UNESCO has registered Iran’s Hyrcanian Forests to its list of World Heritage Sites on July 5, 2019, in Baku, where the World Heritage Committee met. This is Iran’s second natural sites added to the UNESCO list.

UNESCO declares floristic biodiversity of the ancient Hyrcanian forests in the north of Iran is remarkable. Hyrcanian forests stretch 850 km along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea and the northern slopes of the Alborz Mountains that is date back 25 to 50 million years ago. It is named after the ancient region of Hyrcania.

Around 44 percent of the vascular plants known in Iran are found in these forests, which only covers 7 percentage of the country. 180 species of birds and 58 mammal species have been recorded in Hyrcanian forests, including the iconic Persian Leopard.