Analysis of elites' view of environment-based development in Iran
الموضوعات :mostafa mokhtari 1 , suorosh fathi 2 , Mehrdad Navabakhsh 3
1 - Ph.D. Student of Development Sociology, Islamic Azad University, Tehran West Branch
2 - Assistant Professor of Sociology, Islamic Azad University, Tehran West Branch
3 - Professor of Sociology at Islamic Azad University, Research Sciences Unit
الکلمات المفتاحية: Elites, Qualitative analysis, development, environment,
ملخص المقالة :
The issue of development in most countries of the world is a concern for the transition from uncertain and problematic conditions to stable and acceptable conditions. Therefore, it has attracted a lot of scientific and non-scientific attention, and many efforts have been made all over the world to achieve it. One of the most important prerequisites for development is focusing on the environment, and based on this, the purpose of this article is to analyze the elites' view of development based on the environment in Iran, to identify the development process and analyze it scientifically.The method of this qualitative research is exploratory type, which was carried out with a fundamental interpretative approach. collection is based on in-depth interviews and 15 in-depth interviews were conducted with these elites in different positions using targeted sampling.The findings of this research showed that in order to achieve environment-based development in Iran, two important factors are needed in the national and international arenas. In the national arena, four factors; land use policy, adaptability and flexibility to climate change; The level of access to clean energy and prevention of industrial pollution and in the international arena, seven factors; Coordination and management of the contradiction between development and the environment, decarbonization of the economy, changing the consumption pattern, investing in infrastructure, paying attention to biodiversity, eliminating biological threats, and formulating a resilient climate strategy create development based on the environment.
Analysis of elites' view of environment-based development in Iran
Abstract
Background and purpose: The issue of development in most countries of the world is a concern for the transition from uncertain and problematic conditions to stable and acceptable conditions. Therefore, it has attracted a lot of scientific and non-scientific attention, and many efforts have been made all over the world to achieve it. One of the most important prerequisites for development is focusing on the environment, and based on this, the purpose of this article is to analyze the elites' view of development based on the environment in Iran, to identify the development process and analyze it scientifically.
Research method: The method of this qualitative research is exploratory type, which was carried out with a fundamental interpretative approach. The method of data collection is based on in-depth interviews and 15 in-depth interviews were conducted with these elites in different positions using targeted sampling. In-depth interviews were analyzed with the inductive thematic content analysis approach.
Findings and results: The findings of this research showed that in order to achieve environment-based development in Iran, two important factors are needed in the national and international arenas. In the national arena, four factors; land use policy, adaptability and flexibility to climate change; The level of access to clean energy and prevention of industrial pollution and in the international arena, seven factors; Coordination and management of the contradiction between development and the environment, decarbonization of the economy, changing the consumption pattern, investing in infrastructure, paying attention to biodiversity, eliminating biological threats, and formulating a resilient climate strategy create development based on the environment. In general, these factors accelerate the development process based on environmental considerations as drivers.
Keywords: development, elites, environment, qualitative analysis.
Introduction and problem
Dedicated attention to the concept of development and planning to achieve development has become a valuable goal for most countries in the world since the 20th century, in order to achieve the indicators of development, this attention has been given since the Second World War and the need to rebuild the destruction caused by The war, as well as the independence of the former colonial countries, intensified. The planning was first done in the former Soviet Union, and due to its success, other countries more or less developed a comprehensive and focused program in the form of development programs. Development in its most general sense means improving the quality of human life. Therefore, human beings constitute the real wealth of any country. In other words, paying attention to human beings as one of the foundations of development provides the possibility for countries to take steps to improve the quality level of their countries according to the key elements of the human development index (per capita income, life expectancy and literacy rate) (Hakiminiya et al., 2010: 29).
Development happens in different contexts and conditions, but this concept is closely related to the environment, and in many cases, the environmental condition of societies is considered to indicate the state of development of that society. In general, the environment is an area for all countries of the world, whether developed or developing, whether poor or rich. But what is considered a serious threat to this environment is the actions of some countries and their productivity in this environment. Accordingly, major climate changes and climate changes are each the consequences of changes in the environment by some countries and human activities. In general, the evidence shows that rich countries are more responsible for climate change and poorer countries will suffer the most in this area. Poor countries are geographically more prone, but have fewer resources and less government capacity to deal with environmental impacts, and more of their people depend directly on the environment to meet their daily needs (Sustainable Development Solutions Report, 2018: 9). . Based on this, the damage caused to the environment by rich countries due to their use of advanced facilities; It is always faster and more destructive than poor countries. Therefore, it is necessary for these countries to spend part of their economic income obtained from this environment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and subsidize poorer countries to preserve the environment. Also, through sustainable and environment-based economic growth, all low-income countries can reach the per capita income threshold of middle-income countries by 2030. Today's middle-income countries can end extreme poverty and become upper-middle-income or high-income (Sustainable Development Solutions Report, 2020). It is necessary for them to set higher taxes on the consumption of fossil fuels, industrial fishing and the import of valvar wood in their development policies in order to participate in the control of environmental damage (Farhang, 2021: 2). Also, the projects of some large multinational companies in poor areas are part of their corporate social responsibilities, which must ensure their sustainability and positive social and environmental effects, so that more efforts in these areas are welcomed. Sustainability means that these projects should deliver economic goods and inclusive growth that promote stability and peace in the spirit of development (Sustainable Development Solutions Report, 2018: 9). On the other hand, environmental disaster not only steals peace and security from human life and threatens human existence, but is also the most important threat to development. For this reason, in scientific and political circles, environmental issues are the loudest and most serious issues of the day. In following up its causes and factors, two factors attract more attention; One is the civilized man's view of nature, the other is the development of technology. Civilized man considers himself the owner of nature and believes that man, as the best of creations, has the right to use nature in any way without being responsible for its restoration and maintenance. On the other hand, with the development of human technology, he has achieved great and amazing achievements, while the same constructive and transformative causes of human life have been exposed to destruction (Velaei, 2014: 24). In general, in order to achieve sustainable development, governments should give the most importance to environmental protection in their development policies and make several efforts to reduce energy consumption. Environmental protection programs can facilitate the activities of environmentally friendly companies in the form of policies such as the Green Investment Plan and formulate goals based on sustainability in order to strengthen a number of effective policies to create an environmental civilization around environmentally friendly industrial mechanisms and sustainable land use. . Therefore, planning infrastructure across the country and various projects under implementation for growth should be innovative, coordinated and based on environmental sustainability.
It has been almost three decades since the environmental revolution started, in fact this revolution took place in the 1960s (Salami, 1998:47). Until now, traditionally, development was only measured by economic criteria and the damages caused to the environment and natural resources were not considered, but after the spread of environmental issues in the world, especially in Europe, the question of sustainable development was raised, which is basically the same development. It was based on the environment. After that, many governmental and non-governmental organizations paid attention to development based on environment as a new model of development. Today, this type of development has been widely discussed in conferences, research institutes and international organizations, especially the economic growth and development planners of countries. The importance of this issue is to the extent that environment-based development has been focused as a dominant concept in scientific research. Although this situation has various perceptions and interpretations, it generally indicates "sustainability" and the continuation of development for everyone and future generations over a long period of time (Rahnamaei, 2006: 1). Based on this, this research intends to deeply analyze the elites' view of environment-based development in Iran using a fundamental interpretative approach.
Literature
The most important and practical conceptual and theoretical model related to environment-based development in Iran and the world is the compatibility of development with climate changes and maintaining development for future generations. The sustainable development scenario is technically feasible for many countries and should be based on the normative principles of economic development for all countries, convergence and synergy in living standards, support for fragile areas, skill development for all, successful separation of economic development from the use of Natural resources and pollution. Such an approach requires the mobilization of all public and private actors around a common global framework for sustainable and synergistic development (Sustainable Development Solutions Network Secretariat, 2013: 2). In addition, adapting to climate change is a key strategy in achieving sustainable development. Climatic changes such as flood, drought and population displacement do not require quick response, but the management of these events in nature should be accompanied by adaptive measures. Therefore, supporting adaptation to climate change requires a broad approach that not only addresses the immediate impacts of specific climate change hazards, but also helps build the socio-economic and institutional foundations for resilience. This requires support at different levels of development. The first step to achieving an integrated approach is to support the interdependent links between adaptation and development. The conceptual dimensions of these links have been widely discussed in the academic literature. However, these links are also very practical. Even if the goals of the Paris Agreement to achieve ceilings of 1.5 or 2 degrees are met, long-term climate change is now undeniable.
Therefore, adaptation is necessary for development and the way to build resilient societies (Fonder et al., 2020: 22). Just as adaptation and development can support each other, they can also negatively impact each other if done separately. Likewise, development is key to addressing the drivers and mechanisms that create vulnerabilities and hinder people's adaptation efforts. Even where people have sufficient knowledge and ideas about the best way to adapt, they are often unable to implement them due to lack of access to resources, limited rights, and other features that development can help address. Furthermore, poorly conceived development interventions can increase vulnerability, while poorly planned adaptation support can lead to misguided development. In general, development activities require a lot of adaptation, but given the contentious nature of climate finance, it is important to ensure transparency when trying to flow adaptation activities into development. Establishing a simple and clear set of criteria that must be met for development activities to incorporate adaptation can be a means of ensuring policy-making. Also, that adaptation governance issues are clearly addressed, it will determine how planned activities are aligned with processes. Existing decision-making on adaptation and how vulnerable groups are included in decision-making on activities. The figure below depicts the link between adaptation and development.
Figure 1 - Adaptation and development link (Fonder et al., 2020: 24).
Efforts to support adaptation are many and varied. Some researchers have made extensive efforts to organize different types of adaptation activities along a continuum, from activities that address the underlying drivers of vulnerability to those that address more direct climate impacts. Efforts that target the left side of the spectrum are toward drivers of vulnerability that are typically seen as development issues. Efforts that target the right side of the spectrum are more directly aimed at addressing the immediate and specific impacts of climate change. In addition, all activities involve governance aspects that require consideration.
Figure 2- Continuum of adaptation and development (Remling and Persson, 2015: 21).
In better explanation of adaptation and development, it is necessary to pay attention to three points. First, while the spectrum represents different possible intervention goals and foci, most of the indicated practical activities to be undertaken to achieve the desired goals are already known in the development context. For example, what is known in the language of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change as "planned displacement" in response to, for example, climate change-induced flooding, involves the same actions and risks that decades of It has been subject to development-oriented resettlement plans (Lindgaard, 2019: 2).
It emphasizes the close relationship between adaptation and development in practice and highlights the good and bad experiences that development actors can have in fulfilling their adaptive role. Second, all aspects of this continuum are important. For example, addressing vulnerability factors in general is not sufficient because climate change is so advanced in many areas that other types of adaptation activities are needed. Likewise, exposure to climate-specific effects alone does not alter vulnerability factors. Notably, this does not mean that all aspects of the continuum are equally important in every setting or that every program must address every possible activity. For each planning area, choices must be made, not based on existing plans, but based on an informed analysis of climate risks and vulnerabilities in a particular environment. to address the basic aspects of society and economy such as natural resources, production and livelihood (Fonder et al., 2018: 31).
But what is discussed a lot in terms of politics; It is who decides which interventions to take place, and how is democratic debate and inclusion ensured in this decision-making process? Surprisingly, this key aspect is often neglected in discussions of adaptation and in the design of adaptation programs. As a fundamental aspect of development, the governance dimension again highlights the close links between adaptation and development. Indeed, many of the bottom-up approaches currently being used for adaptation efforts around the world draw directly on approaches and techniques from the development field, without the support of national and local governance mechanisms (Remling and Persson, 2015: 22). Also, discussions on the integration of climate change adaptation and development focus on the concept of mainstreaming, understood in this context as "the integration of information, policies and actions to address climate change into sustainable development planning and decision-making" (Ayers et al. , 2014: 295).
The concept of mainstreaming is not new in the field of development, and the teachings are by no means always positive. There are numerous examples of, for example, mainstreaming gender issues becoming a superficial exercise, and this can also be seen in early attempts to mainstream development. As some critics have rightly pointed out, there is also a danger that mainstreaming will become an aid exercise anchored by national and local institutions and not led by local institutions. This has led to values-based definitions of the mainstream. Discussions in the development policy literature have often approached mainstreaming as a process in which adaptation issues are simply incorporated into ongoing development programs. There are certainly relatively straightforward opportunities to fit adaptation activities into existing development asset portfolios. Public or private sector involvement in agricultural development, water development, infrastructure, humanitarian aid, etc., offers obvious potential in this area and is being implemented to some extent. Analyzing ongoing programs in donor asset portfolios can reveal where the best opportunities are. However, it is a mistake to assume that entire development suites can be advanced using compatibility solutions.
Some aspects of adaptation are long-term and transformative. The time frame of development interventions is often short and subject to changing priorities of governments and other actors. This may limit the range of options available and tempt stakeholders to only address adaptation choices that are achievable in the short term, thereby potentially diverting attention from underlying vulnerabilities. Adaptation also requires "hitting a moving target," that is, responding to constant change and uncertainty. For this reason, one of the most important goals of adaptation efforts is strong institutional processes and accountability capacity. This requires substantial efforts to establish consistency across organizational landscapes. Such work often requires dedicated effort that can be challenging to achieve as part of a broader development effort with multiple objectives. Relatedly, if climate change adaptation efforts are to be successful, they must address governance aspects, as noted earlier. It is difficult to address such fundamental questions within the framework of a broader agricultural development program. For these reasons, simply building adaptation activities into current agendas and programs will not be sufficient. Instead, the aim should be to work towards a truly integrated approach to mainstreaming, whereby development and adaptation are addressed in a comprehensive way from the outset of policy making. Otherwise there is a risk that adaptation will remain a nominal annexation and current concerns about the lack of transparency in the link between development and adaptation funding will continue and perhaps even be confirmed (Fonder et al., 2020: 28). In order to integrate adaptation into development programmes, it is important to be clear about the specific aspects of climate adaptation that need to be addressed. If this is not achieved, there is a risk that climate-specific vulnerabilities and needs will be overlooked and the program will not reasonably contribute to adaptation. The fact that development and adaptation activities are often very similar, for example, an agricultural project is automatically subject to "adaptation", is not enough and the climate-specific aspects of the program should be understood from the outset as an integral part of policy making. and be noticed. The proper basis for doing this lies in problem analysis and identification of objectives, which is currently a standard approach in development program policies. Adaptation should be addressed from the beginning of the process through an informed analysis of the climate risks, vulnerabilities and needs of the contexts and populations in question, and how the program addresses this.
A broader approach to integrating adaptation and development is needed if more fundamental aspects of adaptation, such as long-term institutional development and governance aspects, are to be addressed. Such an approach would require the introduction of a broader scale for adaptation than has been the case so far, and should be considered in order to address adaptation across sectors, from health to infrastructure. For example, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change supports a "whole of society" approach to climate change adaptation, as resilience broadly speaking. This represents a shift away from a narrow focus on supporting technological innovation in specific sectors. Therefore, this approach helps to move beyond the conventional scale of departmental programs towards intersectoral transformational interventions (Shakia et al., 2019: 45). With these interpretations, development based on the environment may be followed in different conditions and in different societies with complex approaches, and in the development process, only issues of compatibility with the environment should not be emphasized. Rather, it can identify various factors in the development process of societies both in the national and international arenas.
Research Method
The method of this qualitative research is exploratory type, which was done with a fundamental interpretive approach. In this approach, the reality of development is a mental reality that is socially constructed. Therefore, in order to observe and analyze human issues related to development, there is a great need for the interpretation of researchers and elites related to development in order to discover the hidden angles of development in societies. The data collection method is based on the fundamental interpretive approach based on in-depth interviews and 15 in-depth interviews were conducted with the development elites of the country in different scientific and intellectual positions using targeted sampling. In-depth interviews were analyzed with the inductive content analysis approach and the findings were analyzed and interpreted in two general categories and eleven sub-components.
Findings
In the early years of development and the process of industrialization in many developed countries, attention to the environment and its sustainability for future generations, due to the extensive exploitation of natural resources, received the attention of policy makers and planners. Since then, the issue of the environment is very prominent in the development programs, and even the issue of sustainable development has been raised precisely in line with the response to the environmental issues of development. Accordingly, the most important factors affecting development based on the environment in Iran, which are directly referred to as internal and external factors respectively, are the following. These cases are the result of the consensus of the elites participating in the research, which were compiled in a single case with in-depth interviews. In addition, each of the factors in the existing theoretical literature and authentic research reports can also be traced in similar ways.
1- National factors
1-1- Land use policy
Amish Sarmeen is a new Persian word that comes from the verbs "Amadan" and "Amadan" which means to decorate, mix, thread and prepare, which is adapted from the word Amenager in the French language (Ghourchian, 2015: 2), which seeks balance between Three elements of man, space and activity are defined (Khoenifar, 2019: 7). Land development actually includes measures to organize and systematize the natural, social, and economic space at the national and regional levels based on the formulation of the main directions of sustainable development in the form of combining plans from above and below and relying on regional capabilities, capabilities and limitations. It takes place in a coordinated and long-term planning. This approach provides the context of interaction between the three elements of human, space and activity and provides a logical arrangement of activities in the field of land. The objectives of territorial development are balanced development and fair development and optimal use of resources for the development and progress of territorial areas (Aghamohammadi and Moradi, 2017: 957). In other words, the goal of optimal and rational use and realizing the values of space is for effective economic and social functions, and therefore, the division of labor of the land is considered one of its important aspects. In the planning of land use, it is essential to identify different areas of the land, because the basis of the plan is known (Pourahmad, 2010: 480). In general, land development is the result of the reflection of thought and continuous action with order and plan of human groups in different scales (rural, urban, regional and national and even in some international cases) in order to achieve a coordinated distribution of people and economic activities in relation to natural resources. Provide the area. Land planning is at the service of man to improve the quality of his life, and planning thinking expresses the active spirit and dynamic human body with geographical understanding. Land preparation in any property and territory may be done based on several goals (Yazdan Panahdaro, 2017: 7), but land preparation is done successfully when it is done for development. Based on this, the country's development experts have named territorial preparation and preparation of Iran to organize and regulate spatial, geographical, natural and residential affairs as one of the important drivers of development. Although land planning, as an advanced and complementary knowledge and method in planning, is rooted in years of efforts in scientific and research circles and practical experience, and its history goes back to before the Second World War (Azimi-Bolurian, 2010: 12), but in Iran land planning The land of science is relatively new, and precisely because of this, it is necessary as an environmental driver for development. The environmental consequences of the development programs of developing countries often create bad consequences for the future of the environment and natural resources. At present, many environmental issues have plagued the country and have imposed many costs on the society, and the obvious example is the drying up of Lake Urmia and many wetlands in the country, and the role of human factors in these environmental disasters is very prominent, and the change of land use and development Agricultural lands and changing the cultivation pattern towards the planting of high consumption plants, many dams and loss of water balance in the watersheds of lakes and wetlands, excessive use and unauthorized extraction of water from underground sources and the construction of unnecessary dams are all factors that lead to the drying up of lakes. And the wetlands are surrounded by Urmia. Therefore, environmental planning in the form of land use can reduce its adverse consequences while providing access to development. Because land preparation is, in a sense, planning for a better distribution of the population, various facilities and activities in order to increase the well-being and comfort of the people and the coordination of different parts of society and nature. This matter has gained special importance since man realized that the land is a limited resource for all the productive and social activities of mankind, and in fact, it is the land on which the population is dispersed, agriculture comes to life, industry is created, and all actions and Biological and social reactions are formed on it. Accordingly, creating a logical balance between the three elements of human, space and activities becomes inevitable. In addition, it seems that partial planning appropriate to land reclamation reduces many undesirable consequences, and the implementation of plans and projects in accordance with the general goals and policies of land reclamation will be one of the important reasons for the success of land reclamation programs in Iran. Also, the importance of land use in Iran is precisely because the implementation of plans and projects without land use justification lead to violation of land use directions and causes unbalanced development of provinces. Therefore, in order to develop on the basis of the environment and save the land and preserve the national interests, it is necessary to screen the plans and projects that have been included in the appendices of the budget law for political reasons and without considering expert opinions in a bold and cross-sectoral action, and exclude them from the next year's budget bill. be laid
1-2- adaptation and flexibility with climate changes
Adapting to climate change is a key strategy in achieving sustainable development. Climatic changes such as flood, drought and population displacement do not require quick response, but the management of these events in nature should be accompanied by adaptive measures. Therefore, supporting adaptation to climate change requires a broad approach that not only addresses the immediate impacts of specific climate change hazards, but also helps build the socio-economic and institutional foundations for resilience. This requires support at different levels of development. The first step to achieving an integrated approach is to support the interdependent links between adaptation and development. The conceptual dimensions of these links have been widely discussed in the academic literature. However, these links are also very practical. Even if the goals of the Paris Agreement to achieve ceilings of 1.5 or 2 degrees are met, long-term climate change is now undeniable. Therefore, adaptation is necessary for development and the way to build resilient societies (Fonder et al., 2020: 22). Just as adaptation and development can support each other, they can also negatively impact each other if done separately. Likewise, development is key to addressing the drivers and mechanisms that create vulnerabilities and hinder people's adaptation efforts. Even where people have sufficient knowledge and ideas about the best way to adapt, they are often unable to implement them due to lack of access to resources, limited rights, and other features that development can help address. Furthermore, poorly conceived development interventions can increase vulnerability, while poorly planned adaptation support can lead to misguided development. In general, development activities require a lot of adaptation, but given the contentious nature of climate finance, it is important to ensure transparency when trying to flow adaptation activities into development. Establishing a simple and clear set of criteria that must be met for development activities to incorporate adaptation can be a means of ensuring policy-making. In order to integrate adaptation into development programmes, it is important to be clear about the specific aspects of climate adaptation that need to be addressed. If this is not achieved, there is a risk that climate-specific vulnerabilities and needs will be overlooked and the program will not reasonably contribute to adaptation. The fact that development and adaptation activities are often very similar, for example, an agricultural project is automatically subject to "adaptation", is not enough and the climate-specific aspects of the program should be understood from the outset as an integral part of policy making. and be noticed. The proper basis for doing this lies in problem analysis and identification of objectives, which is currently a standard approach in development program policies. Adaptation should be addressed from the beginning of the process through an informed analysis of the climate risks, vulnerabilities and needs of the contexts and populations in question, and how the program addresses this.
1-3- The level of access to clean energy
In Iran, the use of clean and renewable energy has an ancient historical background, and Shushtar water structures, Sistan windmills, Yazd cooling wind turbines and many similar cases have been examples of Iran's experiences in using clean energy, and in successive years, the people of Iran have used the earth for Various uses with different experiences and solutions have used renewable energy. Even today, in the economic use of wind and water energy and for ventilation and temperature change and water storage for the hot days of the year, various solutions can be used and the consumption of fossil energy can be reduced. Now, in order to restore the environment and reduce dependence on fossil energy in the world, countries have set specific rules and regulations according to their infrastructure and according to these rules, they have increased the capacity of clean energy day by day and reduced their dependence on fossil energy. Due to the human need for energy, the human desire and need to use clean and renewable energy is increasing day by day, hence the advancement of technology has been created to produce and store energy (Behzadpour and Zargar, 2019: 157). Accordingly, the amount of use of these clean energies has become an indicator of development and sustainable development. Development itself is inherently related to access to clean, sufficient and affordable energy, and many countries have included the demand for clean energy in their development program for their socio-economic growth. As a development driver, electricity is the need of all industries, and frequent power outages are harmful to economic development, and development projects are unlikely to succeed without electricity. The goals of achieving access to clean energy through nuclear science and technology are increasingly considered as a potentially attractive solution to achieving development, and many countries desire to have such energy. (Stott and Bozeman, 2021: 12). Today, a large part of clean energy, especially electricity, is obtained through nuclear energy. Nuclear energy boosts economic development and leads to overall development.
1-4- Prevention of industrial pollution
Industrial pollutants are the biggest environmental threats and even threats to human life on the planet. Today, Bezag industries are considered both as an opportunity for the development of the society and as a threat to it due to their major contribution to the development and progress of the society. In general, pollution prevention approaches can be applied to all potential and actual pollution-producing activities, including those found in the energy, agriculture, consumption, and industry sectors. In this regard, preventive measures are necessary to preserve wetlands, underground water sources and other vital ecosystems, and with the increase in the temperature of the earth, pollution of the river and the environment should be prevented, and the entry of industrial effluents into the rivers should be prevented. Since an important part of the country's industry has destructive environmental effects, it is necessary to take serious measures by large industrial companies in the form of social and corporate responsibility by redesigning industrial processes for material efficiency, recycling and safe waste management.
2- International factors
2-1- Coordination and management of development and environment contradiction
Many development thinkers agree on the principle that development in many countries is based on the continuous and indiscriminate exploitation of nature. As international interest in development investments has increasingly focused on "nature-based solutions", so have the challenges of climate change and the unintended degradation of biodiversity. The key to achieving progress and development along with human well-being is possible through conservation of biodiversity. Therefore, governments should invest in those components of biodiversity and places that are important to poor people. While the world's attention is focused on large animals such as elephants, tigers and other animals targeted in the illegal wildlife trade, it is even more important to prioritize species that matter to poor people. These include pollinators, soil microbes, traditional plant species, and species that are important for the food of poor populations.
Therefore, developing a new framework that benefits both biodiversity and working people will require much more concerted thinking and action than has occurred so far. Many of the causes of biodiversity loss, especially in the agricultural and infrastructure sectors, are themselves long-term drivers of development gains. Therefore, there is a contradiction between the conservation of biodiversity and the achievements of development, which must be managed in order not to create a gap in the path of development. Also, the crisis of biodiversity is a development crisis and requires a committed response from the development society. It is crucial that more efforts are made to tackle the loss of biodiversity without disrupting the development process. Today, some development policies that are followed individually can have serious negative effects on biodiversity, for example, the development of employment in poor countries based on the exploitation of natural resources, although it is a positive step in underutilized areas, but a serious threat to species Plants and ecosystems. On the other hand, some strategies to protect or restore biodiversity can undermine development policies. Therefore, achieving sustainable development goals by preserving biodiversity and ecosystem services requires sustained efforts to strengthen coordination between these two areas. This is where adding the word sustainable to development can preserve biodiversity and development policies will not lag behind, and these issues experienced in developed countries are important drivers for Iran's development.
2-2- Decarbonization of the economy
Today's development in part of large industrialized countries such as China and America has been at the cost of polluting the environment and increasing greenhouse gases. Based on this, it is necessary for developing countries to policy development through an economy free of carbon and fossil fuels. Because excessive consumption of fossil fuels makes the possible future of the planet look scary. Because the increase in the cost of energy in the world has increased the consumption of cheap and fossil fuels such as coal. Coal is still one of the cheapest fuels in the world and its use as a fuel is the biggest reason for the speed of climate change. Based on this, the growing demand for energy causes economic growth and at the same time causes an increase in pollution and destruction of the environment. Considering the importance of economic growth and the environment, it is essential for policymakers and economists to understand how energy and pollution variables affect the economic growth of countries (Farhang, 1400: 1). Therefore, in order to carry out development policies correctly, it is necessary to use clean energy instead of fossil fuels and to put carbon consumption reduction policies on the agenda. Also, the need to decarbonize the economy by 2050 is a vital necessity for the world. The global economy is based on fossil fuels, which account for more than 80% of the primary energy consumption in the world. In order to protect the world from climate change, policymakers must achieve a decarbonized energy and industrial system by 2050, that is, a system that emits much less carbon dioxide or captures and sequesters the carbon dioxide that is emitted. Sustainable Development Solutions Report, 2020). However, even with advances in renewable energy technology, fossil fuels remain cheaper on the market than many low-carbon energy sources, resulting in higher carbon emissions. The main problem is that the market prices of fossil fuels do not reflect their true social and environmental costs, including the costs of climate change and pollution. Accordingly, a "social price of carbon" should be added to the cost of fossil fuel to the market cost, so that the real cost of fossil fuel to the society becomes clearer. By applying such a policy, we can witness a kind of change in the market towards clean and low-carbon energies.
2-3- Changing the consumption pattern
Promotion of sustainable consumption and production are considered as important aspects of sustainable development and unsustainable production and consumption patterns are the main cause of deterioration and destruction of the global environment. Therefore, in order to ensure a more sustainable development, it is necessary to make changes in consumption and production patterns. In a statement, the United Nations Development Office also asked the countries of the world to prioritize achieving sustainable consumption patterns in their policies and to pay attention to the fact that it is possible to use resources efficiently and adopt methods with less pollution in daily life. And in the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), which was held in Johannesburg, the need to change unsustainable production and consumption patterns has been mentioned as an important issue.
As many research documents and previous studies have shown, human impacts on the environment are increasing rapidly and have become a major cause of environmental changes. These changes have gone beyond climate change, nitrogen cycle, pollution, etc., and today the talk of adapting to the changes made in development perspectives is discussed (Sustainable Development Solutions Network Secretariat, 2013: 7). Surveys have shown that without sustainable consumption, sustainable development is impossible and the pattern of consumption towards sustainable consumption should be placed as an important issue on the agenda of the government, both at the national and international levels, and public belief should be based on this idea. that the increases in resource productivity alone are not enough to create sustainable development (Ansari and Salehnya, 2009: 1). Therefore, development and consumption are two sides of the same coin, and in order to achieve development, it is necessary to pay special attention to changing the consumption pattern in Iran as a development planning.
2-4- Investment in infrastructure
Investing in sustainable infrastructure will be costly and place a burden on low-income countries. Therefore, the core of sustainable development must be a financing strategy that is considered fair and practical. At least there should be some policies and strategies. First, the polluting countries must pay for cleaning up their pollution and to compensate the countries that bear the burden of pollution. For example, the indiscriminate construction of dams in Turkey has created many polluting sources for the countries of Iraq and Iran, etc., and it is necessary for this country to pay the costs of this pollution either by paying water fees or cash costs. In the field of the hole in the ozone layer, countries like India and China, due to the high consumption of fossil fuels such as coal, should have a higher participation in saving the planet. Second, ecosystem services should be priced and each country should pay according to its share in the use and exploitation of ecosystems. Third, rich countries should help poor countries cover the increased costs of investing in environmental protection. Finally, considering the changes in the per capita energy consumption of countries, it is necessary to formulate and implement clear policies to manage non-sustainable assets such as fossil fuel reserves that should not be exploited, or coal power plants that become uneconomical after the increase in the price of carbon emissions. to increase the sustainability of renewable energy consumption in all countries. These types of investments are safe investments for the future of countries and are necessary for the development of societies. Investments in development infrastructure may be costly and time-consuming, but without these investments, development will be impossible. Also, transnational projects, while having indirect economic and social benefits, are also associated with security risks. For example, regional security threats are an obstacle to the development of road networks by developed countries in poor countries. Another challenge in the presence of transnational security is the construction of large infrastructures that open the door to corruption and political capture. Some foreign investments in the long term will lead to poor countries. Therefore, it is necessary to arrange such contracts through international organizations and by fulfilling the most obligations (Chen, 2018: 6).
2-5- Attention to biodiversity
The term biodiversity should be used to describe the diversity of life. But it is often combined with specific wildlife species or habitats. When the media tell stories of biodiversity loss, they often point to the death of iconic wildlife species or iconic ecosystems such as rainforests or the Great Barrier Reef. But biodiversity is much more than that. This includes not only known wild mammals and birds, but also plants, fish, fungi, insects and microorganisms, as well as plant and animal species. Biodiversity is a scientific term to describe the variety of life on Earth. Today, the loss of biodiversity is a major crisis in the development process in many countries, and biodiversity and the diversity of life on earth are disappearing at an increasing and alarming rate. To date, biodiversity loss has been considered an environmental problem. But new approaches in development policy consider the loss of biodiversity as a development crisis. Because the loss of biodiversity is a threat to weaken development gains and these gains will be affected in the areas of health, resilience, food security and even GDP income. Developing countries are not very successful in environmental fields due to the culture that dominates these societies, and in the most basic situation, poor people are especially dependent on biodiversity. They are involved both to meet daily subsistence needs and to increase resilience against climate change and other threats in the environment. Therefore, the loss of biodiversity, especially when accompanied by climate change, harms them the most. Their relationship is two-fold and while they depend on biodiversity, they themselves surpass each other in the exploitation of natural resources. In this regard, in 2020, the international community agreed to a new 10-year strategy for biodiversity management, according to which the global community's efforts will be more focused in concerted action to conserve biodiversity.
Biodiversity directly supports export earnings, GDP and jobs in various economic sectors from tourism to agriculture. In the development policy process, investments should reflect the critical role of biodiversity in contributing to development priorities and its conservation. Also, investing in the protection and restoration of biodiversity should be accompanied by the empowerment of the poor. Because the poverty of the poor is a threat to the loss of biodiversity and non-renewable resources.
Biodiversity is related to the abundance of different species, genetic diversity and diversity of natural habitats and ecosystems. This diversity is disappearing at an increasing and alarming rate. Biodiversity loss has severe consequences for food and water security, adaptation to climate change, disaster risks, and human health (Fonder et al., 2020: 22). Therefore, biodiversity is very important for mankind, and on the other hand, mankind is strongly dependent on biodiversity. Because humanity depends on the goods and services produced by nature, and nature's ability to provide these goods and services in the long term is supported by biodiversity. In 1992, the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, responding to an already recognized crisis, warned that the risk of the "empty forest syndrome" was serious. It refers to apparently healthy, tree-filled forests, increasingly devoid of any animal inhabitants (Fonder et al., 2020: 23). So; Loss of biodiversity is an environmental crisis. But more importantly, it is a major impediment to future development and risks undermining previously hard-won development gains. Therefore, developing countries need to see their development policies that focus on biodiversity not only regionally, but also internationally.
2-6- Elimination of biological threats
As stated in theoretical verses and research reports, the environment is facing many threats and many damages are inflicted on it every day. New science has revealed interesting facts about environmental threats with its studies. Based on this, the impact of plastics on the life of the oceans and its non-degradation in centuries and the collapse of the insect population is a new knowledge that has been obtained for the knowledge. In addition to this, the development of communication and information has shown the extent and scale of the destruction of nature and the loss of biodiversity for all people. Undoubtedly, environmental threats have severe consequences for human development, and while jeopardizing food security and increasing pollution, it has endangered human health. One of the most important environmental threats is the loss of biodiversity. Biodiversity loss is often measured in terms of the loss of specific species, and biodiversity loss undermines the ability of ecosystems to function effectively and efficiently, thereby undermining nature's ability to provide the healthy environment upon which development depends. While some species losses are completely natural, others are being destroyed by overfishing and hunting. There is ample evidence that biodiversity loss poses challenges to achieving many development goals, from health to food security and disaster risk reduction. Accordingly, development policies should be designed to protect development gains against biodiversity loss. Also, anti-nature development investments should replace nature-oriented development investments. For example, in the south of the country, due to the development plans and extraction of oil resources, the marine ecosystem is in serious danger of destruction. Also, most of the mangrove forests as a pristine ecosystem are facing the risk of serious destruction. Mangrove forests are known for providing numerous ecosystem services and vital habitats for various species and are one of the ecosystems threatened by human activities and climate change (Qayyomi et al., 2022: 1). Mangrove forests are decreasing due to the increase of human activities, climate changes and adverse environmental conditions, and this ecosystem in the southern coast of Iran is the last range of distribution of these forests in Iran. These trees have the same characteristics as freshwater forests by tolerating water salinity. Therefore, in part of the development policies that are in harmony with the environment, the restoration of mangrove forests should be on the agenda. Therefore, preserving this ecosystem, in addition to emphasizing the ability to develop tourism in these areas, can be a refuge for animals and aquatic life. Even in China, as a developed country, the mangrove restoration program is on the agenda to restore salt marshes, coral reefs, and sea grass. Therefore, an important development driver in Iran can be the elimination of biological threats.
7-2- Development of a resilient climate strategy
Climate changes have become inevitable in all the world, therefore many countries have considered forward-looking strategies to live in unstable climate conditions. Although many climate changes cannot be prevented, resilience in the climate must be promoted for the survival of development or the achievement of development. On the other hand, even under the most optimistic scenarios, some severe climate changes are tangible for everyone, and even in the coming decades, the frequency and intensity of climate events will increase and put pressure on agriculture, cities, and infrastructure. Some coastal areas are likely to experience tsunamis and some fragile areas may become uninhabitable. Coral reefs are destroyed and the process of biodiversity loss is accelerated. Also, ongoing climate change emphasizes the importance of adaptation to ensure resilient agriculture and infrastructure. The infrastructure being built today must be designed to withstand much higher temperatures, frequent heavy rainfall, and greater variability in water supply, and to minimize agricultural productivity losses from climate change, especially in low-latitude regions. , governments and companies should invest in research and development of new drought- and heat-resistant crops, improving water management infrastructure and new agricultural techniques (Sustainable Development Solutions Network Leadership Council Report, 2014: 19). As a result, policies to achieve economic, social, environmental, governance and personal security goals should be based on "developing a resilient climate strategy" and promote the acceptance of climate change. Another major challenge is sustainable agriculture and food security. Food production is often environmentally destructive, causing groundwater depletion, topsoil loss, greenhouse gas emissions, pollution from fertilizers and pesticides, habitat loss, and biodiversity loss. While there is enough food on average to feed 7 billion people on Earth today, much food is wasted by a large portion of this population that could alleviate food poverty for millions. Areas that face widespread malnutrition and growing food shortages today will tend to expand and become vulnerable to food insecurity in the foreseeable future, particularly due to climate change, depletion of fresh water supplies, and land erosion. . The increase in world population and per capita demand for food will aggravate these problems. These challenges must be addressed through intensification of environmentally sustainable agriculture, especially among smallholder farmers, investment in resilience to climate change, and increased land resilience.
Discussion
General consensus Most scientific and research works around the world agree that a multi-dimensional strategy is necessary for the development of countries. Accordingly, the best thing is to identify the factors that accelerate the development process of countries in different fields. In addition, Iran's development needs a multi-layered approach and it needs attention both in the national dimension and in the transnational dimension. Because in the national dimension, many development policies have created serious risks for the future of the country, and without paying attention to this, the development of the country itself will become an irreparable crisis.
Accordingly, there is a wide consensus in most countries of the world that development based on the environment is recommended instead of other models. In the early years of development and the process of industrialization in many developed countries, attention to the environment and its sustainability for future generations, due to the extensive exploitation of natural resources, received the attention of policy makers and planners. Since then, the issue of the environment is very prominent in the development programs, and even the issue of sustainable development has been raised precisely in line with the response to the environmental issues of development. The most important environmental factors at the national level for environment-based development include; Land use policies, adaptability and flexibility to climate changes, level of access to clean energy and prevention of industrial pollution.
Also, to achieve development based on environment, prominent transnational factors also play a role. These environmental issues have become a global concern and have become common across borders. Environmental issues in the field of development are among the most important issues in most countries. The impact of these issues on development has been investigated in various dimensions and numerous researches. Based on this, seven important external factors for the development of the country have been identified, which include; Coordination and management of the contradiction between development and the environment, decarbonization of the economy, changing the consumption pattern, investing in infrastructure, paying attention to biodiversity, eliminating biological threats, and formulating a climate strategy are resilient.
Since the mentioned factors are the engine of moving towards the future of development in the country, therefore, this identification of these factors from the path of elites can pave the path of development better. On the other hand, Iran's current situation is an all-out conflict between the proponents of development and the opponents of development in an unequal situation. Because an important part of the reasons for underdevelopment is related to development obstacles in societies that affect most development actors. The strength of the proponents and opponents of development in any country determines the level of development and non-development of societies. In most of the developing countries, the development elites have neither an influential platform nor political and executive power to influence the development of societies. The insignificant influence of these elites is generally in scientific and academic societies and they have been far from the path of society and the governing system. The dominant characteristic of the developing countries is the presence of powerful opponents of development who have left their historical role in hindering the development of societies and all their actions have been in line with the anti-development trend. Because the development of societies has been in conflict with their personal interests. Therefore, the development required for societies is not a goal, but should be a universal and public flow, in which the public interest comes before personal interest. In this regard, some contemporary thinkers consider a humane and moral approach such as freedom and expansion of capabilities for human, moral and dignity-oriented life as the engine of the development of societies, and the development experience at the global level shows that no country has been able to achieve a successful path without relying on these tools undertake.
