The term “natural disasters” is often heard in the media and news, but we may not be familiar with its precise definition and various aspects, including their origins. It is often assumed that they come from nature and destroy human lives! But this may not be the whole story. The monthly magazine “Khat-e-Salam” went to Dr. Behrouz Dehzad, an experienced environmental expert, former professor at Shahid Beheshti University, and deputy of the Department of Environment, during the years 66 to 69 to seek answers to his questions about these natural disasters that play an important, chaotic, and usually negative and destructive role in human life. The conversation continues as follows:

What are natural disasters? What characteristics should be present together for an event to be called a “natural disaster”? We have taken this name from the occasion of “Earthquake Safety Day and Reduction of Natural Disaster Effects”; is this name appropriate, especially in terms of the use of the word “disaster”?

I will start from the last part of your question and actually I completely agree with you. Using the term “disaster” for such events is a mistake and creates a wrong inference. Nature does not create disasters for people and if it does happen, it is the fault of humans; because nature operates within its own framework and this framework is the result of thousands of factors. If there is more or less rainfall or an earthquake happens, all of these have a specific place in the nature’s calendar and what turns them into disasters is our human agency on earth.

We usually use the term “natural disasters” for events that originate from natural conditions and the functioning of nature itself. For example, heavy rainfalls, severe snowstorms, or movements of tectonic plates that lead to earthquakes in many parts of the world. These are actually movements that originate from nature itself and apparently humans have no role in them, but when we pay attention, we realize the prominent role of humans. Although the naming

In some definitions, it is mentioned that the term “natural disaster” refers to accidents that occur in the realm of human life and settlement, meaning in places where humans are not present. The occurrence of these events outside of this definition would be considered as non-natural disasters or “natural disasters”. What is your opinion?

I do not agree. Some of our definitions or interpretations are related to decades ago. There was no scientific term called ecology, but after this science emerged, it corrected this way of thinking based on the amazing progress it had made, both towards humans and towards nature. The first thing it proved was that humans are not “the noblest creatures.” Humans are just one of the creatures. It doesn’t matter if an earthquake happens in an uninhabited area or in a residential area. In fact, today’s science has greatly increased our understanding of the natural conditions and the various events that occur in it, and based on that, we know that we should not build residential centers in earthquake-prone areas or areas with earthquake potential. Therefore, if an earthquake destroys a residential area or causes loss of life and property, it is human error and nature is not to blame. Nature has shown us that there is an earthquake fault in this area and we should not choose that place for settlement. So it

If possible, please provide a brief description of the situation in our country regarding the extent to which we are exposed to these events, in terms of regional location, type of events, and their severity.

We all know that Iran is a land facing many issues such as earthquakes, floods, severe storms, etc. The reason for this is related to the unique geography of this country, which also has its own advantages. Such a country should have a much better performance in dealing with what we know as natural disasters. Iran is a very disaster-prone country. Three-fourths of this country is mountainous, and we have several tectonic plates or sub-plates in the Iranian plateau, while the Iranian plate collides with the Arabian plate under the Persian Gulf, which is very active and can cause catastrophic events at any moment. We are very similar to the United States in this regard, as that country is also very disaster-prone. Therefore, one of our main tasks, like theirs, should be to enrich our research and scientific centers in relation to studying how such events occur and the potential of different regions of Iran in dealing with these types of disasters, known as “land management” in

Another dimension of the issue of “natural disasters” is the field of discussion and crisis management. How do you evaluate our country’s experience in this field?

You mentioned an important point and I must sadly state the truth that we are facing. Dealing with such incidents and providing a positive and effective solution for them requires a constructive mindset. It requires officials and managers who have a prepared and nurtured mindset towards science and can make necessary decisions, prepare actions, and think of solutions based on it – meaning based on scientific principles. I do not see such a mindset in any of our managers. The person in charge of crisis management comes from the market and their mindset is market-oriented. In other words, they are a market person and during management, they ask themselves “How much profit can I make?” meaning what is the monetary gain for them. Changing the mindset of such individuals is very difficult and even impossible. I have tried to remind officials of the solution to these problems through talking to them. In some cases, crisis management is a very specialized task and in all advanced and semi-advanced countries that I have studied, crisis managers have had a lot

Is there a comprehensive legal framework in place to determine the duties of the government/rulers and the people, both domestically and internationally?

I used to be responsible for the deputyship of the Environmental Organization. At that time, I realized that we are doing very well in terms of having progressive and advanced laws. Whatever kind of law you mention, we have it. This surprised me, but it’s true. In terms of protecting the environment, in terms of protecting the safety of citizens, whatever you think of, we have a law for it. But how these laws should be enforced reminds me of a joke from my school days, which was popular sixty-seven years ago; two classmates were talking to each other and one said to the other, “My dad is the one who writes the laws for people to live by!” Meaning that his father was very influential and important, and the other replied, “Come on, your dad is just a nobody!” The first one said, “What are you talking about, what does your dad do?” The other replied, “My dad takes five thousand and tears up the law your dad

Can we hope for a better future? How and through what means?

I have been a teacher at the university for 44 years, and whenever discussions about the destruction of natural resources arose, I always gave an interesting example. I would tell my students that the country that caused the greatest damage to its environment was the United States of America. In the first half of the 20th century, it dried up more than 90% of its wetlands to make room for agriculture. All of its rivers were polluted by industrial waste, making it difficult to find fish in them. Its agricultural lands were destroyed due to excessive use of chemical fertilizers, resulting in decreased productivity. This country also experienced the first and largest urban air pollution, which occurred in Los Angeles and is still used as an example in the history of air pollution. As you can see, this country caused the greatest damage to its own resources, but at the same time, it was the only country that made the greatest efforts to protect its environment and natural resources. However, after making wrong and one

Thank you for the time you have given to the peace process.