Eco-Village; a Model for Sustainability of Rural Systems in Iran

Creating a healthy environment in rural areas is one of the most important environmental issues, which is important not only in rural development policies, but also in territorial policy. In this respect, the necessity of paying attention to a model of the biological habitat which has the required sustainability for the development and are used at the best in all economic, social, cultural, political and environmental fields is felt more than before. Eco-village patterns as one of the new approaches in rural planning can play an effective role in protecting the natural environment and promoting the quality of life at local level in the rural settlements of the country. The present study, aims to explain the concept of eco-village, the historical background and dimensions and the global experiences related to the topic, using the descriptive method(the library and archives). Based on the finding, eco-village emphasizes on waster reduction and recycling, improving energy efficiency, reducing the industrial pollution, reducing water usage, protecting the green space, preventing the irregular distribution of villages, security and participation of the villagers in development plans. There exists different kinds of Eco-villages in the world.. Up to now in Iran no clear plan, based on the pattern of Eco-village which all aspects of Eco-village has been fully and comprehensively being considered, has been implemented and only a few scattered activities in limited area such as biogas technology, waste management and composting, solar villages and wind and solar energy have been performed in a number of the villages. But with respect to the existing capacities, there exists the possibility of forming Eco-village in different parts of Iran and connecting to the global Eco- village network.