Continuation of wood smuggling in Zagros; Why are collisions not a deterrent?

Khorramabad - Today, the news of cutting down 130 old oak trees in Khorramabad was reported in the media, but the repetition of this news raises a serious question: Why does the chain of destruction continue despite the arrest of the accused?

Ambassador Arjan - Provinces Group: In the forest, everything does not start with the sound of a tree falling. Sometimes the first sign is the empty spot of a tree that has been standing on the mountainside for years; Sometimes the wheel tracks of a car passing by a side road, and sometimes a load of wood or coal that is moved on the edge of the city, away from the eyes of passers-by.

What may seem like a limited violation at the moment, on the scale of a forest can be a part of the gradual erosion of capital, whose restoration depends on time and natural conditions.

In Lorestan, Zagros oak forests are not only a collection of trees scattered in the highlands. These forests are part of the natural landscape of the province and their preservation is linked to the stability of the soil, vegetation and biological life of the region.

However, the news published in October 1405 tells about the continuation of cases in which cutting down trees, transporting wood and transporting illegal coal are seen together.

In one of these cases, the Khorram Abad police commander announced the arrest of two accused and the identification of the illegal cutting of more than 130 old oak trees. Trees whose age is estimated to be about a century.

In another report from the same city, 68 oak trees were cut, two cars were confiscated and a chainsaw was discovered.

In Durood, police officers have discovered 460 kg of illegal charcoal from a Nissan car. A shipment weighing 260 kg of smuggled coal was detected in Khorram Abad.

These reports are not necessarily related to a case or a group; But putting them together gives a clear picture of the repetition of violations in different circles: from cutting trees in the forest area to transporting wood and charcoal on the roads and in the city.

It is not just about discovering a few shipments; The question is why this path re-forms so many times and how much dealing with each case can prevent the next case from happening again.

from a hundred-year-old tree to the load of a car; The dimensions of a destruction

The news of cutting down more than 130 old oak trees in Khorram Abad is one of the most important issues raised in recent news in terms of the number of reported trees.

Colonel Hadi Kianmehr, the police commander of the city, has announced that police officers, in cooperation with the Natural Resources Protection Unit, have identified and arrested two suspects in connection with wood smuggling and destruction of natural resources.

According to his explanations, field investigations have shown that more than 130 oak trunks with an age of about a century were illegally cut. During this operation, three vehicles carrying smuggled wood were seized.

In a separate report on the activities of the Khorramabad Natural Resources Protection Unit, Afshin Azizi, the commander of this unit, reported the identification of two suspects in connection with the cutting of 68 oak trees in the forest lands of the southern central part of Khorramabad.

In this operation, two cars were confiscated and a chainsaw was also seized. The defendants have been introduced to the judicial authorities after filing a preliminary case.

The importance of the story is not limited to the number of trees cut down. Old oak is the result of years of growth in natural conditions and it is not possible to replace it simply by planting saplings. A newly planted sapling needs time to reach the structure, size and function of a mature tree.

Therefore, even if plantation is done in the future, this action alone does not mean an immediate compensation for the damage caused to the forest.

In such a situation, the protection of forest areas should stop the unauthorized cutting and target the route of transfer and supply of the products resulting from the violation.

If the focus is only on where the tree is felled, the subsequent loops of moving and selling may be neglected; In the same way, just dealing with a car carrying wood, without clarifying the origin of the shipment and its supply route, does not reveal all the dimensions of the violation.

statistics of cases; A broader picture of violation in natural areas

Dimensions of violations of natural resources in Khorramabad are not limited to the news about wood and coal smuggling. Afshin Azizi, commander of Khorramabad's natural resources protection unit, has announced to Mehr that in the first six months of this year, 124 court cases have been filed in the field of natural resources violations in this city.

According to the statistics announced by the commander of the Khorramabad Natural Resources Protection Unit, 65 of these cases were related to Article 55 and the issue of national land acquisition. 21 cases were filed in connection with Article 42 and cutting or uprooting of trees, and 15 other cases were related to Article 44 and destruction or encroachment in forest areas.

Azizi also said that, in addition to cutting down trees, the detected violations include things such as bush burning, slashing, intentional fire, transporting smuggled wood and charcoal, and seizing national lands.

These statistics show that conservation forces are faced with a diverse range of violations, and the smuggling of forest products is part of a wider set of pressures on natural resources.

However, case statistics alone are not sufficient to evaluate the success rate of protection policies. In order to measure the results of the measures, it should be known how many cases have reached the final verdict, how much damages have been compensated, to what extent violations have been reduced in the identified areas, and whether the violators have returned to the same activity after legal action or not.

The regular release of such information could clarify the gap between the "number of encounters" and the "actual conservation result".

Where does the chain stop when the car is impounded?

In recent news, confiscation of wood-carrying vehicles, discovery of chainsaws, confiscation of coal shipments, and introduction of the accused to judicial authorities are among the measures reported by law enforcement agencies and natural resources. These measures are important to prevent further violations and collect case documents; But the main question about the continuation of smuggling is beyond the discovery of each shipment.

Smuggling of forest products should be considered as a chain of activities: harvest or preparation of the product, its transfer from the place, transportation, storage and finally supply.

Seizing the car can lead to a wider result when the investigation of the origin of the cargo, the route of transfer, the destination and its possible connection with other violations is also on the agenda. Otherwise, dealing with a shipment may be limited to the end of the same case, while not enough information is obtained about how the violation was formed and repeated.

On the other hand, it is not possible to evaluate the deterrence of collisions only by announcing the number of arrests. In order to measure the real effect of measures, information such as the rate of repetition of violations in high-risk areas, the result of judicial proceedings, the status of confiscated property and cargo, and recorded changes in the volume of violations should be published.

These indicators can determine that the actions taken have only led to the discovery of violations or have been able to reduce the chance of their repetition.

Oak, the silent victim of short-term decisions

An oak tree needs time to reach old age, but its cutting can be done in a short time. The same difference between the long time of growth and the short time of destruction makes the protection of oak forests a problem beyond dealing with a violation.

When an old tree is cut down, the damage is not limited to the loss of a trunk and branch. Vegetation plays a role in maintaining soil and habitat stability, and removing it can affect the natural structure of the arena.

In addition to the illegal cutting of trees, the concern about the overall health of the Zagros forests also gives wider dimensions to the issue of protection. Hadi Kiadliri, the deputy director of education and public participation of the Environmental Protection Organization, announced at the nomadic environmental education and culture conference in Khorramabad that according to the statistics presented, nearly two million hectares out of the six million hectares of Zagros forests are facing charcoal disease and other factors of deterioration and damage.

He has warned that the continuation of this process can increase the risk of further destruction and desertification.

This warning shows that the pressure on Zagros is not limited to cases that are discovered in the form of cases of smuggling or illegal cutting, and the health of the forest depends on a set of factors.

Therefore, dealing with wood smuggling should be followed along with monitoring the status of trees, identifying factors of deterioration, protecting vulnerable areas and planning for forest restoration.