Biodiversity Conservation or Biotechnology: What Is Iran's Priority Today?

There are hard discussions in Iran and all over the world on accepting or rejecting the use
of “Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO)” in people’s food needs. The pro and con discussions include a wide variety of claims from ignorance, irresponsibility, emotionality, slogans, profitability, mafia and even terroristic objections. The authors of this paper as biologists support human scientific achievements and as biodiversity experts and environmentalists are very concerned about destruction of our environment and its irreversible consequences. Furthermore, the threatening of our green planet by global warming, desertification and instability of natural ecosystems are in the centre of our attention. The crucial question is: What Iran’s priority should be today? The present shortage of water as a result of mismanagement and overuse, drying up large number of wetlands and rivers, destroying of natural vegetation and in particular forests, and increasing soil erosion are among many alarming environmental problems in Iran. A main feature of Iran’s nature is the presence of microclimates and diverse habitats which support living of many “relicts”, “refugee” and “highly isolated” species. The developmental activities often lead to reduction of differences not only in human life styles but also in our activities such as agricultural practices which often lead to the loss of many genetic resources. We need urgent measures to end this kind of approach using scientific understanding, ethics and proper legislature.