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Working within the framework of the titled project, 30 facilitators and implementing agencies responsible for village activities of the said project were invited to the workshop held in Tehran Capital City of Iran from November 7-8 2021.

Role of the Village Activity Facilitator in the Project

To promote the forest and rangeland conservation requires the understanding and participation of local residents.

Through this project and the mediation of village activity facilitators, many activities has been carried out to promote the participation of village residents and improve their livelihood that contributed to rangeland conservation.

Due to the travel restriction brought about by the pandemic, the Japanese expert team was unable to travel to the site almost for two years.

However, through the efforts of the facilitators who have been built a trusting relationship with the villagers as well as local government agencies, the local forest and rangeland conservation have gradually developed over time.

At this workshop, the facilitators from each province reported on the activities during the past years to the Japanese experts who were able to travel to Iran for the first time in two years, FRWO, NRWGO and JICA Iran Office. It was also the precious opportunity for the facilitators to have the advice and feedback for future development.

Some village activities carried out through the initiatives of the facilitators during the pandemic

Hot and dry summers we are facing under threat of large-scale wildfires. The FRWO, NRWGO, and JICA projects are working on forest fire countermeasures that incorporate collaboration with other organizations. Early detection and initial fire extinguishing activities are important for wildfires, and the role of local residents is important. Therefore, facilitators played a central role in conducting forest fire countermeasure training, including practical training.

Overgrazing of livestock is one reason of the devastation of forest and rangeland in Iran. Promoting the cultivation of medicinal herbs with market value is expected to lead to the management of better land use resulting in the improvement of livelihood of the villagers. Cultivating medicinal herbs also has the advantage of preventing soil erosion and sediment runoff.

Although the project activities faced great difficulties due to the numerous restrictions caused by COVID 19 pandemic, the workshop reaffirmed that it is important to promote the activities no matter how small scale they may be.

This workshop also enabled the facilitator to learn best practices from one another, and establish good network.
It is expected that the experiences and lessons learned will be disseminated to a wider area and enhance the future activities.