Iran seeks international aid as fire threatens UNESCO forests

Iran has appealed for international help to extinguish a massive fire that has been burning for several days in the UNESCO World Heritage–listed Hyrcanian forests in the country’s north.

A blaze that first erupted in early November and was initially contained flared up again on November 15, Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported.

The Hyrcanian forests stretch roughly 1,000 kilometres along Iran’s Caspian Sea coast and into neighbouring Azerbaijan.

Mohammad Jafar Ghaempanah, deputy to Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian, wrote on November 21 on X that “faced with the impossibility of containing the fire,” Iran had “requested urgent assistance from friendly countries.”

“Two specialised water bomber planes, a helicopter, and eight people will be dispatched from Türkiye,” said Shina Ansari, head of the Iranian Environmental Protection Organisation, on November 22.

“If necessary, we will also seek assistance from Russia,” she added on state television.

UNESCO granted the forests World Heritage status in 2019, citing their extraordinary age — estimated between 25 and 50 million years — and their rich biodiversity, with more than 3,200 plant species.

The Hyrcanian Forests World Heritage property spans both Azerbaijan and Iran within the Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests ecoregion, covering about 1,000 kilometres along the southern and southwestern Caspian coastline.

The serial site comprises 17 parts distributed across three provinces in Iran (Gilan, Mazandaran, and Golestan) and two districts in Azerbaijan (Lankaran and Astara).

The Islamic Republic is currently experiencing one of its worst droughts since records began six decades ago.

By Nazrin Sadigova