69 Percent of Trees in Chitgar Forest Park Lost

The condition of Chitgar Forest Park's trees is critical. Preliminary estimates show that about 41 percent of the park's trees have completely dried out and another 28 percent are at risk of drying out, a situation resulting from a combination of factors, including drought, water shortage, pest spread and weak specialized management over time.

Chitgar Forest Park, one of the most important green areas in the west of Tehran, which was built with the aim of developing green space and improving the environmental conditions of the capital in the 1340s, is currently facing a widespread crisis of drying trees. A crisis, the dimensions of which have been noticed once again with the publication of new pictures and statistics about the condition of the trees in this park.

The dimensions of this crisis are not only limited to the drying of trees, and the cutting and removal of dried and infected trees has also become one of the controversial issues regarding the situation in Chitgarh. One of the reasons for this action is to deal with the spread of the pest and prevent its spread to healthy trees; However, the extent of cutting down trees and changing the face of parts of the park has raised questions about the management and protection process of this forest area.

In the investigation of the reasons for this situation by the reporter of Ambassador Arjan, the lack of water and weakness in irrigation, water stress and the spread of the bark beetle pest have also been mentioned as the effective factors in the drying of trees.

Nasser Amani said in a conversation with Ambassador Arjan: We have warned several times since the beginning of this period about the large and extra-regional parks of Chitgar and Sarkhehsar. It is true that some of the pests that affected the trees of these two large gardens were related to the past and the previous period, and I think this problem started in 2016, but in my opinion, it happened both in the fifth period and in this short period.

He continues: By mobilizing facilities and handing over the matter to experts, the cause and root of this pest and drought in these two gardens could have been identified and at least stopped from spreading, but this did not happen. In my opinion, both periods are to blame for the drying of these large gardens and the pestilence of the trees. It is true that we were facing a shortage of water resources, but it was not that the lack of water was really the main cause of the drying of the trees.

A member of the Tehran City Council states: There was both a pest, a lack of water and a lack of attention and not taking the issue seriously. Also, I believe that during this period, expert forces and forces with a history of urban management were not at the top of the department's affairs, and this issue caused us to unfortunately have to start our two big parks from scratch. In 60 years, our future generations should see that we cut down the trees we have now and have a history and plant new trees.

He added: Of course, there are other reasons for this; Among other things, these trees were planted in the past, for example, five decades ago, and they were all of the same type, and there was no environmental diversity. Trees other than pine trees could be planted in these two gardens so that if the pines get infected, at least other trees will remain. These are among the reasons they put forward. I'm not saying these reasons don't exist, but I'm saying it could have been prevented and not allowed to get here.

Stating that the construction of these two parks in the east of Tehran and in the west of Tehran was done on the basis of science, knowledge and expertise, Amani says: these two parks are actually two important bottlenecks in the east and west of Tehran, which effectively prevented the entry of dust and similar things by planting trees. Unfortunately, although cutting down trees is not a good thing; But now that the trees are infested, they must be cut down; Even their wood can't be used, because they are so infected. Now we have to see what happens.

Naghi Shabanian, Deputy Director of the Tehran City Parks Organization, in a conversation with Ambassador Arjan, referring to the measures taken by the Capital Parks Organization in the Green Belt issue, stated: Preliminary estimates based on satellite images show that about 41% of the trees in Chitgar Park have completely dried up, and about 28% of the trees are at risk of drying. Of course, this statistic is still not certain, and field investigations and sampling of trees are underway to obtain more accurate statistics.

He stated that the current condition of the trees in Chitgar Park is the result of a series of factors over the past years, adding: We must accept that the technical and specialized management of this forest area has not been properly formed. This issue is not related to today and during the past 50 years, continuous scientific and technical planning for the maintenance and cultivation of this forest has not been done in the required way. In this context, both the natural resources organization and the municipality as operators and supervisors have had responsibilities and we must accept the faults of the past.

Stating that the trees of this garden were planted at a density greater than the actual capacity of the field, Shabanian states: According to the principles of forestry, a specific technical and breeding plan should be prepared for each forest area and this plan should be revised every 10 years. In such a plan, all executive and breeding operations, including the time and place of planting, how to maintain and replace trees, are planned for a specific period; But this process has not been properly followed in Chitgarh Park.

He continues: The trees of this garden should have been gradually replaced with more suitable species, especially broad-leaved species, in order to increase the composition and diversity of species and to improve the stability of the forest. This action has not been done properly and as a result, the high density of trees and the lack of proper management have caused the gas exchange, photosynthesis and respiration of the trees to be difficult and their physiological condition has been greatly weakened.

The Deputy Director of Tehran City Parks Organization considers air pollution, successive droughts, soil compaction and the high density of tourists as other factors affecting the condition of the trees in Chitgar Park and says: The average rainfall in this area in the past was around 200 to 280 mm, in recent years, especially in the last five to six years, it has reached less than 100 mm. This decrease in rainfall, along with other factors, has put a lot of pressure on the trees. Also, from the expert's point of view, the creation of a lake in this area and the consequences related to drainage can also be effective factors on the ecological conditions of this area.

Emphasizing that the Chitgar forest has reached an unstable state in terms of structure and physiology, Shabanian states: In the current situation, we must keep the remaining trees alive by watering and strengthening the soil in order to provide the possibility of reviving this area. The soil of this area is also weakened due to the long-term harvesting of food by trees and the slowness of the food cycle, especially in the parts with conifers, and this should also be taken into account for reforestation.

Referring to the water supply problems of Chitgar Park, he says: In the past, there was about 500 cubic meters of water per second for this area, but now the amount of water available has reached about 100 liters per second. Three of the existing nine wells are completely dry and the other six are not in good condition. At present, about 30 cubic meters of water per second are taken from these wells and it is not possible to put more pressure on the existing resources.

Emphasizing the necessity of developing the irrigation network in Chitgar Park, the deputy director of the Tehran City Parks Organization stated: the water distribution network must be developed inside the forest area and after that, mechanized methods suitable to the forest conditions should be used for irrigation. Irrigation methods in the forest are different from agriculture and must be designed in such a way that the roots of the trees are directed deep into the ground. The roots of many dried trees in Chitgarh are superficial, one of the reasons for which is the failure to follow proper principles of irrigation in the past years. Currently, about 10% of the required irrigation network has been implemented and it is necessary to continue this process at a faster pace.

Shabanian mentioned the selection of suitable species for planting as one of the other requirements for reviving this garden and says: To reduce errors in afforestation, a technical committee and specialized working group have been formed with the presence of university professors, researchers of research institutions, executive experts of the municipality and natural resources organization, as well as activists and popular organizations. Decisions related to forest management are reviewed in these working groups and are implemented after expert procedures and technical approvals. Using the country's scientific and experimental capacity can help reduce mistakes and increase the success of rehabilitation programs.

He also explains about the cutting of dried trees: the responsibility of identifying, marking and cutting trees in forest parks is the responsibility of the Natural Resources Organization. The experts of this organization determine which tree should be cut, and after that, the operation related to tree harvesting is carried out. The municipality plays the role of user in this process and cooperates with the Natural Resources Organization.

Referring to the plans for planting saplings in Chitgar Park, the Deputy Director of Tehran Parks Organization says: Last year, 28,000 saplings were planted in this area, and a tender was held to plant another 30,000 trees, and the contractor has been identified. These trees are supposed to be planted based on suitable species and expert programs. If the irrigation infrastructure is provided and developed, we will try to plant another 30,000 to 60,000 saplings in February.

Saying that in the selection of new species, biodiversity has been taken into consideration, Shabanian adds: The required species have been determined by expert surveys, and the goal is to increase the stability of the forest against climatic and environmental conditions by increasing the species diversity. There are about 40 species of plants in this garden. However, planting saplings without providing the required water will not have a favorable result, and the necessary infrastructure for irrigation must be provided before the development of forestry.

In the end, he emphasized the necessity of the cooperation of the responsible institutions and the use of the experts' capacity, saying: the revival of Chitgar Park requires scientific planning, water supply, soil strengthening, selection of suitable species and strict implementation of technical and breeding plans. In this direction, the cooperation of the Natural Resources Organization, the municipality, university professors and experts is necessary so that the conditions for preserving the remaining trees and the gradual restoration of this forest area can be provided by using the existing capacities.

According to Ambassador Arjan, the revival of Chitgar will not be achieved simply by cutting dead trees or planting new saplings; Rather, it needs a sustainable plan for water supply, selection of species suited to the climatic conditions of the capital, pest control and continuous monitoring of the condition of trees. Considering the age of this park and its role in the green space of West Tehran, the loss of its trees does not only mean a reduction in the number of trees, but it can also have wider environmental consequences for the city.