Amanullah Touqi called on the governors to be prepared and stay on duty in case of an infestation, and get the vehicles ready for spraying the agricultural lands.

He emphasized that the most important measure is monitoring so that as soon as the pest accumulates in the region, the operation will be carried out with the help of farmers.

Last year, over 212,300 hectares have fought against the pest in the province.

On February 20, immature swarms from the Arabian Peninsula reached the shores of the Persian Gulf in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the southwest coast of Iran.

More swarms are likely during periods of southerly winds, FAO reported.

FAO explains that desert locust infestations are normally present in southeast Iran during the spring. Local breeding coincides with seasonal rains that often occur from about February or March until April or May. In warmer years, rains that occur during the winter can lead to late winter and early spring breeding.

By June, vegetation is usually to dry again and any adults that were produced during the spring move east towards the Indo-Pakistan summer breeding areas. Most of the spring breeding occurs along a 450 km stretch of coastal plains on the Arabian Sea from Jask (Hormozgan) and the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman in the west to Chabahar and Gwatar (Sistan-Baluchistan) near the Pakistan border in the east.

The most important area along the coast is the Vashnum Plains near Chabahar. If rains fall and temperatures are warm, breeding may also occur in the interior, namely the Jaz Murian Basin from Kahnuj to Iranshar, and in the Zaboli, Suran and Saravan valleys that lead to Panjgur, Pakistan. Desert Locust adults rarely cross the mountains to the north of these areas.

Last year’s outbreak 

Last year, desert locusts penetrated into the provinces of Bushehr, Fars, Hormozgan, Kerman, Khuzestan, and Sistan–Baluchestan, which resulted in major losses on over 500,000 hectares of farmlands and gardens.

The Iranian parliament, known as Majlis, allocated a total budget of 100 billion rials (nearly $2.3 million) to fight desert locusts.

Desert locusts are short-horned grasshoppers that can form large swarms and pose a major threat to agricultural production, livelihoods, food security, and the environment and economic development.

FAO explains that adult locust swarms can fly up to 150 km a day with the wind. Female locusts can lay 300 eggs within their lifetime while an adult insect can consume roughly its own weight in fresh food per day – about two grams every day. A very small swarm eats the same amount of food in one day as about 35,000 people and the devastating impact locusts can have on crops poses a major threat to food security, especially in already vulnerable areas.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) – The initial findings of a drought vulnerability and impact assessment in the Lake Urmia basin conducted to help the implementation of an integrated drought management system in the region have been further reexamined and validated by FAO and Iranian experts in Tehran.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) – The water level at Lake Urmia, northwestern Iran, currently stands at an elevation of 1,271 meters above sea level, which is 71 centimeters more than the water level on the corresponding date of last year, a senior official said.

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Called Darreh-ye Tandis-ha (“Valley of Statues”), it is a remnant of a high plateau that has been once connected to the “Roof” of Qeshm. The valley is part of those areas which have been once underneath the water, and when pulled up, it has been heavily eroded by sea waves among other factors, qeshmgeopark says.

This type of erosion gets reduced gradually while moving more towards the “Roof” of Qeshm, which has remained intact.

In some areas of the valley, numerous fossils may be found including fossils of bivalves, in some areas as colonies. Another interesting geological phenomena in the valley is sedimentation forming muddy mud cracks, which has created beautiful and interesting landscapes.

During and after the rainfall, it is important to pay attention to muddy areas where sometimes the mud is very sticky and dangerous to walk on at this geo-site.

Qeshm Island, in the Persian Gulf, is heaven for eco-tourists as it embraces wide-ranging attractions such as the Hara marine forests and about 60 villages dotted mostly across its rocky coastlines. Meanwhile, it is home to birds, reptiles, dolphins, and turtles to name a few.

The island also features geologically eye-catching canyons, hills, caves, and valleys, most of which are protected as part of the UNESCO-tagged Qeshm Island Geopark, itself a heaven for nature-lovers.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization in 2017 registered the island on its Global Geoparks list.

Such scenic landscapes can also be found in other parts of Iran, for instance in Shahdad, which is a major part of the UNESCO-registered Lut desert in southeastern Kerman province. Shahdad is home to massive sand pyramids created by wind and water.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Minister Ali Asqar Mounesan announced on Wednesday that about five million foreign tourists have visited Iran in the first half the current Iranian calendar year (starting March 21, 2019).

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TEHRAN (Iran News) – Migratory birds have returned to Gavkhuni wetland once again as heavy rainfall has revived the long-dried wetland.

Covering more than 47,000 hectares, the wetland is located in the central province of Isfahan.

It is the 19th wetland in Iran designated as a Wetland of International Importance by the Ramsar Convention for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands which came into force in 1975. It recognizes the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural, scientific, and recreational value.

This wetland lies at the end of the Zayanderud and originates from it. The river, which originates from the Zard-Kuh Mountains of the Bakhtiari, pours into this wetland after crossing Isfahan city.

Due to the dryness of the Zayanderud, the wetland also dried up. But this year, due to heavy rainfall, the Zayanderud was filled with water and revived the Gavkhuni wetland.

The deepest part of the wetland reaches 150 centimeters. The wetland covers an area of 470 square kilometers, but only 50 square kilometers is water.

Gavkhuni wetland comes to life

On the southern margin of the wetland, there is a vast amount of salt, due to the high evaporation of water and the accumulation of salt crystals created. The salt of this sector is extracted and used.

This wetland is a refuge for migratory birds. Thousands of birds migrate to this wetland in the cold season and create a beautiful scene. Seeing birds such as herons, stork, goose, larus, northern shoveler and so on, it is usual views here. Of course, in warm seasons, the wetland hosts birds that come from the south to the lake.

In this wetland, you can see animals such as wild ovis, wild boar, ruppell’s fox, turtles, Eurasian vipers, rabbits, goats, bats, and so on who are sheltering and living in this wetland.

The land around the wasteland is so saline that no vegetation has grown a few kilometers on it. But in the wetland, there are different species of plant such as schoenoplectus, algae types and shrubs like haloxylon.

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