in the natural environment, it appears necessary. Appropriate study methodology
and research design. The work approach is analytical and descriptive, using the same
methodology to evaluate the environmental sustainability of the entire city with a focus on it.
It's a facet of environmentally friendly growth. The study's findings demonstrated that the city
is subject to the rule of law. There are signs of unsustainability that suggest this tendency will
continue in the upcoming years due to the province's climate and the ongoing process. It will
enlarge the city and create as much instability as possible throughout. The issue is durability;
sustainable development will have no value regardless of cities and villages. The world is
becoming more unstable, and urban and global sustainability are intellectual constructs. A city
inhabited by people. Its primary sources of pollution include manual labor and overuse of
contaminated areas, including noise pollution from irrigation systems, surface water and
drinking water contamination, and more. The entrances now. Cities and households,
pollutants and chemicals, surplus solid waste, and chemical and microbiological leaks into
water sources. One of the most significant environmental risks to the city is garbage disposal,
recycling, and health concerns. They show up. No all-encompassing program was in place to
safeguard water resources, particularly regarding aquaculture and harvesting techniques. One
of the most significant environmental hazards in cities is urban catastrophes.

Keywords: Environment, Sustainable Urban Development, Sustainability, Climate Change.

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1. INTRODUCTION

The process of development without environmental planning in our country, located in the dry
and semi-dry areas of the world, has faced widespread destruction and environmental
pollution. Of course, to deal with the current crises and disruptions, the future of this land will
be very worrying. To preserve the environment and comply with the Sustainable Development
Goals, as well as the guidance and logical management of plans and projects, must be
considered seriously because reducing the negative environmental impacts of activities in
various branches is one of the essential elements of sustainability and sustainable
development. Biology has been a significant concern since the late twentieth century [1].
Urban spaces have problems such as low environmental quality, noise, and air pollution.
Recent criticism from urban researchers and human communities emphasized the concept of
livability as one approach to achieving a viable and quality urban environment. Their primary
goal was to improve the quality of urban spaces on a human scale in modern cities [2].
Since then, the widespread wave of the township and its problems have increasingly increased
the importance of livability and made it difficult and impossible to overcome. Annual meetings
focused on the subject have been held since the 1970s, and organizations have also promoted
it through local and state planning [3].
The main themes of this movement are the development of cities with walking capabilities,
the development of mixed and multi-purpose applications, and the creation of a domain for
the diversity of urban public facilities to make urban environments more viable and attractive.
Ecologists have been inspired by the writings of 20th-century urban thinkers and humanists
such as Lewis Mumford, Williams Nick, and Bernard Rudowsky [4].
Environmental Sustainability Assessment refers to material and non-material actions that
provide crucial information on environmental impacts, compliance, stakeholder relations, and
organizational systems and are indicators of the effectiveness and efficiency of actions taken
in the environment.
This type of assessment emphasizes the positive and negative effects of the design on the
environment. Specialists use it to describe and analyze the major effects of environmental
activities to minimize the adverse effects by identifying influential factors in the environmental
impact.
The emphasis on capacity land is a region for the human society that is sustainable at the
maximum level of resource consumption and output and purification specifically in an area,
specific planning without disturbance, deterioration of integrity, ecological unity, and bio-
efficiency [5].
In Iran, the trouble is also felt in three theoretical areas among teachers and students in
programming and design and, ultimately, policymakers and urban managers as a task more
than ever. It is worth noting that the last five years of academic studies in sustainability in our
country have been more focused on rural areas and large cities.

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Today, urban tissues are the root of many pressures and contradictions on the development
path, so many adaptations to the social and economic conditions of the time are not present,
and lack of adequate access to the current standards of living, lack of livelihood, and
biodiversity is one of their fundamental and major problems [6].
Despite the rotation of urban development policy patterns in the last decade from horizontal
development to investment in urban tissue, the biosystem of these tissues has faced
disruption and inefficiency both structurally and because of the functioning of vital
components. In the meantime, identifying and assessing citizens' needs and mental and
biological demands and adapting the appropriate conditions of these settlements will enhance
the quality of mental satisfaction in urban areas and provide a framework for sustainable
development [7].
The results of the livability of urban spaces Studies can help evaluate policies, rank locations,
formulate urban management and planning strategies, and facilitate the study and
prioritization of community issues for urban planners and managers to improve citizens'
quality of life.
Livability findings can also be used to reflect on past political strategies and design future
planning policies; in addition, bioscience studies can help identify problematic areas, the
causes of people’s discomfort, citizens’ priorities in life, the impact of population social factors
on biodiversity and promote and evaluate the work of policies and strategies in the field –
quality of life [8].
Finally, it can be said that the use and application of the concept of quality of life is an argument
against developing an economic future at the national level, a purely urban-scale development,
and an attempt to qualitative criteria in the planning field [9].

2. BACKGROUND

Research findings show that they are in a more favorable position in terms of environmental
sustainability, so awareness of the ecological sustainability status of different urban areas and
recognition of the existing situation can play an essential role in advancing management and
planning and optimizing resource allocation to improve the well-being of residents and solve
their problems [10].
They found that they needed policies to focus activities and change policies. Self-development-
based development is an effort to stabilize the old residents of the renovation area, improve
the quality of neighborhood services and such cases, and improve the quality of life in this part
of the city [7].
In today’s circumstances, most cities worldwide agree on the importance and necessity of
recognizing, analyzing, and defining urban sustainability in various dimensions. Still, no
consensus exists on its definitions, principles, criteria, and indicators. The main reason for this
can be the direct dependence of this concept on local conditions, when and most importantly,

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the social-economic bed and management of society knew the goal [11].
Research by Jacqueline de Chazal also defined the time frame as the most crucial after-
imaginary framework for defining the meaning of each of these concepts. He thus said: Bio
satisfaction is the state of desires about the satisfaction of living in a particular place for an
individual or a group of people now, but persistence is the capacity to fulfill wishes for a person
or group over time [12].
In Australia, to improve the impact of coherent urban shape on the eco-friendliness of face
stores, it has been concluded that biodiversity in the two suburbs is similar in some cases and
different in others.
Therefore, attention to the local conditions of each neighborhood plays a vital role in planning
[13].
The Ten Principles for Vital Cities are defined as follows:
First: Planning for long-term reconstruction and growth.
Second: Accepting diversity.
Third: Approaching nature to people.
Fourth: Developing neighborly units.
Fifth: Creating public spaces.
Sixth: Establishing transportation and structures suitable for integration.
Seventh: Adjusting Density with Diversity and Green Borders.
Eighth: Activating Spaces for More Security.
Ninth: Strengthening New and Indigenous Roads.
Tenth: Enhancing the Principle of Participation with the Connection of Government, Private
Sector, and Citizens [14].
The Australian article seeking to conduct this research identified 11 general areas of
communication, social health, and well-being. Their relationship with health and welfare was
confirmed, which included crime and security, education, employment and income, health and
social services, housing, entertainment and culture, local food and other goods, the natural
environment, public space, transportation, and social integration and local democracy [15].

3. RESEARCH METHOD

The type of applied research and the research method depends on the nature of the work of
the descriptive-analytical method. Accordingly, the technique is used to assess the
environmental sustainability of the whole city, with an emphasis on achieving sustainable
development.

3.1. THEORY OF RESEARCH

Sustainability assessment reflects measurement and is increasingly becoming essential for

changing conditions towards sustainable development. Sustainability assessment is a tool that

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enables decision-makers and policymakers to take appropriate action to sustain as many

societies as possible. The purpose is to evaluate its durability and to ensure the participation
of optimum plans and activities in sustainable development [16]. Bioscientific Impact
Assessment is a method for gaining confidence in decisions that may significantly impact the
environment. It evaluates the environmental impact of different aspects of life; decisions and
policies are related to life [17].
Environmental Sustainability Assessment refers to material and intangible measures that
provide crucial information on environmental impacts, compliance, stakeholder relations, and
organizational systems and indicate the effectiveness and efficiency of measures taken in the
environment [18].
This type of assessment emphasizes the positive and negative effects of design on the
environment. It is a way for specialists to describe and analyze the significant effects of
environmental activities to minimize the adverse effects by identifying influential factors in
environmental impact. The topic of emphasis in this context is the regional retention capacity
for the human society that is sustainable at the maximum level of resource consumption and
output and purification, specifically in a region, specific planning without disturbance,
undermining integrity, ecological unity, and bio-efficiency [5].
Environmental sustainability assessment includes an assessment of the project's direct
environmental impacts, including obstacles and efforts to reduce the harmful ecological
implications [19]. Sustainability assessment is increasingly influenced by assessment tools that
can be used as sustainable development assessment frameworks. Assessment frameworks are
practical and helpful in choosing appropriate and efficient tools and their ease of use [20].
Assessment frameworks are used, on the one hand, to examine different aspects of policy to
control sustainable change and, on the other hand, to guide the implementation of
comprehensive and integrated assessment. The study noted four categories of framework
assessments: the environmental impact assessment (EIA), the Environmental Assessment
(SEA), the Impact Assessment (IA), and the Durability Evaluation (ISA).
Table 1. Environmental sustainability indicators [21].
System Main dimensions Component Criterion Indicator
land-use change

Lands contaminated by waste materials

Land The amount of waste produced (Daily/ Ton)

Land Resources Satisfaction with drinking water quality

Resources Discharging human and industrial wastes into
Water open and surface waters

Prevention of water pollution

The concentration of pollutants in the air

Air Quality Pollutant concentration in the air

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Environmental Environment Environment Landscapes with natural value

sustainability Resources and services Credits spent on protecting valuable
services Quality landscapes
Landscape Destruction of beautiful landscapes (by
changing uses)
Landscapes capable of tourism
Population density in coastal areas
Adherence to the care of the residential
environment
Land use changes in coastal areas
Ecosystem The amount of discharge of sewage and
Sensitive waste materials to coastal areas
Credits spent on beach cleanups
Management of coastal areas
Waste Satisfaction with waste disposal
Environment management
Environment Hygiene Sewage Satisfaction with sewage disposal
Health system
management
Environment Resistance of housing and buildings against
Vulnerability Natural earthquakes
hazards
Flood prevention program
The amount of carrier energy consumption
(Electricity)
The amount of carrier energy consumption
Energy Resources Energy Energy (water)
consumption The amount of carrier energy consumption
(Gas)
The amount of carrier energy consumption
(Gasoline fuel)
Carrier energy consumption costs

3.2. LIVABILITY

What is livability? What are the characteristics of an eco-friendly city? In many texts,
biodiversity and quality of life are expressed synonymously. The quality of life experienced by
city citizens is filled with their ability to access transportation, communications, water and
waste, food, clean air, cheap housing, efficient employment, green spaces, and parks. Also, a
city's ecological level is determined by how much its inhabitants participate in deciding to meet
their needs. Biology is defined as the quality of life experienced by the inhabitants of a city or
region.

In such lands, sustainability is the opportunity to enhance the quality of life we value [22]. You

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could say the first concept of biology is named Biological Streets. It was presented by Donald
Applied in 1981. However, Alan Jacobs sets out seven critical goals for the future of an excellent
urban environment:

(1) Livability.

(2) Identity and control.

(3) Access to opportunity, creativity, and enjoyment.

(4) Health and purpose.

(5) Cohabitation and public life.

(6) Confidence in one's abilities.

(7) A City That's Open to All. In other theories, bioscience means that we treat ourselves as
citizens.
The concept of biological resilience of the decade 1980, the continued growth of the
movement from the center cities, and the creation of spiritless suburbs in new urban
development are now standard. The term “biodiversity” has officially entered urban literature
since Susan and Henry Lannard published the book Living Cities in 1987.

Bio sensitivity to an urban system where the social, mental, and mental health of all people
are concerned, they are shooting. This quality is about desirable urban spaces that reflect
cultural richness. The fundamental principles that support this concept include equality, equity,
accessibility, liberation, participation, and empowerment.

3.3. ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES

In a broad statement, the environmental challenges in Iranian cities could be essentially the
result of human activities; they are debatable on three levels: those with an international
headquarters and even those created in globalization.

This process has led to global warming and pollution of the earth’s air, soil, and water, and its
effects threaten all human communities and habitats. At the second level, they are placed in
the framework of policies and operations, government and private sector are defined at the
national level. These include economic, social, and environmental policies, national designs,
conventions, and architectural and urban regulations. Finally, specific environmental
conditions, historical background, population, and management practices are at the third level,
local.

3.4. ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES AT A GLOBAL LEVEL

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Today, major urban environmental concerns and issues are caused by political, economic, and
social relations and relationships between regions and countries. The growth of the population
due to the natural increase in the world population and the decline in the population of the
cities, and in particular the urban population of countries in the development of smaller cities
and rural areas, has sought new needs and needs and consequently consumed more and more
irreplaceable natural resources and energy consumption. In Table 2, environmental challenges
are presented at the global and national levels.

Table 2. Environmental issues, requirements, and repercussions at the national and global levels [23].
Consequences Geographical scope Dealer and necessities

Development of science and Development of industries and more The spread of soil, water, and air
technology and communication production pollution
Expanding social and economic
Expansion of means of transportation Destruction of agricultural land
relations
Development of communication
Reduction of water resources
channels for consumerism
Improving health and nutrition
Consumption of mineral resources
conditions

Population increase
Regional and international wars and
Use of Weapons Destruction of forests and pastures
conflicts
How to manage and the efficiency of Unstable conditions in government Destruction of natural landscapes and
the rules systems landscapes

Renovation and reconstruction Climate change

Development of the tourism industry. Pollution noise.

Psychological and social injuries.
Mismanagement and lack of efficient
Increase in physical illness.
program.

3.5. ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL

Among the most essential disturbances in developing countries over the past half-century is
the increase in the general population, especially in our cities. Population growth in these
countries, where the use of advanced technologies and programs to control and monitor the
production and use of natural resources is facing problems and limitations, is doubling.

The overall population growth in countries doubles the need for energy and fossil fuels. The
necessity of housing, foundations, side, and services for residents has led to the expansion of
the construction of facilities that quickly occupy the surrounding environments of the
residences.

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The expansion of polluting industries, especially in urban areas, the excessive use of personal
cars, and the harvesting of beaches, forests, and natural resources through private and
government sectors to expand the tourism industry is causing severe damage to water,
sanitation, and air resources. In particular, the mismanagement and inefficiency of programs
and plans, as well as regulatory limitations and vice versa, may add unlimited options to the
above reasons, which may affect all problems raised at the national level.

3.6. ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES AT THE LOCAL LEVEL (OF THE CITY AND ITS
SURROUNDINGS)

The central part of the environmental challenges arises from conditions rooted in national and
international factors and imposed on cities, but the other part is related to relations, structures,
or management of cities that must be founded in cities themselves; therefore, to properly
analyze the conditions, the subject will be examined in the form of three areas of central,
middle, and peripheral tissues. In the chart, two environmental challenges are described at
the local and urban levels.

3.7. IRANIAN ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES

Considering rivers, forests, pastures, wildlife, polluted water, soil, and air, species diversity, soil
erosion, and pollution of resources, Iran is one of the most significant nations in terms of
natural and environmental resources, covering 16,48,000 square kilometers. Iran's natural and
environmental resources are vast and extensive. Figure 1 displays Iran's environmental
performance metrics from 2006 to 2016.

Environmental performance index

90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016

Figure 1. Index of Environmental Performance (EPI) Iran is based on rankings in the Environmental
Performance Index [23].

With a geographical width 37 and a longitude of 48, Iran is only the fifth most prosperous
country globally. Among the valuable characteristics of this climate diversity and, accordingly,
biodiversity is the country of Iran due to its 250 mm rainfall, which is equal to the global rain. Of
the world’s 17 climates, nine are related to Iran. If these measures are implemented, part of
the country’s problems will be solved.

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3.8. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Economists and social scientists believe that development means the continuous
advancement of society and social order toward a better or more humane life. The 1987 report
defines sustainable development as “that which satisfies the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to satisfy their own needs.”
The report states that legislation is needed to protect the environment and promote
development. The report also states that the goals must define sustainability in all countries,
whether developed or developing [24]. Brundtland reports on the pressure of urban centers;
as the world’s urban populations grow, they are expected to be ten times more in 80 years. In
addition to developing countries, only 26% of the world’s population consumes 80% of energy,
steel, and other metals and paper [24]. Economic and Social Sciences define development as
the continuous advancement of the whole of society and social order towards a better or more
human life but as sustainable development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs [25].
Sustainable development combines two terms that combine two aspects of industrial
economic growth and environmental quality into one symbol of sustainable development. In
other words, the concepts of economics and ecology are joined together and form the basis
of a sustainable development strategy [26]. The definitions relating to joint sustainable
development are its dynamic aspect, the elimination of basic needs, special attention to the
protection of the environment, and the prevention of its destruction and pollution [27]. A
prerequisite for achieving sustainable development efficiency in the allocation of liquids and
sufficient conditions depends on:
a. Reducing non-renewable resources and renewing and protecting them.
b. Replacing Renewable Resources with Renewed Resources.
c. Balancing the absorption of space by the environmentalist versus the amount of space
added by the environmentalist [28].
Although natural resources have played a key role in shaping it from the beginning of the
development plan, serious attention has ignored it until recent decades. The acceleration of
economic growth during the Industrial Revolution was widely used by extracting natural
resources to employ heavy industries, to the extent that the increasing black smoke from the
factory fumes marked economic progress and modernization [29].

Table 3. Principles and Criteria for Sustainable Cities from the Viewpoint of [30].
Principles of Sustainable City Criteria
More efficient use of land use Development of park system Changing the concept of land
Fewer cars, better access Mixed-use Access to public transportation Reduced
demand for relocation
More efficient use of resources and less pollution Recycle The polluter should pay
Improving the quality of housing and enhancing urban Designing houses and neighborhood units Improvement

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spaces of public spaces in the city

Revitalization and revitalization of natural systems Parks
Healthy community ecology Fighting homelessness Fighting racial discrimination
Empowering people
The concept of sustainability is rooted in an ecological principle based on the principle that if
the natural capacity of environmental production, exploitation, or productivity is carried out
in any environment, the ecological resource capital principle remains sustainable, and human
use of the environment is always sustainable.
Therefore, the amount of human consumption in a specific environment, which is in the
capacity and capacity of the environment, has the maximum or maximum return because it is
the size of the entire production. In 1987, the Brent Land Commission launched a discussion
on sustainability by publishing our Joint Future Report and international policies. Despite some
criticism, this was the first credible definition of sustainable development. According to the
report, the sustainable development of society must ensure that the needs of the present
generation are met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their
needs.
Therefore, it can be said that sustainable expansion requires meeting all basic needs and
extending opportunities to share people’s aspirations for a better life. In the late 1980s,
about 30 ecological and social design experts spent a week on sustainability and concluded
that sustainability meant different responses to different fields. While the definition of
sustainability still means that the use of energy and materials in an urban area is in balance
with an area that can continuously through natural processes such as phonation, biological
analysis, and biochemical processes that support life, these are also widely used [31].
In this fact, a sustainable ecological city, which has benefited from its area's natural resources
to the extent necessary, is self-sufficient and makes sense to its inhabitants. Most of the
residents of this city feel satisfied with living in this space. Sustainable city foundations can be
examined in seven sub-categories: sustainable urban economy, sustainable city community,
sustainable urban access, sustainable urban life, and sustainable municipal population [29]
In the ultimate sense of environmental sustainability, environmental protection is for the
survival of all communities in a just military and not the retention of existing status, in
environmental benefits for the enjoyment of minorities of worldly people. Ecological
sustainability is known as the building of sustainable development.
On this basis, the United Nations has declared that the most essential principle in planning is
attention to the local conditions of the program. Land users must be given special attention
for the sustainability of the boom areas because they play a vital role in the supply of water,
energy, food, and green space. Attention to natural hazards such as floods, earthquakes,
droughts, fires, and... plays a vital role in shaping life. As a result, in cities today, environmental
pollution, such as air pollution, noise, visual, resource degradation, and unwanted exploitation,
is a symptom of ecological unsustainability [26].

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4. AREA OF STUDY

The entire “Sari” city is geographically located at 53 degrees 3 minutes east and 36 degrees 34
minutes north. The city runs from east to city Neka, from west to city “Ghaem-Shahr,” from
south to the Alborz Mountains, and from north to the Sea of Caspian. The city's height from
the free sea level is 18/5 meters, and its distance to the coastline is 24 kilometers.
The city is the center of the province of Mazandaran and is on Tehran's trade and tourism path.
It is located on the southeastern coast of the Caspian Sea and the northeastern cities of the
country. Because of its political position, the administration has particular importance and
credibility; it connects with Tehran and other provinces of the country by railway and asphalt.

Figure 1. Geographical location of the study area [32].

5. RESEARCH FINDINGS

Today, cities are growing and expanding rapidly, absorbing the natural environments around
them. The environmental challenges of urban settlements are the topics facing urban builders
and policymakers today. Urbanization has contributed to worsening social, cultural, and
scientific conditions. Population growth and the effects of climate change on the environment
are among the most urgent problems facing the world today.
These are the most critical problems of the city today and their implications. It is a natural
environment because urban development is necessarily accompanied by the domination of
buildings, industries, transportation, and economic activities on natural spaces, which over

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time change in the form of urban displacement of nature and become the background of
widespread urban pollution.
Urban development, population growth, the pursuit of greater prosperity, and a culture of
unconsumable consumption—all extreme interferences in nature—have disrupted the
balance of the natural environment to such an extent that human life is at risk. In Iran, as in
other countries of the world, sustainable development has been emphasized with an emphasis
on environmental conservation to deepen scientific and technical debate and to establish an
authentic framework for making effective and efficient decisions in the country’s durable
development process, the High Council for Environmental Protection, an institution dedicated
to the President of the Republic, approved the establishment of the National Committee for
Sustainable Development on the 1933/09/08 [33].
The Green City Plan is one of the projects presented by the Environmental Protection
Organization to the Green City Assembly on September 23, 1999.
One of the main objectives of this plan is to solve environmental problems and improve living
conditions by raising public awareness and thus having a green space and a variety of pollution.
Its subcomplex plans include green school plans, offices, and neighborhoods [34].
The main environmental threat of Iran, which threatens human security, can be explained
below:
• Water: Iranian rainfall is dry land; the average annual rainfall is 250 mm, less than a third
of the average worldwide, but predictions suggest it will also be drier. Water is Iran’s most
considerable resource shortage and long-term environmental threat.
With the loss of groundwater resources, many parts of the country will become uncapitalized,
and its consequences will be devastating. The solution to the crisis will be a complete revision
of the methods and approaches of water management in Iran. Many experts say it is necessary
to fully understand the practices and approach to water management in Iran. Reinvented
consideration. They offer four priorities:
• Participation
• Priced
• Protection
• Optimizing water use: This threat arises from deserts and deforestation. Water and
watershed changes are causing desertification, but population pressure caused by excessive
use of Beirut’s water and water harvest also exacerbates the desert. The expansion rate of this
disaster is so disturbing that it can make a large part of Iran uninhabitable.
• Energy: Iran’s energy consumption and carbon dioxide production rate are among the
highest in the world. This is related to Iran's growing population, legitimate aspirations for
development, and abundant oil and natural gas reserves. Electricity and cheap energy have
contributed significantly to this human development.
Still, for the government to decarbonize its economy, it must consider approaches that can
include optimizing and efficient energy use in consumer networks, increasing the share of solar,

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wave, blue, and geothermal energy, increasing the private sector's participation in the energy
sector, and investing in new energy technologies.
• Air pollution: Among all the environmental issues of Iran, the impact of air pollution on
quality of life is likely to be the most dangerous and threatening. Statistics tell us that Iranian
cities are among the most polluted cities in the world. The rainfall that began in the past year
and then moved toward the western border of Iran increased air pollution. These storms are
harming Iran’s economy, especially agriculture, such as honey production and transportation;
the Iranian biosystem, especially the blue forests in the Zagros Mountains, is threatening to
solve the environmental problems in Iran, requiring a courageous approach from above.
5.1. THE MAIN CAUSES OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES

1) Growth with minimal observation of the biological environment.

2) The value of natural goods and services.
3) Unable to implement the land plan.
4) Weakness of regulatory organizations in changing the use of millions of hectares+ About
150 plans do not have environmental impact assessments (EIA).
5) Shortage organizations in charge of the land.
6) The raw foodyism of nature.
5.2. THE MAIN REASON FOR THE WATER CRISIS

1) Low productivity in the agricultural sector.

2) 30-35% production efficiency.
3) Excessive consumption is caused by population growth (Population growth = water
crisis).
i. 1956 = 19 million people.
ii. 1986 = 50 million people.

6. CONCLUSIONS

Today, environmental challenges are among the most essential human concerns. This has
increased concerns and complications. Nowadays, environmental challenges are the most
important human concerns. This has increased concerns about complications. Research shows
that environmental challenges are rooted in various global, regional, and local factors. Iran,
like many other countries.
Those with abundant natural resources have adopted a method of development that has put
pressure on the acceptance of renewable resources. With its current practices of managing
natural resources, Iran has faced warmer and drier futures, and environmental security in this
geography is challenged. Unfortunately, the severe challenges of Iran’s future are air pollution,
drought, global warming, etc.

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It must necessarily become an essential thought for the environment and natural resources of
the country with a sustainable development approach and focus. The country’s most
significant environmental challenge is the water crisis; of course, it is not the shortage of water
because we do not have the problem of water shortages, but the water management problem.
If the country’s water resources are appropriately managed, the water problem will be solved.
The second problem is the round problem, which has no specific plan to solve. The gradual
increase in air temperature, the continuous droughts of the years, and the burden of the
exploitation of natural resources by the Bureau of Natural Resources have intensified this crisis.
They focus on sustainability over a short period and durability over long periods. The
difference between sustainability and sustainability indicators is that sustainability measures
what’s happening today, while sustainable development indicators measure the existing
capacity for what will happen in the future.
Bio sustainability refers to a subset of Sustainable Development Goals that directly affect
members of society. Biodiversity and sustainable development typically have common goals
but often have multiple targets and priorities, both aimed at reducing pollution, while the
sustainable focus is on the drivers that cause climate change. Bio-sustainability is focused on
local air and noise contamination. Population growth in recent years has provided the ground
for changes in the combination of urban and rural populations and has left a lot of detrimental
effects on the urban environment.
These effects can be seen in various dimensions, such as violations of river safety, water quality,
habitat, how waste is stored, collected, and buried, noise pollution, energy consumption, and
the state of natural resources. Rapid urbanization and the development of equipment
construction without planning and management can be considered threats to the whole city.
A healthy environment provides conditions for human development by protecting and
improving human aging. In the human development approach, environmental protection in
economic growth is the basis of sustainable development.
Urban environmental pollutants' primary sources are household, industrial, over-solids,
microbial, and chemical pollution. The rapid growth of metropolitan areas and populations has
hindered the adoption of measures to protect the urban environment. The weaknesses of
these measures are more apparent, especially in air pollution, inadequate compliance with
environmental standards in urban settlements, and noise.
Rapid urbanization, which directly creates environmental threats, has also contributed to
environmental pollution by accelerating the development of industries in line with the
increasing need to create jobs for migrants to cities. Examples of urban development of the
whole town can be pointed out to the development of the city over the past few decades and
the population growth of the town and its consequent expansion to the desired territory and
to the infrastructure of the land over the various years, which has led to the creation of
unsustainability in the process of city development.

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The destruction of the surrounding gardens and agricultural land in the city continues to
intensify. The increase in household waste, considering the amount of water produced to
household income per year, results in an increased likelihood of water pollution by water
pollutants and the loss of a significant volume of these resources, and two major factors of
rapid population and urbanization growth on the one hand and industrial and agricultural
development, on the other hand, have not only increased the need for freshwater but also
provided areas for reduced water resources.
Entry into the freedom of rivers and beaches and construction of non-sustainable equipment,
regardless of the sensitivity of the area’s environment and pollution of surface waters,
ultimately leads to the region’s unsustainability.

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