TEHRAN – One million hectares of natural lands will be added to the country’s protected areas by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 2021), deputy chief of the Department of Environment (DOE) for natural resources and biodiversity has stated.

Currently, about 18.5 million hectares of the country's lands are under the management of the DOE, IRNA quoted Kioumars Kalantari as saying on Saturday.

Four types of areas have been designated for protection, including 31 national parks, 46 wildlife refuges, 169 protected areas, and 38 natural national monuments.

FB/MG