TEHRAN The 22nd international environmental exhibition will kick off on Wednesday, December 18, in Tehran and will conclude on Sunday.The first vice-president, Mohammad-Reza Aref, and the head of the Department of Environment (DOE), Shina Ansari, are scheduled to attend the opening ceremony, ISNA reported.The five-day event will be held with the theme of public involvement, green economy, sustainable future.It will focus on economic environment, environmental economy, to highlight the importance of social responsibility in protecting the environment.The 22nd exhibition aims to raise public awareness about environmental issues, provide an opportunity for the exchange of knowledge and experiences among experts, specialists, and environmental activists, and introduce and encourage the use of innovative solutions and advanced technologies to reduce fuel and energy consumption.Preserving natural resources, fostering interactions and cooperation between institutions, organizations, and companies active in the field of environment and energy, promoting the concepts of sustainability and social responsibility among the people as well as encouraging environmentally friendly behaviors are among the other goals of the exhibition.The event also seeks to persuade industries, mining, and petrochemical units to support the preservation of plant and animal species and encourage them to take steps towards enhancing air quality.Environmental policies of current administrationDuring the presidential election, the environmental committee of the elected President Masoud Pezeshkian offered a program with a focus on the preservation of the environment and the stability of the country.The program is structured around six axes: moving towards a green economy; managing and improving various quantitative and qualitative dimensions of environmental imbalances (such as economy, energy, and water); effectively protecting biological resources (including natural resources and biodiversity); achieving good environmental governance; addressing public demands in the field of environment, and enhancing international bilateral or multilateral cooperation in the field of environment.To compile the program, general environmental policies, Article 50 of the Constitution, and other national policy documents have been taken into account.Moreover, the president-elect has highlighted the necessity of observing environmental considerations in development plans.Pezeshkian believes that no development plan should be initiated without taking environmental considerations into account; in other words, the environment should be the central pillar of all development matters.Referring to the increasing occurrence of sand and dust storms (SDSs) in the region and the environmental statement on bolstering environmental diplomacy, the administration of Pezeshkian will definitely endorse regional and global interactions to tackle not only SDSs issue but also water diplomacy and transboundary waters as other critical issues.Exchanging regional and global experiences in the field of environment, laying the ground for facilitating interactions and benefiting from global experiences and modern knowledge, and participating at various levels of environment-related negotiations in order to attract resources, enhance capabilities and secure national interests are parts of objectives in this context.Drafting a binding legal document within the framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity to protect biodiversity, and manage valuable ecosystems such as national parks and national natural monuments has been highlighted.Also, preventing the extinction of endangered species including cheetah, and bustard will be a top priority.MT/MG