Islamic Republic of Iran

Policy framework

National Action Plan

The country has no National Action Plan on Marine Litter yet but it is decided to develop and implement such national action plan in near future.

Legal framework

1. Waste Management Law (2004):
   This law is developed to fulfil the fiftieth Principle of the Islamic Republic of Iran Constitutional Law (which links current and future generations to the environment and makes it a public duty to protect the environment) and in order to protect the environment form harmful effects of waste materials. The Waste Management Law contains 23 articles with 9 paragraphs.
2. Waste Management by law (2005):
   The Waste Management Law supplemented by an executive bylaw that contains specific provisions for the various types of waste in respect to waste avoidance, reduction, recycling, and disposal as well as collection and transport.
3. The Law of taking taxes for productions that causes creation of dangerous materials: Recently established in 2019, contains 6 articles with parties to this resolution should act fully upon all articles. This law obtains tax for list of goods that cause creation of litter, such as different kinds of tiers, toys witch made of plastic and so on. The stakeholders, who reuse the goods, do not force to pay task.
4. Draft “Guideline for reducing plastic consumption in the country”: This Guideline contains 11 articles with 14 paragraphs. Within article 2, all manufacturers and importers of plastic bags or raw materials of such commodities are required to submit 0.5 per thousand worth of goods to the National Environmental Fund while selling or entering the country. Within article 2, plastic bag manufacturing units require to reduce 27% of plastic bags which produce annually, and replace them with environmentally friendly products. Within article 5, the use of any plastic bag is prohibited in all government agencies. Within article 7, any commercial advertising through the insertion and attachment of plastic bags is prohibited.
5. Guideline for environmental aspects in packaging, distribution and consumption of mineral plaster and cement products: This guideline contains 12 articles with 3 paragraphs. Within article 2, packaging, distribution and consumption of all gypsum and cement minerals packed in weights up to 50 Kg is permitted only using paper packaging.
6. Guideline for biodegradable plastics use: This guideline contains 16 articles with 2 paragraphs. Within article 2, Biodegradable plastic replacement program was prepared for some packaging goods proposed by Department of Environment (DOE) and should be implemented by Ministry of Industry. Within article 5, the Standard Organization is asked to monitor the relevant national standard, applies to additives for the production of biodegradable. Within article 14, all units producing biodegradable plastics that comply with the provisions of this Directive shall have the maximum facilities provided for the establishment and continued operation of industrial plants in accordance with Articles 12 and 17 of the Implementing Regulations of the Waste Management Act.
   Related Regional protocols, action plans and projects:
   According to the Article 9 of the Iran’s Civil Code, all the treaties between the government of Iran and other governments, in accordance with the Constitutional Law, shall have the force of law. Therefore, the following conventions/protocols that have been ratified by Iran’s Parliament is forcible:
7. Protocol for the protection of the Caspian Sea against pollution from land-based sources and activities to the framework Convention for the protection of the marine environment of the Caspian Sea (Tehran Convention) is signed in 2011 but it is not entered into force yet.
8. Protocol for the Protection of the Marine Environment against Pollution from Land-Based Sources(1990) to the Kuwait Regional Convention for Co-Operation of the Marine Environment from Pollution(1978)
9. Convention on the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (Basel Convention )
10. London Protocol on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter
11. Annex V of MARPOL Convention

Measures

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)	Yes
Reduce single use plastic (shopping bag, strew etc.) by regulations or voluntary measures	Yes
Restrict microbeads for cosmetics etc.	No
Improve waste management recycling system	Yes
Clean-up activity at rivers and coasts	Yes
Actions on fishing gear	No
Capturing trap/filter on drainage/river	No
Promotion of innovative solutions	Yes
Multi-stakeholder involvement and awareness raising	Yes
Sharing scientific information and knowledge: R&D and Monitoring	Yes
Participate in international cooperation through international organizations, multi-national groups, etc.	Yes
Target region supported by your international cooperation initiatives/projects: Southeast Asia	No
Target region supported by your international cooperation initiatives/projects: Africa	No
Target region supported by your international cooperation initiatives/projects: Latin America	No

Prevention and reduction of plastic waste generation

A prohibition is imposed on the use of plastic water bottles in all the offices of DOE (headquarter and 31 provincial offices) across the country since mid-January 2018.

Environmentally sound waste management and cleanup of marine plastic litter

a) Environmentally sound waste management:

• Promotion of Production and Consumption of goods with easy recycling and limitation on production and import of those with difficult Disposal and Recycling
• Improvement of Production using Recycled Material

b) Cleanup activities:

• Cleanup of the Caspian Sea, Oman Sea and Persian Gulf beaches in line with No Litter Plan
• Clean Beach activity for all of the coastal cities located in Hormozgan Province with the help of local communities and NGOs on regular basis usually last Friday of the year
• Cleanup the coastal areas of the Persian Gulf in collaboration with local communities and NGOs during Environmental Week
• Beach cleanup in Abu Musa Island, Hormoz Island and local communities and authorities
• Nationwide clean-up event during the “Clean Earth Week”

Promotion of innovative solutions

• Support industries that produce recyclable disposable envelopes and containers

Multi-stakeholder involvement and awareness raising

• Cleanup the coastal areas of Nayband Bay (Bushehr Province) in collaboration with Nayband Petrochemical Unit: Clean up Neyband beaches approximately 8.5 km twice a month. Including installation of special buckets in 5 existing parking lots and boards with themes related to enhancing general environmental culture.

Sharing scientific information and knowledge: R&D and Monitoring

• Assemblage of encrusting organisms on floating anthropogenic debris along the northern coast of the Persian Gulf (2019), Shabani et al, Environmental Pollution 254 (2019) 112979: the significant difference in coverage of rafting species on plastic items among different sites, there was no clear and consistent trend of species richness and coverage
• Survey of eighteen stations of the coast of Hormozgan province and a number of stations in the Larak, Faroor and Bani Faroor islands: This study showed that 80% of the waste was plastic and the rest were styrofoam, almost all of which were fishy odors. Glass, paper, cloth contained a small percentage of the waste
• Investigation of micro rubbers, micro plastics and heavy metals in street dust: a study in Bushehr city, Iran (2017), by Abbasi et al, Environmental Earth Sciences (2017) 76:798: This study aimed to:
  • Investigate micro rubbers (MRs) for the first time and identify micro plastics (MPs) in street dust,
  • Determine the physicochemical and mineralogical characteristics and morphology of dust particles,
  • Understand the concentration and the possible source(s) of heavy metals/metalloids,
  • Identify the chemical speciation and mobility potential of trace metals in urban street dusts, and
  • Determine adverse health effects of street dust on children and adults living in the city of Bushehr in southwestern Iran.
• Microplastics in different tissues of fish and prawn from the Musa Estuary, Persian Gulf (2018), by Abbasi et al, Chemosphere 205 (2018) 80e87
• Distribution and potential health impacts of micro plastics and micro rubbers in air and street dusts from Asaluyeh County, Iran (2019), by Abbasi et al, Environmental Pollution 244 (2019) 153e164
• Microplastics and potentially toxic elements in coastal sediments of Iran’s main oil terminal (Khark Island) (2017), by Akhbarizadeh et al, Environmental Pollution 220 (2017) 720e731: This study investigates the potential risk posed by micro plastics and toxic elements in coastal sediments of Khark Island, the main oil export hub of Iran. Principal component biplots exhibited a significant positive correlation between micro plastic quantities (ranging in shape and color) and concentration of heavy metals with industrial activity. Source identification of the heavy metals indicated both natural and anthropogenic origin.
• Geochemistry and environmental effects of potentially toxic elements, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and micro plastics in coastal sediments of the Persian Gulf (2019), by Abbasi et al, Environmental Earth Sciences (2019) 78:492
• Investigating a probable relationship between microplastics and potentially toxic elements in fish muscles from northeast of Persian Gulf (2018), by Akhbarizadeh et al, Environmental Pollution 232 (2018) 154e163
• Microplastic pollution in deposited urban dust, Tehran metropolis, Iran (2017), Dehghan et al, Environ Sci Pollut Res: The plastic load of 88 to 605 microplastics per 30 g dry dust with a dominance of black and yellow granule microplastics ranging in size from 250 to 500 μm was determined in 10 street dust samples using a binocular microscope. Fluorescence microscopy was found to be ineffective for detecting and counting plastic debris.
• Neustonic microplastic pollution in the Persian Gulf (2020),Alimehdiani et al, Marine Pollution Bulletin, Volume 150, January 2020: A comprehensive study on microplastics pollution in the surface waters of the Persian Gulf was done for the first time. Some of the results were shown below:
  • Microplastics were found in all the stations.
  • Fibers were the most abundance shapes of microplastics.
  • The most common polymer types in the samples were polyethylene and polypropylene.
  • The western part of the Persian Gulf polluted more than the eastern part.
• Monitoring of Hydrocarbon pollution (PAHs, Hopans, n- alkanes) in the Caspian Sea with emphasize on new methodologies (2019). DOE Project Report.

Promotion of international cooperation

• Regional project “Addressing Marine litter in Caspian Sea Region”
• Draft of Regional Caspian Sea Marine Liter Action Plan as a part of above regional project.
• Risk Assessment Plan for Plastic Waste Accumulated Areas in the North Coasts of the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea (South Coast of the Country): Part of the Macroplastics Monitoring Master Plan, which is co-operating with Oman, India, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan and Iran, with Australia as head of project.

Challenges

• Legislative gaps in combating land-based and sea-based litter and microplastic
  • A limited mandate on disposing garbage from land-based and sea-based into coastal area;
  • Lack of strategy framework for marine litter such as National Action Plan;
  • Potential legislative gaps on production and use of materials causing marine litter;
  • Lack of mandate reporting of gear loss and facilitate sharing of this information to reduce gear conflict.
• Weak enforcement of existing legislation
  • Weak implementation of laws and regulations in disposing litter and wastewater from different industries into the coastal area;
• Lack of proper information and reporting from land- based sources: disposed to coastal environment
• Technology: Satellite monitoring systems like Clean Sea Net focus primarily on detecting oil discharges, and there is a lack of proper technologies to replace plastics and microplastic with environmentally-friendly materials.
• Financial: Lack of adequate financial resources to combat different items of litters and microplastic originated from land or sea.

Best practices

National level

• Neustonic microplastic pollution in the Persian Gulf (2020),Alimehdiani et al, Marine Pollution Bulletin, Volume 150, January 2020: A comprehensive study on microplastics pollution in the surface waters of the Persian Gulf was done for the first time. Some of the results were shown below:
  • Microplastics were found in all the stations.
  • Fibers were the most abundance shapes of microplastics.
  • The most common polymer types in the samples were polyethylene and polypropylene.
  • The western part of the Persian Gulf polluted more than the eastern part.
• Actions taken to reduce the usage of plastic material and replacement by environmental friendly material: Replacement of plastic bags with other environmental friendly products in product centers. Also, support industries that produce recyclable disposable envelopes and containers, and using the potential of women for making textile bags.

Local level

• Clean Beach activity for all of the coastal cities located in Hormozgan Province with the help of local communities and NGOs on regular basis usually last Friday of the year

Private sector

• Cleanup the coastal areas of Nayband Bay (Bushehr Province) in collaboration with Nayband Petrochemical Unit: Clean up Neyband beaches approximately 8.5 km twice a month. Including installation of special buckets in 5 existing parking lots and boards with themes related to enhancing general environmental culture.

International cooperation

• Project: Addressing Marine litter in the Caspian Sea region. Establishment of the regional network on marine litter.
• The project focuses on the following issues:
  • The initial establishment of a regional network on marine litter consisting of five national networks.
  • Creating an opportunity for the members of the network to participate in the training courses provided by the relevant international organizations in the field of marine litter.
  • Leading a massive coastal clean-up campaign at the 2019 Caspian Sea Day using the regional network and
  • Providing assistance and support to the preparation of a Caspian Sea Action Plan on marine litter.
• Project outputs and activities:
  • Establishment of a regional network on marine litter
  • Ensuring the participation of network members in trainings
• Involvement of the members of the Network to participate in a massive coastal clean-up campaign on 2019 Caspian Sea Day 2019.