Undoubtedly, the outlook and perspective of experts and people towards the issue of genetic and biological reserves have changed over time.

In the meantime, society always faces the challenges of an adequate and sustainable supply of housing, food, and health, and the government must plan for meeting the requirements.

If we want all members of society to have access to these three essential needs, there must be confidence in maintaining the resources.

The current generation should be able to hand these resources to the next generation.

The issue of climate change is known as a super challenge. Climate change can overshadow the life of a plant or animal specimen, and some plants or food sources may not be available in the future due to drought, heat, or any other factor.

The lower the number of genetic reserves, the more difficult it will be for planning management. In such a situation, the role and importance of biobanks and gene banks become apparent.

To preserve the existing biodiversity over the wide geographic expanse of Iran, four types of areas have been designated for preservation and protection, including, national parks, wildlife refuges, protected areas, and natural national monuments. In 1997, the DOE held supervision over 7,563,983 hectares of such areas.

Currently, the supervised areas reached about 18.5 million hectares, including, 30 national parks, 170 protected areas, 45 wildlife refuges, and 37 national natural monuments.

The country has a high diversity of species due to geographical conditions, climatic diversity, huge water resources of the Caspian Sea in the north and the Persian Gulf, and the Sea of Oman in the south.

According to the latest studies, about 1,300 species of vertebrates, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and aquatic fish, about 30,000 species of invertebrates, and 8,000 species of plants have been identified in the country.

Out of 1,300 species of animals in the country, 130 of which are endangered and threatened, Hassan Akbari, deputy head of natural environment and biodiversity of the Department of Environment, said in December 2021.

Unfortunately, over the past two decades, human activities have led to the alarming degradation of ecosystems, and the deletion of genes, species, and biological capabilities; Human threats to biodiversity have accelerated the most over the past 50 years over the entire history of human life.

According to the United Nations, three-quarters of the Earth’s environment and about 66 percent of the marine environment have been altered by human activities, and the latest report by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) states that more than one million species of animals and plants are in danger of extinction.

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Implementation of this Protocol shall be affected by the Contracting Parties in accordance with their national laws, Mehr reported on Sunday.

Under the bill, the Contracting Parties shall individually or jointly take all appropriate measures to protect, and rehabilitate the marine environment of the Caspian Sea; use the natural resources of the Caspian Sea in a way that does not harm the marine environment and biological resources, and promote, protect and revitalize biodiversity with special emphasis on endangered species.

In order to protect biodiversity, the Contracting Parties shall monitor sources of pollution and any activities that have or may have a significant negative impact on habitats and species; or cooperate with each other and with competent international organizations in the field of biodiversity conservation and the management of endangered habitats and species.

The average annual water level of the Caspian Sea has decreased by about 5 to 10 cm compared to a year before, according to the network information of the Ministry of Energy.

The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed inland body of water on Earth by area. It is bounded by Kazakhstan to the northeast, Russia to the northwest, Azerbaijan to the west, Iran to the south, and Turkmenistan to the southeast. The sea has an area of 600,384 square kilometers and a coastline of 7,000 kilometers.

Hosting 400 aquatic species and holding third place in terms of oil and gas reserves under its bed after the “Persian Gulf” and “Siberia” has doubled the value of this basin, while sturgeon are the most important inhabitants of the lake.

Frequent oil spills in the coastal areas of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, the entry of waste of over 40 factories and refineries into the sea, the decline, and extinction of the Caspian Sea aquatic species since 1990, are among the main challenges faced by the Caspian Sea.

Long-term forecasts based on climate change scenarios show a 4-6 meter drop in the lake’s water level over the next 30 to 50 years.

The environmental issues of the Sea have pushed the sole marine mammal inhabiting the Caspian Sea to not have suitable breeding grounds.

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The province is home to 160 species of birds, 50 species of mammals, 40 reptiles, 6 amphibians, and in addition, all eight species of cats in our country’s climate inhabit the region and none of them became extinct, Amir Abdous, head of the provincial department of environment, said.

Referring to the Asiatic cheetah as the most important and popular endemic species, he said that Turan National Park is the only breeding habitat of cheetahs in Iran and the world. Therefore, this biosphere is of great importance.

17% share of protected areas

To preserve the existing biodiversity over the wide geographic expanse of Iran, four types of areas have been designated for preservation and protection, including, national parks, wildlife refuges, protected areas, and natural national monuments. In 1997, the Department of the Environment (DOE) held supervision over 7,563,983 hectares of such areas. By now, the size of the DOE supervised areas reached 18.5 million hectares.

Protected areas in Semnan province stretch to 2.5 million hectares and in total between 15 to 20 thousand hectares of natural areas are under the DOE’s supervision.

Garmsar Desert National Park and Turan Wildlife Refuge are the two most important protected wildlife reserves in the world which are both located in Semnan province.

Three National Parks including Kavir National Park, Turan National Park, and Sidova National Park, two wildlife sanctuaries in Khosh Yeilagh and Turan, and two protected areas in Parvar, and Turan, five no-hunting areas are located in the province.

The two habitats of Kavir and Turan National Parks are considered biosphere reserves and have been registered in the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB), Abdous said.

He added that there are 14 biosphere reserves in Iran, two of them are located in the biodiverse province of Semnan, highlighting that Semnan province hosts 17 percent of the country’s protected areas.

Valuable species come first

These areas are in fact a natural exhibition of rare wildlife species such as Asiatic cheetah, Persian leopard, Persian ground jaya, Persian onager, Asiatic mouflon, sand cat, chinkara, and various plant species.

Among the wildlife species, the Asiatic cheetah and the Persian onager are among the valuable and endangered species, and Semnan province is known as one of the best habitats of these two rare species in the world.

The world’s fastest mammal, capable of reaching speeds of 120 kilometers per hour, Asiatic cheetah once stalked habitats from the eastern reaches of India to the Atlantic coast of Senegal, once their numbers have stabilized in parts of southern Africa, but they have practically disappeared from northern Africa and Asia, and is critically endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, with fewer than 50 believed to remain in Iran.

Also, small populations of Onagers are found in Touran National Park. Bahram-e Goor Protected Area in Fars province and Sarakhs in North Khorasan province are two famous habitats of the subspecies in Iran. Sadly, onager populations have shrunk dramatically because of hunting as well as overgrazing by domestic animals such as sheep, goats, and camels. Onagers are hardy animals and can survive in bleak desert areas.

Onagers disappeared from western Iran in the 1930s but were still widespread in central and eastern arid and semi-arid plains until the 1950s. By the 1980s only four subpopulations were left. However, no reports of the animals have been heard of in Kavir National Park since 1986 and none in recent years from the once transboundary Sarakhs subpopulation along the border to Turkmenistan.

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Each region is defined by its characteristics that play a significant role in a land’s biodiversity and richness, based on which, Iran shares five ecological zones with specific flora from the lowest to the highest parts, namely, Caspian, Iran-Turani, Arasbaran, Zagros, and Persian Gulf-Omani ecological zones.

The great difference between the two latitudes of the north and south of the country and the existence of different plains, altitudes, and climates have given a very diverse view to the vast land so that a variety of vegetation and plant species are grown across it.

The Hyrcanian ecological zone covers the green belt, the southern margin of the Caspian Sea, and the northern profile of the Alborz mountain range. The forested areas of the region stretch to 2.4 million hectares covering Astara in Gilan province to Glidaghi in Golestan province.

The area of forests in the Iran-Turani ecological region, which covers most of the central plateau of Iran, is 4,666,941 hectares. Based on topographic and altitude conditions, this region is divided into two mountainous regions with a cold climate and a desert with a hot and dry climate.

Arasbaran forests, which are among the semi-humid forests of the country, are located in the province of East Azarbaijan and northwest of Ardebil province, which covers 174,838 hectares.

Some sources date the Zagros oak forests to 5,500 years. The creation and expansion of these forests are due to rainfall raised by the Mediterranean system and the Black Sea, which extends from the Sardasht area of West Azarbaijan to Firoozabad city of Fars province covering an area of 5,440,494 hectares.

The forests of the Persian Gulf-Omani ecological region include part of the southwest and all southern coasts, covering 2,039,963 hectares. Due to ecological differences, the main vegetation is divided into two territories of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman.

Biodiversity in danger

Unfortunately, the protection of forests, pastures, and agricultural lands in our country has not been appropriate in recent years. Improper exploitation, land-use change, and land degradation are the main causes of deforestation and consequently biodiversity, Zand regretted.

According to the statistics, there are about 2 million hectares of forest lands and 15.7 million hectares of forests in Iran.

Comparing this statistic with the data of 2005 shows that during the past 16 years, the level of forests in Iran has not changed much, but the quality of forests has been damaged; So that about 1.6 million hectares of semi-dense forests of Iran (with a density of 25 to 50 percent) has been reduced and in contrast to 1.9 million hectares have been added to forest lands (with a density of 1 to 5 percent), he explained.

As a result, the quality of Iranian forests has dropped sharply, except for dense forests, which cover about 12 percent of the whole forests and are relatively inaccessible, the rest are severely damaged, he lamented.

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