UNESCO's World Heritage Committee has given Arasbaran Forests, an Iranian nominated property, another chance to gain a global status, providing that its dossier is properly revised and the shortcomings are addressed.
During the UNESCO's 42nd World Heritage Committee Session, underway in Bahrain since June 24, the experts decided to give more time to the Iranian heritage authorities to revise the dossier, in order not to lose the chance for the next round's nomination, IRNA reported.
The credentials of the forest in East Azarbaijan Province had been earlier deemed unqualified for the registration in the list of World Heritage Sites as faults had been flagged in the Technical Evaluation process carried out by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
According to Mohammad Hasan Talebian, heritage deputy at Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, the dossier's deficiencies highlighted by IUCN should be corrected as soon as possible so as to make the document eligible for another consideration by UNESCO.
For instance, he said, "farmlands overlapping with or sitting inside the defined boundaries of Arasbaran Forests should be relocated."
Reportedly, the structure of the dossier was very complicated and multi-dimensional, making it harder for the relevant officials to wrap it up, especially given the extensive range of criteria to be met.
Arasbaran's dossier was submitted to the committee together with that of Sassanid Archaeological Landscape of Fars Province. The latter gained the UNESCO's global status on June 30.
Flora and Fauna
Arasbaran protected area is located in the north of Iran near the border with Armenia and Azerbaijan. The asset covers a total of 57,764 hectares, which includes five small and strictly protected areas surrounded by a larger buffer zone covering more than 105,000 hectares.
Some 780 plant species belonging to 89 families are recorded in the property. Furthermore, three notable tree species are reported to be found in the primary woodlands.
Reportedly, over 360 vertebrate species, including 56 mammals, 235 birds, 45 reptiles, seven amphibians and 17 fish are recorded in the protected area comprising a big share of the country's biodiversity.
The nomination places much emphasis on its hosting of the rare Persian Leopard and several important mammal species, including wild goat, wild boar, brown bear and jungle cat.
