This research is the first literature review of the past three decades’ studies on the effects of urban development and land use/land cover (LULC) change on Iran’s climate change. For this purpose, 67 articles were found, evaluated, and classified according to the spatial and temporal scale, case study, period, data type, climatic factor, methodology, and meteorological data. Moreover, the reviewed literature methodologies were classified according to the purpose, method, and data source. According to the spatial-scale results, national- and city-level studies had the lowest and highest numbers, respectively. Tehran was the most case studies because Tehran is Iran’s capital and the largest metropolitan city. In terms of the temporal scale, studies predicting future changes (urban development and climate change) included 5% of the total literature. Satellite images were the most applied data in the reviewed literature (58%). Overall, 79% of the studies used temperature-related factors to explain the climatic impacts of urban growth and LULC conversion. Spatial modeling with 52% publications was the most used method, while numerical modeling with 12% studies was the least used method. This review showed broad study gaps in applying numerical models, neighborhood scales, urban micro-scale parameters, and long-term projections forecasts due to rapid urban development in Iran compared to the rest of the world. Therefore, our synthesis will assist researchers in facilitating better design for future studies in Iran and similar countries.

Protection of mangrove forests entails the decrease and restriction of their injudicious uses by local people and therefore imposes opportunity costs on poor local communities, which often depend on these forest resources for their subsistence. This study aims to quantify the economic opportunity cost of conservation for coastal communities living in areas adjacent to mangrove forests in the southern coasts of Iran. The main commercial uses of the mangrove forests in this area are restricted to fishing, tourist boating trips, and limited leaves cutting. We applied a choice experiment method to measure the costs of the forest exploitation reduction under hypothetical protection scenarios in which local users would receive monetary compensation to lessen or forgo mangrove forest utilization. The results showed that local communities are willing to accept lower compensation when the protection is meant to decrease the frequency of Hara cutting and fishing, as opposed to banning recreational opportunities. The mean WTA was estimated to be 55 662 500 IRR.hsld-1.yr-1 (2026 USD), which was generally lower than opportunity costs in the form of foregone income. Before implementing any policies related to equity, our findings can provide policymakers with useful prior knowledge and prescription. La protection des forêts de mangroves entraîne la diminution et la restriction de leurs utilisations excessives par les populations locales et impose donc des coûts d’opportunité sur les communautés locales pauvres, qui dépendent souvent de ces ressources forestières pour leur subsistance. Cette étude vise à quantifier le coût d’opportunité économique de la conservation pour les communautés côtières qui vivent dans les zones adjacentes aux forêts de mangroves dans les côtes du sud de l’Iran. Les principales utilisations commerciales des forêts de mangroves dans cette région sont limitées à la pêche, aux voyages en bateau de tourisme, et à la coupe de feuilles réglementée. Nous avons appliqué une méthode d’expérimentation des choix pour mesurer les coûts de la réduction de l’exploitation forestière dans des scénarios hypothétiques de protection dans lesquels les utilisateurs locaux recevraient une compensation monétaire pour réduire ou renoncer à l’utilisation de la forêt de mangrove. Les résultats ont montré que les communautés locales sont prêtes à accepter une compensation inférieure lorsque la protection est destinée à diminuer la fréquence de la coupe du Hara et la pêche, par opposition à l’interdiction de possibilités de loisirs. La WTA moyenne a été estimée à 55.662.500 IRR.hsld-1.yr-1 (2026 USD), ce qui était généralement plus bas que les coûts d’opportunité sous forme de manque à gagner. Avant la mise en œuvre des politiques relatives à l’équité, nos résultats peuvent fournir aux décideurs des connaissances préalables utiles et de la prescription.