TEHRAN – The 7th national conference on the country’s forests is scheduled to be held from November 5-6.

Titled ‘Maintaining sole ownership and integrated management of natural resources with an emphasis on social forestry in Zagros’, the event will be held in the southwestern Lorestan province, IRIB reported.

The Iranian Forestry Association, in cooperation with the Natural Resources and Watershed Management Organization, has organized the event.

The conference is centered around forestry and forest ecology, law and politics; forestry and forest management, technical and engineering subjects; forest genetics and breeding, economic and social issues of forests; climate change in forests, and the application of new technologies in forest management.

Zagros forests, mostly located in Lorestan, are among the most important natural resources of Iran, as they constitute 40 percent of the country’s forests, and play an important role in the production of a large part of the country’s freshwater.

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The forest area in Iran amounts to approximately 14 million hectares, which constitutes 7.5 percent of the country’s total land area. The forests are scattered in different regions across the country. The current per capita forest area is around 1700 square meters, while the country’s per capita forest area in the world is 5600 square meters.

Addressing the international conference on the sustainable management of Zagros forests in January, the head of the Natural Resources and Watershed Management Organization, Ali Teymouri, said, “Iran has called on international institutions and other countries to help preserve Zagros forests through a comprehensive cooperation program.”

Iran is famous for having one of the oldest forests in the world. 300,000 hectares of the forests in the country are inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage list, IRNA quoted Teymouri as saying.

“Due to their geographical location, these forests have a high diversity of flora and fauna. Zagros forests are home to more than 2,500 plant and animal species that are not found in other parts of the country or even the world, which indicates their rich biological diversity.

These forests play vital economic and social functions, and contribute to local communities’ livelihood. However, they are threatened by different factors such as climate change, frequent wildfires, and illegal exploitation,” he added.

To address environmental challenges and improve sustainability indicators, Iran needs to develop international collaborations that focus on providing technical support, exchanging experience, financing, as well as regional and scientific cooperation, Teymouri said.

The official went on to say that Iran is willing to benefit from other countries’ expertise in designing and implementing sustainable management projects for the forests. As environmental challenges are universal, the country seeks to utilize global environmental structures and facilities to restore the forests.

The sustainable management of the Zagros forests through participatory management or social forestry, incorporating economic, social, and environmental sustainability indicators, and involving local communities, government bodies, and private sectors, is on the agenda of the Natural Resources Organization of the country, the official further noted.

MT/MG