As one of the vital elements of the environment, protected areas play an essential role in water storage, preventing soil erosion and preserving biodiversity. In spite of the existing criminal environmental legislation policies, we are witnessing the illegal occupation and destruction of these areas. This article identifies and analyzes the challenges of Article 690 in preventing encroachment and occupation of protected areas from a critical point of view, with a descriptive-analytical method and relying on the principles of environmental law. Due to its multi-dimensional nature, the crime of destruction and occupation in protected areas has different characteristics from other crimes, even from an environmental point of view. According to the findings of this article, the inadequacy of crimes and punishments, the lack of guarantee of sufficient implementation in preventing the encroachment of the areas or their transfer by the government sector, and finally the lack of coordination between the stakeholders in these areas, are known as the basic challenges in this field. Therefore, developing efficient and effective criminal policies in order to preserve these areas (sensitive ecosystems) should be considered as a priority for legislators.