The Sabz Chia Association, an environmental protection group in Marivan, has been awarded Iran’s National Environment Prize.
The Cultural Heritage website reports that Sabz Chia has been chosen for its continued efforts to replenish forests and fight against the poaching of wildlife.
On Saturday May 31, the prize was awarded by President Hassan Rohani and Department of the Environment chief Massoumeh Ebtekar to Sabz Chia’s administrators and activists.
The report adds that “Sabz Chia has made great progress in replenishing Zagros forests and they have also been very successful in creating an anti-hunting campaign in Kurdistan.”
The second prize was awarded to the “Roftegaran Tabiat Iran” for their environmental clean-up projects.
The National Environment Prize was established during Mohammad Khatami’s presidency but was abandoned in the past seven years under the Ahmadinejad administration. The Rohani administration has re-established it to reignite concern about environmental issues in the country and promote environmental awareness amongst the public.
