Iran seeks international help to extinguish fires devastating UNESCO-listed Hyrcanian forests

Iran is facing one of the worst wildfires in recent years, and authorities have requested emergency international support to save the Hyrcanian forests, a unique ecosystem of global importance and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The flames, which have been burning for several days in the north of the country, are affecting the forest massif considered a "living fossil” estimated to be between 25 and 50 million years old. The first outbreaks broke out on November 1 and were controlled within a few days. However, on November 15, the fire broke out again with much greater force, expanding rapidly in the conditions of extreme drought that Iran is facing. According to the IRNA news agency, local authorities were overwhelmed and national intervention efforts proved insufficient. Mohammad Jafar Ghaempanah, deputy to President Masoud Pezeshkian, announced that Iran has asked for "emergency help from friendly countries” in a post on the X platform. The situation is considered critical, with the risk of the fire spreading to other important areas of the forest massif.

• Turkey sends special planes and intervention teams

The first state to respond to Tehran's call is Turkey, which will send two water bombers, a helicopter and a team of eight forest fire specialists. Shina Ansari, head of Iran's Environmental Protection Organization, confirmed the Turkish help on Saturday and said that Iran is ready to ask Russia for support if the situation requires it. The Hyrcanian forests stretch for about 1,000 kilometers along the Caspian Sea, in northern Iran and southern Azerbaijan. UNESCO describes them as a "unique forest massif,” both for their remarkable age and their exceptional biodiversity: over 3,200 species of plants, many of them rare or endemic, as well as mammals, birds and insects that are on the verge of extinction. These forests have survived major ice ages, becoming a refuge for species that have disappeared in other parts of the world. For researchers, they represent a living archive of the evolution of the biosphere.

"Iranians are losing a natural heritage older than Persian civilization,” researcher Kaveh Madani, a UN expert and former deputy minister of the environment, warned X. The Tasnim news agency reported that the fire was started by hunters in the rocky Elit area of Mazandaran province. So far, more than eight hectares have been burned, but authorities fear that the area affected could increase considerably. The terrain is steep and difficult to access, and strong winds have complicated the intervention. Hossein Ali Mohammadi, the director of crisis management in Mazandaran, said the extinguishing operation was "one of the most complex in recent years.”

The fire comes amid the worst drought Iran has faced in six decades. High temperatures, lack of rainfall and the degradation of forest systems have created ideal conditions for the fire to spread rapidly.

Iranian experts have repeatedly warned that climate change will increasingly turn these forests into high-risk fire zones.

• A natural heritage in danger

The Hyrcanian forests, inscribed on the UNESCO List in 2019, are considered a hotspot of Eurasian biodiversity. Therefore, any loss, even of a few hectares, is seen by the scientific community as an ecological disaster. As international teams prepare to arrive in Iran to support operations, local authorities are making desperate efforts to contain the fire before it destroys even larger portions of the ancient ecosystem.