The Park of Peace: Environmental Usage of Border Opportunities

The growing trend of population growth and decrease of natural resources has augmented concerns on the possibility of conflicts over natural resources, in particular water resources, in this century. This concern in recent decades has contributed to promotion of holistic views and adoption of transnational approaches for management of natural resources, leading to, as a matter of example, to establishment of 'Parks of Peace'. The parks of peace are a sort of protected border areas which are formally dedicated to protection of natural resources and cultural values attached to these resources and ultimately promotion of peace and cooperation among neighboring nations and societies. Adopting this approach in Iran due to the status of the country in Central Asia and the Middle East, long borders with the neighbors and existence of 18 environmental protected areas in border areas could be of great importance in protection of environment as well as development of regional cooperation. The present article gives an assessment of the functions of the parks of peace and the current opportunities in Iran for establishment of these parks.