Investigating the Effectiveness of Policy tools and Regulations in Protecting Wetlands and Lakes with an Executive Approach in Iran

Environmental rights, laws and regulations are among the most important tools for protecting and managing natural resources. In this context, it should be noted that by implementing environmental laws, it cannot expect to solve all the biological problems; because, other elements such as the awareness of the people and the institutionalization of this category in culture and social behaviors are very important and effective. On the other hand, environmental laws, due to ambiguity, have not had a satisfactory performance in the field of environmental impacts. However, preventing pollution and destroying the environment and regulating human-environmental relations without binding legal rules will not be possible. Accordingly, some current laws and regulations, due to changes in the environment of the country and the promotion of human knowledge of the values and functions of natural resources, need to be reviewed and reformed. Wetlands and lakes such as Lake Urmia are valuable natural resources that are essential for a country with a climate of Iran, which requires a variety of policy tools. Therefore, in this study, in addition to describe Iran’s 50 years old environmental legal clauses during 1986-2018, that are directly and indirectly related to the wetland in the laws and regulations of the country, the status of its support and management in upstream documents is also discussed. The regulations and related instructions will also be reviewed. In addition, using the results of studies and analyses carried out in the context of existing laws in the field of natural ecosystems, the legal, structural, social, economic and cultural challenges of the laws of conservation Wetlands including Lake Urmia will also is addressed. The results of this study indicate that although laws and regulations play an important role in the conservation and management of natural resources, they do not have the needed efficiency individually. Therefore, in order to achieve the goals of the legislator, it is necessary to consider the economic approaches and tools, based on market incentives and price mechanisms, simultaneously with the legal instruments with less flexibility. Also, the concept of reasonable use of wetlands and lakes needs to be revised in the national policies, laws and legal cases which are contrary to their reasonable use. Besides, the native conditions and characteristics of each wetland and lakes need to be considered in their developing protective and managerial rules and regulations. Accordingly, the setting of unique environmental approaches and standards for management and protection can play an effective role in improving the performance and efficiency of laws and standards in the field of implementation as well as in preventing environmental consequences.