Monitoring Iran's Environment on the Horizon of the Vision Document for the Period of 2006-2016 (Comparative Performance with Surrounding Nations and Identification of Critical Areas)

Access to a favorable environment is one of the goals of Iran's 1404 Vision Policy. What is meant by a favorable environment and how can the country move towards it? The purpose of this article is to provide a model for monitoring the environment of Iran and 25 countries subject to the document and monitoring their status in three periods: 2006, 2011 and 2016. First, the final model is extracted from the theoretical foundations and background based on the opinion of experts using a focused group interview, questionnaire, Delphi, coefficient of variation and average relative weight in the form of 7 indicators and 17 variables. Then, a composite index was created by using the TOPSIS technique. Finally, the state and performance of the environment of Iran and the countries subject to the document in general and in seven dimensions have been studied. The results show the inappropriate performance and environmental trend of Iran and countries in the region. However, in 2016, Iran was ranked seventh in the region and higher than its regional rivals (except Turkey). On the other hand, the intensity of the decline in the index in Iran was 1.02, higher than the average and the main countries (except Saudi Arabia and Egypt). Iran's performance in four indicators, namely drinking water and sanitation; biodiversity, habitats, forests and pastures; climate and energy; and water resources, were worse than the important countries in the region. in two indicators, namely "Settlements" and "Agriculture", Iran performed better and the air quality indicator didn’t have sufficient data to evaluate. Finally, with reference to critical areas, policy priorities are suggested.