Tehran

Tehran ( pronunciation ; Persian: Tehrān – تهران‎‎) is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With a population of around 9 million in the city and 16 million in the wider metropolitan area, Tehran is the largest city and urban area of Iran, the second largest city in Western Asia, and the 3rd largest in the Middle East. It is ranked 29th in the world by the population of its metropolitan area.

In the Classical era, part of the present-day city of Tehran was occupied by a Median city, which in the Avesta occurs as Rhaga. It was destroyed by the Mongols in the early 13th century, and remains now as a city in Tehran Province, located towards the southern end of the modern-day city of Tehran.

Tehran was first chosen as the capital of Iran by Agha Mohammad Khan of the Qajar dynasty in 1796, in order to remain within close reach of Iran's territories in the Caucasus, at that time still part of Iran, and to avoid the vying factions of previous Iranian dynasties. The capital has been moved several times throughout the history, and Tehran is the 32nd national capital of Iran.

Tehran Province

Tehran Province (Persian: استان تهران Ostān-e Tehrān‎‎) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It covers on area of 18,909 square kilometres (7,301 sq mi) and is located to the north of the central plateau of Iran.

The province was put as part of First Region with its secretariat located in its capital city, Tehran, upon the division of the provinces into 5 regions solely for coordination and development purposes on June 22, 2014.

Tehran Province borders Māzandarān Province in the north, Qom Province in the south, Semnān Province in the east, and Alborz Province in the west. The metropolis of Tehran is the capital city of the province and of Iran. As of June 2005, this province includes 13 townships, 43 municipalities, and 1358 villages.

Tehran Province is the richest province of Iran as it contributes approximately 29% of the country's GDP. Furthermore, it houses approximately 18% of the country's population. Tehran Province is the most industrialized province in Iran; 86.5% of its population resides in urban areas and 13.5% of its population resides in rural areas.

Iran

Iran (/aɪˈræn/ or ⁱ/ɪˈrɑːn/;Persian: Irān – ایران‎‎ [ʔiːˈɾɒːn]), also known as Persia (/ˈpɜːrʒə/ or /ˈpɜːrʃə/), officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (جمهوری اسلامی ایران – Jomhuri ye Eslāmi ye Irān [d͡ʒomhuːˌɾije eslɒːˌmije ʔiːˈɾɒːn]), is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered to the northwest by Armenia, the de facto Nagorno-Karabakh, and Azerbaijan; with Kazakhstan and Russia across the Caspian Sea; to the northeast by Turkmenistan; to the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan; to the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman; and to the west by Turkey and Iraq. Comprising a land area of 1,648,195 km² (636,372 sq mi), it is the second-largest country in the Middle East and the 18th-largest in the world. With 78.4 million inhabitants, Iran is the world's 17th-most-populous country. It is the only country that has both a Caspian Sea and an Indian Ocean coastline. Iran has long been of geostrategic importance because of its central location in Eurasia and Western Asia, and its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz.

Tehran Metro

The Tehran Metro (Persian: متروی تهران‎‎ Metro-ye Tehran) is a rapid transit system serving Tehran, the capital of Iran. The system consists of four operational metro lines (and a fifth regional rail line), with construction begun on a further two lines in 2007.

The Tehran Metro carries more than 3 million passengers a day. In 2014, 815 million trips were made on Tehran Metro. As of 2015, the total system was 170 kilometers (110 mi) long,127 kilometers (79 mi) of which it metro-grade rail. It is planned to have a length of 430 kilometers (270 mi) with 9 lines once all construction is complete by 2028.

On all days of the week, the Metro service runs from approximately 05:30 to 23:00.

The line uses standard gauge and is partly underground. Ticket price is 5000 IRR for each journey (about USD 0.15), regardless of the distance traveled, but using prepaid tickets costs much less. Seniors may travel for free on the metro. On all Tehran metro trains the first, the second, and the last carriages are reserved for women who do not wish to ride with men in the same car. Women can still ride other cars freely.

Environmental protection

Environmental protection is a practice of protecting the natural environment on individual, organizational or governmental levels, for the benefit of both the natural environment and humans. Due to the pressures of population and technology, the biophysical environment is being degraded, sometimes permanently. This has been recognized, and governments have begun placing restraints on activities that cause environmental degradation. Since the 1960s, activity of environmental movements has created awareness of the various environmental issues. There is no agreement on the extent of the environmental impact of human activity, and protection measures are occasionally criticized.

Academic institutions now offer courses, such as environmental studies, environmental management and environmental engineering, that teach the history and methods of environment protection. Protection of the environment is needed due to various human activities.ref. Waste production, air pollution, and loss of biodiversity (resulting from the introduction of invasive species and species extinction) are some of the issues related to environmental protection. Environmental protection is influenced by three interwoven factors: environmental legislation, ethics and education. Each of these factors plays its part in influencing national-level environmental decisions and personal-level environmental values and behaviors. For environmental protection to become a reality, it is important for societies to develop each of these areas that, together, will inform and drive environmental decisions.