Under a recent directive by the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, the Department of Environment's Protection Unit is now entitled to a share of the state budget.
"As per the directive, the DOE's Protection Unit will be allocated an independent budget like other units. The budget could help fund the DOE's preservation initiatives," the unit's commander, Jamshid Mohabbatkhani, said.
"We will try to take advantage of this opportunity to address the problems plaguing the environmental protection sector. We can restore the rights of park rangers that have been ignored for years," he was quoted as saying by the DOE's website.
Park rangers have long complained of poor pay and legal protection. "Regrettably, lack of an independent budget for the protection unit posed some problems to the park wardens concerning the payment, insurance and needed equipment," Mohabbatkhani said. Many park rangers have been charged in the past with manslaughter for killing illegal hunters in gunfights.
This is while poachers and offenders have killed around 120 park rangers and injured about 150 over the past four decades.
The murder of three rangers in mid-2016 gave further impetus to a campaign demanding better legal protection for park wardens. That improved protection was enshrined in a DOE-drafted bill submitted weeks later to First Vice President Es'haq Jahangiri for further review and approval.
ILNA reported in March 2017 that the bill was supposed to undergo a parliamentary review within days, but it has been in a state of limbo since. Commenting on the stalled bill, Mohabbatkhani said, "It is getting through the final stages of review by the Majlis Legal and Judicial Commission. We hope it will soon make its way to the floor."
The bill will ease the restrictions the park rangers face in using their weapons in gunfights against poachers.
