Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Associate Professor, Department of Human Geography, Faculty of Geographical Sciences, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran
2
Senior expert in geography and urban planning and researcher in historical geography studies, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran
3
Master's student, Department of Human Geography, Faculty of Geographical Sciences, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
The analysis of the environmental impact of large projects in the vicinity of sensitive natural areas is considered vital. The establishment and deployment of a petrochemical plant in Miānkāleh, as a protected area, a global bird habitat, and a rural region with agricultural and fishery economies, is the subject of this research. The decision to build the petrochemical plant in Miānkāleh was made as a national project by the government in 2021 and 2022, and as a result, some scattered executive and operational measures were taken. This study aimed to investigate the consequences of the establishment of the petrochemical plant on the rural and natural axis. The research method was qualitative and the population consisted of 40 local experts and elites. Results showed that first, the construction of the petrochemical plant in the Miānkāleh peninsula was the subject of serious doubts. Second, it had the following consequences: structural-functional changes in the residential habitats of Miānkāleh caused by the destruction of villages, dependence on natural areas, compulsory and optional sale of land required for petrochemicals and subsequent migrations, compulsory changes in agricultural patterns, reduction of land areas, land demand, disappearance of small and local economies, destruction of the Miānkāleh area and Gorgan Gulf, and death of plant and animal life due to petrochemical pollution, creation and increase of industrial wastewater, water and soil pollution, instability and fragmentation of existing areas, and ultimately, the removal of Miānkāleh from international conventions due to petrochemical development, and the loss of its environmental characteristics as a global biosphere reserve.
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