Shadegan: From Date Capital to Tourism Hub, a Roadmap for Wetland Revival

Ahvaz – Shadegan's potential extends beyond its wetland. Leveraging the date economy and date processing industries could turn the county into a hub of sustainable development and job creation in southwestern Iran.

Arjan Ambassador of the Provinces Group - Masoume Majdam: Shadgan, a land with a rich history of agriculture and a long-standing connection between man and nature, has long been one of the valuable centers of natural and agricultural heritage in southwest Iran. This geographical area, with the Shadgan International Wetland, green expanses of reeds, vast groves and unparalleled biodiversity, has a valuable collection of natural, economic and cultural capacities.

Shadgan is not only an important habitat for various animal and plant species, but also an integral part of the historical identity and livelihood of the people of the region; A capacity that with targeted planning can be the basis for sustainable development and economic prosperity of this region.

The Shadgan groves, which once displayed a magnificent display of the region's agricultural power with about five million palm trees, today with a population of less than one million and 800 thousand trees, remind us of the need to pay serious attention to the restoration and reconstruction of this valuable heritage.

The reduction of water resources, climate changes and the challenges of water resources management have revealed the necessity of adopting sustainable solutions for water supply, improving water productivity and protecting agricultural lands. However, Shadgan's possession of local knowledge of agriculture, the experience of many generations in palm cultivation and extensive natural capacities provide a good opportunity for the gradual return of prosperity to this area.

In addition to maintaining the environmental balance and preventing the spread of soil salinity, the protection of water resources and the restoration of groves can be the basis for strengthening natural tourism, developing handicrafts and creating sustainable job opportunities. In this direction, the development of date processing and complementary industries, improving the supply chain and packaging of agricultural products and supporting local producers will play a decisive role in increasing the added value and improving the economic status of Shadegan.

The link between environmental protection and economic prosperity makes it possible for the natural resources of the region to be seen not only as a heritage to be preserved, but also as an asset for the development of future generations.

Shadgan still has significant capacities to become a model of sustainable development in the southwest of the country. The realization of this vision depends on the cooperation of responsible institutions, participation of local communities, scientific management of water resources and investment in agriculture and tourism. By adopting coordinated policies and using the native power of the region, it is possible to pave the way to rehabilitate the groves, protect the wetland, and strengthen the farmers' livelihood. A path in which the preservation of Shadegan's natural heritage is linked with the hope for a more prosperous, dynamic and stable future.

The representative of the people of Shadgan in the Islamic Council, in a conversation with Mehr's reporter, pointed to the unique capacities of the city and stated: One of the relative advantages of Shadgan is agriculture and palm farming. Besides that, there is tourism in the field of international wetlands, which can be a good opportunity for the development of tourism and handicrafts. The raw materials for handcrafts are provided from the wetland and Nakhilat, so there is a very good and unique opportunity in these three areas in Shadegan.

Hashem Khanfari said: In order to revive the crops and their development, the infrastructure must be provided, therefore, in addition to maintaining the existing employment situation, we must create these opportunities for the development of employment.

Referring to the special geographical situation of Shadgan, he clarified: due to the nature of Shadgan, which is located at the end of the Maron basin, any unconventional release that takes place from the upstream of the Maron dam, including the cities of Behbahan, Mahshahr, Ramshir and Bandar Imam, has caused the water to not reach the end. This issue brings irreparable damages to farmers and has caused serious damage to agricultural infrastructure, among which we can mention the conversion of lands into salt fields, the lack of abundance and supply of the required product, which takes away the motivation to continue the main and ancestral occupation of the farmer.

The representative of the people of Shadgan in the Islamic Council added: We must provide water in a sustainable manner, and we have taken an important and fundamental step in this regard. We have taken into consideration and followed up the transfer of water from the two areas of Karun and Sarghar in such a way that the study justification plan led to obtaining the Article 23 permit, the environmental permit and the necessary approvals from the Program and Budget Organization and the Ministry of Energy. Now we are in the stage of partial final studies for the implementation of the project. Also, we have predicted a credit line with an initial credit of 200 billion tomans for the project in the 1405 budget.

Stating that the abundance of water has an effect on the quantity and quality of dates, Khanfari clarified: With the passage of time and due to difficult conditions, including the lack of water, we have lost many trees, so providing stable water will increase the quality of dates and the amount of production.

Referring to the traditional packaging of dates, he said: Shadegan has been the first in the country in the production of dates for many years and supplies 40% of Khuzestan dates. Therefore, this product must be processed so that it can be converted into several other products. In this regard, efforts have been made to establish Shadegan processing units, because this action can be effective in the field of economy and livelihood, that is, it will define job opportunities, more incomes and new financial resources.

The representative of the people of Shadgan in the Islamic Council stated: According to the numerous follow-ups that took place and the location of the city, the date export terminal license was obtained in the city of Darkhoin, and in addition to the officials, the investor also visited this sector and they are conducting studies. Darkhvin is the center of five cities, so it can be effective in terms of border, sea, and air in this sector. Next week, we will have a meeting in Tehran to further investigate this issue.

Regarding the development of handicrafts, Khanfari said: due to the skilled workforce in the fields of agriculture, fishing, wetlands and handicrafts, we can use date products and palm leaves for handicrafts or even as raw materials for companies' feed. On the other hand, we have to leave the work from the traditional mode and move towards modernity, processing, mechanization of production lines and date packaging.

He emphasized: We promised the investor that we will use the capacity of the country's banks to grant facilities according to the volume of investment. Banks are definitely ready because it is a very good plan and it can play a role in the development of the export of agricultural products and dates for Khuzestan and the south of the country.

The representative of the people of Shadgan in the Islamic Council pointed to the recent visit of the deputy minister of agricultural jihad and added: "We visited the 10,000-hectare plan of the Supreme Leader, unfortunately, 2,000 hectares of the plan were incomplete, and the agricultural jihad organization was approved to follow up on this issue and implement the plan." Of course, measures should be taken in order to optimally use the transferred water capacity.

Khanfari emphasized: "We will stand by the investor with all our strength, and every person who is interested in investing in various fields of tourism according to the capacity of the wetland and Nakhilat, we are by their side and we warmly shake their hands. We will arrange and facilitate all the issues related to investment at the national, provincial and city level.

He continued: With the entry of the investor into the field of tourism, we will have a different type of tourism in the province than other cities in the country, and we can turn Shadgan into the capital of date tourism in Khuzestan. I invite the people of Khuzestan to attend the date harvest festival in order to learn more about the tourism potential of Shadgan and the wetland.

The head of cultural heritage, tourism and handicrafts of Shadgan told the reporters, referring to the capacity of the groves and explaining the new approach of Shadgan tourism: the entrance route of Shadgan from the side of Darkhoin to the end points of the city, due to the benefit of the Karun and Jarri rivers, has a unique potential and there are various trees on this route; In the past, 72 types of dates were cultivated in this area, although today some of them have been removed from the production cycle due to several reasons, including the lack of economic efficiency.

Ebrahim Marzooqi considered palm trees as an identity for the people of this city and said: Palm farming and the science of maintaining it have been recorded as a national identity and cultural roots of Shadgan people, so that wherever they want good palm farming, the capacity of Shadgan farmers is used.

He continued: Our approach is to go beyond mere nature tourism and wetland tourism to getting to know the local culture and lifestyle. Our slogan is that the tourist not only touches the wetland, but also the experience of happiness and native life of this area; In this direction, there are requirements, the most important of which is the education of the native people. On the other hand, it is necessary to create eco-tourism residences in the city, and in this regard, in addition to educating the people, the government's support in various ways, such as payment of facilities, is necessary.

The head of cultural heritage, tourism and handicrafts of Shadgan said: Shadgan city has three cities Darkhoin, Shadgan and Khanafre, which is considered an urban capacity for the necessary infrastructure to create eco-tourism because the tourist can reach the nature of the village by walking a short distance of about 10 minutes. Currently, one of the weak points is the inability to keep tourists at night, which requires government support in providing facilities and continuous training to local people.

Marzouqi announced that the unemployment rate in Shadgan is 45% and clarified: This alarming statistic has made Shadgan the second unemployed city in the country's second unemployed province. In the territorial survey, Shadgan is defined as an agricultural area and the attempt to industrialize faces many obstacles; The surrounding of the wetland on the city and strict environmental laws have caused us to face a serious challenge in issuing licenses for industries such as the second phase of steel and petro-refining, but creating tourism capacities can help create jobs and reduce the unemployment rate.

The necessity of developing two tourism strategic documents

He considered tourism to be the third money-making industry in the world and said: due to having a commercial port connected to the sea, wetlands and water capacities, Shadegan city has the ability to become a water tourism hub. However, the lack of goal-setting and drafting of the document has caused us to face challenges in the path of tourism development, of course, we are pursuing the approval of the cultural tourism destination document so that Shadgan becomes a complete package of people's culture; Also, the document of water tourism should be compiled in order to develop the city.

The supervisor of cultural heritage, tourism and handicrafts of Shadgan added: Currently, in areas like Sarakhieh village, the existing financial circulation does not involve the entire village and people, while with a correct targeting, we can witness a sustainable economic boom that the entire geography and people of the city will benefit from the presence of tourists. In creating tourism capacities, the goal is not to use big investors, because we are not looking for labor and we intend to turn every house into a small eco-tourism.

Marzooqi stated that in Sarakhia, the rural leader plan was designed based on tourism, and said: In this direction, there should be synergy between the trustees in order to achieve the desired result.

Referring to the date harvest festival, he said: This festival will be held on October 29 with the aim of connecting tourism, industry and agriculture. Of course, in the field of dates, the weaknesses of research and think tanks are evident, which should be put on the agenda, because research in the field of dates will affect the quality and quantity of this product and solve the challenges.

The director of Shadgan Agricultural Jihad said in a conversation with Mehr reporter: Shadgan, whose name comes from the root of "Falah" and its connection with agriculture, has topography and special geographical features that have turned it into an important animal and plant habitat. This city is fed by two permanent rivers, Marun and Karun, so that the Marun river irrigates about 40,000 hectares of land in the central part, and the Karun river irrigates about 10,000 hectares of Darkhovin land.

Jamshid Islamian continued: This water flow has led to the formation of a large lagoon that can be seen from space even the moon. This ecosystem consists of two main rings including wetlands and reed vegetation, and on its periphery, vast areas of trees that have created a natural and protective structure together.

He stated that despite the high capacity of this habitat, the population of palm trees in the region has faced a serious challenge, and stated: In the past, about 5 million palm trees were established in this area, but with the passage of time and as a result of climate change, the lack of stable water supply, especially in the central part and the Maroon catchment area, and human manipulations, this number has drastically decreased and now it has reached about 1,700,000 to 1,800,000 palm trees.

The key role of Shadgan in the date value chain

The director of Shadgan Agricultural Jihad stated: Despite the decrease in the number of palm trees, Shadgan is still the main center of date industries in Khuzestan province. This city has a key role in the value chain of this product by having 34 factories out of a total of 57 date packing factories in Khuzestan. On the other hand, Kharma provincial union was also established in this city, which shows the administrative and economic centrality of Shadegan in this area.

According to Islamian, Shadegan produces about 150,000 tons of dates and 30,000 tons of khark every year, most of which are exported to the domestic and international markets through existing packaging workshops.

Emphasizing that the date production chain in Shadgan is facing important gaps, he added: The lack of transformation and complementary industries is one of the main challenges. The production process in this region is mainly limited to the packaging stage and the middle and final links of the value chain are not developed.

The director of Shadgan Agricultural Jihad pointed out the variety of other products of this city and said: In addition to dates, this city has other vast capacities, including about 40,000 to 45,000 hectares of agricultural land that produce about 40,000 to 45,000 tons of wheat, Shadgani melons, and okra.

Islamian stated: Animal husbandry activities, especially cattle and buffalo breeding on the edge of the wetland, as well as tourism potentials from the wetland and palm ecosystem, can create new opportunities for employment development and investment in this city.

The chairman of the board of directors of the date packing workshop in a conversation with Mehr reporter stated that he has been working in this field for 35 years and said: The production process in the workshops begins with the purchase of dates and is completed with the stages of pest control, grading, packaging and finally export to the destination countries. Currently, our products are exported to countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Turkey, Poland and Indonesia, where date chips form the major part of exports to Australia.

Ahmad Mirhashmi continued: In this workshop, around 70 people pack and prepare dates for export inside and outside the country in eight hours.