GEF Medium–sized Project Brief.
Islamic Republic of Iran:
Ministry of Jihad-E-Sazandegi, Forestry and Range Organization.
PROJECT SUMMARY
Project Identifiers.1. Project name. Iran: Carbon Sequestration in the Desertified Rangelands of Hossien Abad, South Khorasan, through Community-based Management. / 2. GEF Implementing Agency. UNDP
3. Country in which the project is being implemented. Islamic Republic of Iran. / 4. Country eligibility. I.R. of Iran ratified the FCCC in July 1996.
5. GEF focal areas. Climate change. (Integrated Ecosystems & NRM). / 6. Operational program/Short-term measures. Short-term / crosscutting land degradation/sustainable ecosystems.
7. 7. Project link to national priorities, action plans and programs. I.R. Iran is a party to several environment conventions, including the Framework Convention for Climate Change (FCCC) and the Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD). Environmental concerns are an important priority in I.R. Iran, as stated in the Article 50 of the Constitution and the Environmental Protection Act (1974), calling for preventive and remedial measures for the protection and rehabilitation of the environment. The importance of e I.R. of Iran has attached great importance to environmental issues such as rehabilitation and preservation of natural resources is further underscored in I.R. Iran’s its first and second five-year development plans. The proposed project fits well in the above-mentioned national concerns and covers four priority areas: re-vegetation of denuded & degraded sites; re-vegetation of bare areas; fixation of shifting sands; and rangeland reinforcement. . The proposed project also fits well as a precautionary strategy of mitigating GHGs, and would figure prominently in the emerging National Mitigation Strategy and Action Programme.
8. GEF national operational focal point and date of country endorsement. Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Department for International Economic Affairs and Specialized International Organizations – Endorsed 10 August 1998.
Project Objectives and Activities.
9. Project rational and objectives.
Goals: to increase organic carbon sequestration in plant biomass and in soils;
to increase ground cover in threatened dryland and arid sites.
Objectives:
• to promote sustainable community-based management of rangelands;
• to provide enabling conditions for carbon storage and flora enhancement;
• to enhance human resource development at the national and local levels.
• to provide sustainable ecosystems.
• to enhance biodiversity. / Indicators.
• Increase the ground cover and woody percentage through planting, reseeding & natural regeneration;
• Enhanced fauna population;
• Effective community-based participation in the planning and implementation of the project;
• Expansion beyond the project boundaries;
• Control and management of the area and produce in the hands of local people;
• Training provided to national experts and all segments of the local population.
10. Project outcomes.
• Enhanced carbon storage on at least 9,000 hectares of degraded rangeland.
• Improved flora & fauna numbers and composition.
• Improved capacity of national experts and local people in rehabilitation, management and utilization of resources on degraded lands through participation and training in nursery work, establishment, maintenance, management and produce marketing.
• Improved environmental and economic conditions. / Indicators.
• Conversion of at least 9,000 ha. Of degraded land into productive rangeland with an enhanced store of organic carbon in biomass and soils;
• Protection of project area and hinterland from dust and sand storms thus enhancing the microclimate;
• Improved grazing practices, reduced degradation and increased carrying capacity of the land for domestic animals;
• Increased natural resource based activities.
11. Project activities to achieve outcomes.
¨ Planting, reseeding, regeneration, establishment (including watering) and protection;
¨ Land-use management.
¨ Training and extension;
¨ Public awareness;
¨ Management regime;
¨ Marketing;
¨ Monitoring and Evaluation. / Indicators.
• Area fully established and in the hands of the local people.
• Equipment procured and used.
• Training, both on-the-job and formal successful.
• Local enterprises started.
• Carbon sequestration monitored.
• Socio-economic evaluations undertaken.
• Public findings broadcasted and replication observed.
12. Estimated budget, (US$).
PDF: $ 23,793
GEF: $726,200
GEF total: $749,993
Co-financing: $ 763,500 630,000800 in cash and $ 420,000 330,000 in kind
from the Government of I.R. of Iran.
Project total: $ 1,513,493 1,380,793 ( cash) + $420 330,000 in kind.
Information on Institution Submitting Project Brief.
13. Information on project proposer.Ministry of Jihad-e-Sazandegi, Forest and Rangeland Organization (FRO).
14. Information on proposed executing agency.
As above .
15. Date of initial submission of project concept.
24 December 1997.
Information to be completed by implementing agency.
16. Project identification number.
IRA/0099/G35 (anticipated number).
17. Implementation Agency contact person.
Nandita Mongia, Regional GEF Coordinator for Climate Change.
18. Project linkage to Implementation Agency program(s).
National Environmental Action Plan.
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PROJECT DESCRIPTION.
Project Rationale and Objectives.
Over the past 100 years, economic development activities have more or less doubled the concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere. Principally, this has been brought about through fossil fuel burning, but to a lesser extent by clearing forests, woodlands and rangelands for agricultural expansion. Today, there are an estimated 760 billion tonnes of gaseous carbon in the atmosphere and an additional 6.5 billion tonnes (net) are added each year, 85% coming from fossil fuel burning and 15% from land use changes and agricultural activities. This increase in greenhouse gases is thought to be the principal cause of global warming. This warming may adversely affect ice caps, ocean current circulation and ecosystems, both on land and in oceans. It could also cause a decrease in the land area through increased sea levels due to water expansion and more water flowing into seas from the melting of land ice.
Even if fossil fuels are not a cause of global warming, they are finite and for truly sustainable development the use of renewable energy has to be substantially expanded and eventually substituted for non-renewable energy forms. But the evidence points to the fact that GHG accumulation is the principal cause of global warming. Thus, in order to offset the increase in greenhouse gas accumulation, atmospheric carbon has to be captured and stored in one form or another. Carbon sequestration in (woody) biomass and in the soils beneath this biomass is a cost-effective measure to reduce atmospheric CO2 levels. Also, surplus biomass could be used as a substitute for fossil fuels.
Many of Iran’s semi-arid areas are degraded with a vegetative cover ranging from 5% to 50%. They occupy about 90 million hectares out of a total area of 164 million hectares,[1] with annual rainfall ranging from 50 to 300 mm. However, these areas can be reclaimed with annual and perennial plants. Some woody biomass species can grow in these low rainfall areas with saline soils, although the build up of organic carbon in wood and soils is modest. By introducing such species, the microclimate is improved, grasses and shrubs return to the area, thus enhancing the flora and fauna populations. Although the per-hectare accumulation of carbon is modest, these areas have the potential to store an estimated one (1) billion tonnes of organic carbon if they can be reclaimed and managed properly. Moreover, they would give an annual production of about 18 million tonnes of fodder, sufficient to sustain an estimated 10 million small animals, and about 60 million tonnes of woody biomass. This wood could be used for building and construction and/or as a renewable source of energy, being equivalent to approximately 20 million tonnes of oil.
Thus, the project’s rationale is that it is greenhouse gas sequestration initiative, based on natural resource management incorporating integrated ecosystem development. It is consistent with GEF short-term project criteria of cost-effectiveness, with a strong likelihood of success because it is country-driven by and for the local people. Its objectives are to demonstrate cost-effective ways to increase the store of organic carbon and to make the rangeland areas of Iran more productive. To this end, a heavily degraded area, which was previously occupied by refugees from Afghanistan, has been chosen as a demonstration site. Up to 9,000 hectares of run-down land will be rehabilitated with the active participation of twelve villages in whose ownership the land will be vested. This project is meant as a catalyst for rangeland reclamation via carbon sequestration and natural resource management throughout Iran and beyond. Over a period of 20 years, an estimated 14 tonnes per hectare of additional carbon will be sequestered in (woody) biomass and the soil. This could accumulate gradually to about 21 t/ha after 50 years and 30 t/ha. after 100 years[2]. The average annual production of wood is estimated to be 0.64 t/ha and that of fodder, 0.20 t/ha. To date, the standard practice for land reclamation has been reseeding temporary enclosed areas with grass and fodder species. This has had limited success, depending on (rain) water availability and animal exclusion achievement, but it results in a minimal increase in carbon sequestration. In areas below 200-mm annual rainfall, the success rate is very low without significant watering. This project will demonstrate the means not only to increase animal fodder production, but also to expand the storage of carbon and provide renewable energy at the same time. It will also enhance the flora and fauna, thus increasing biological diversity and rehabilitate the ecosystem. Thus, the government is integrating global environmental protection concerns into national development activities: it is a “Win-Win” strategy.
The main global objectives are to sequester carbon and to improve the ecosystem through natural regeneration and by planting/seeding drought resistant grasses and shrubs. From a national perspective, improving the productivity of semi-arid areas is of prime importance. Locally, the rehabilitation of degraded lands and increasing its forage, wood and honey production capability through community based participation is a vital initiative. This project will serve as a training and demonstration site to encourage rural people, with some government assistance, reclaim similar areas through self-help efforts.
The project area covers some 148,000 hectares and supports just under 1,000 people. There are 30 villages, some have been abandoned and others only contain one or two families. Animal herding is the main occupation, with the villagers owning about 12,000 sheep and goats, but the land is so degraded that the local herders have to take their flocks to other areas for long periods of time. For four months each year, sand ladened ‘sistani’ winds blow almost continuously. This is not only unpleasant, but it makes arable farming difficult because sand covers the fields. There are also areas where sand drifting is active. Belts of trees could filter out sand particulates and shrubs can be used to stabilize dunes.
Because the existing carrying capacity of the land is low, people are abandoning such sites for urban areas and for more productive lands. Yet the potential of these sites, - up to an estimated 90 million hectares -, although modest, is much greater than at present. This project will demonstrate how such areas can be rehabilitated and made more productive for pastoral (and arable) farming, while at the same time increasing the store of carbon and facilitating an enhanced flora and fauna. Time and effort will be spent to train rural people, not only from the area, but also from surrounding regions, so that they are empowered, with a little government help, to rehabilitate similar semi-arid areas.
As the focus of this project is on participation, the local people will be actively involved at every stage of the project’s development. Preliminary meetings will be held with the villagers and their representatives to increase their awareness of the problems and potential solutions, many of which can be provided by the participants. Property rights, land ownership entitlements and land management options will be elucidated. The (five) areas to be rehabilitated and their size will be discussed and agreed upon. Tentatively, these areas have been chosen close to the most populated 12 villages, but people from the other villages and from outside will be trained as well. Additional areas to be rehabilitated, mainly by the people themselves, will be included as part of the plans. The villagers with help and assistance from project staff will compile management plans, detailing the operations and timing.
Current Situation
The Islamic Republic of Iran is a party to several environment conventions including the Framework Convention for Climate Change (FCCC) and the Convention to Combat desertification (CCD). As a result, the government has launched a wide variety of activities for reducing the emission of greenhouse gases. These include using natural gas as a vehicle fuel, increasing hydro-power production, gradually reducing oil and gas subsidies, the introduction of nuclear power generation and promoting wind and solar energy production. All of these initiatives will help reduce the emissions of GHG, especially of carbon dioxide, but until now, there has not been any specific program for carbon sequestration.
Environmental measures such as tree planting (afforestation), desertification control, environmental and biodiversity protection, rehabilitation of degraded lands, and re-grassing of suitable desert areas are priority issues in the government plans. This proposed project combines several of the above goals and is an alternative that achieves global, national and local objectives. This model project near Hossein Abad in south Khorasan will be implemented on an area of about 9,000 hectares in five blocks with the active participation of twelve villages. The size of the hydrologic unit is 148,000 ha. It is situated near the Afghanistan border in eastern Iran. A area map is shown in Annex 1
Some general information of the area is as follows:
Population: 934; 5.7 people per household.
Villages: 30 (some abandoned) with 164 families.
Occupation of local people: Pastoralists with limited farming (300 m2/cap).
Domestic animals: 12,000 sheep/goats, a few donkeys (12 ha./animal).
Hydrological area (hectares) 148,000, over half of which is hilly/steep.
Precipitation. (mm). Average 188, (max. 343, min. 117).
Temperature. (Celsius). Mean 14.5 o, (max. 40.5 o, min. – 16 o).
Prevailing wind. Sistani, 120 Days north to south.
Plain elevation (meters). 1,700. Earthquake prone.
The two main factors that contributed to land degradation and desertification were lack of control over the land by the local population and in the ten year period to 1996, a large influx of Afghan refugees. This led to overgrazing by local, refugee and migrant animals, and to excessive fuelwood gathering. Now the refugees have been repatriated and the government has provided (subsidized) kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) at local distribution centers as a substitute for fuelwood.[3] However, much of the area was seriously degraded with little if any woody biomass left alive and with only about a 10% ground cover dominated by an unpalatable species Peganum hamala. Therefore, there is a serious and urgent need to rehabilitate this degraded rangeland area in order to provide forage for the animals and to reduce the damage caused by wind erosion by re-establishing perennial plants.