TEHRAN – The Department of Environment (DOE) has developed public programs for post-coronavirus environmental education, with the cooperation of non-governmental organizations and environmental activists.

A few decades ago, the fever of industrial development had spread around the world, no matter what harm caused to the environment, but with the emerging air pollution, accumulation of waste, extinction of animals, and the loss of plants in human life, the alarm bells rang, and humans came to realized that the development process must be stopped; However, no change is easy. In the meantime, the role of education has become more and more prominent.

Over the past two years, the situation even worsened as the coronavirus pandemic spread around the globe, it left harmful effects on various economic, social, cultural sectors, especially the environment, which is dealing with piles of hazardous and plastic waste more than ever, Abolqasem Mousavi, director of the office of public participation and social responsibility of the DOE said.

Accordingly, the DOE, using the capacity of non-governmental organizations and environmental activists and under the supervision of the public participation department, developed and implemented educational programs for the public to protect the environment, he noted.
The training courses aim to increase awareness and encourage a sense of individual and social responsibility to the environment, and topics such as waste, water, wetlands, air pollution, and environmental awareness are the most important of the courses, which sometimes coincide with environmental occasions, Mousavi explained.

“Another part of the training is done for special audiences and with the aim of accompanying them in the implementation of environmental protection programs, such as training farmers, fishermen, etc. Also, training state-run organizations and decision-makers such as village administrators, mayors, etc.

Training for teachers and students is also a significant part of the public education programs,” he stated.

Post-coronavirus crisis

The global spread of the new type of virus triggered demand for face masks, disposable gloves, and detergents.

Many manufacturing companies have gone into overdrive to produce more such personal protection equipment; despite epidemiologists and infectious disease experts have been at pains to emphasize against a scramble for face masks.

However, many negligently tossing their used face masks and gloves on the streets.

While an exact shelf-life period is dependent on what specific material the gloves are made of, a general rule is three years for disposable natural latex gloves and up to five years for disposable nitrile gloves.

That means more and more waste ends up in landfills despite the environmental threat these kinds of hazardous waste can cause both for the environment and people.

Detergents are the second choice for people to prevent novel coronavirus infection, and these days many consumers are rushing to get these items from stores and shopping malls.

Detergents with certain compounds can be harmful to health as much as they can relieve people of disease.

Excessive consumption of detergents is a risk factor for the environment in addition to water and soil resources; wastewater from these substances enters our life cycle and can come up with a health hazard.

FB/MG