Hyrcanian Forests

The Hyrcanian Forests were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2019 under criterion (ix), as a serial property made up of fifteen components spread along the northern slope of the Alborz range and the southern coast of the Caspian Sea, in five Iranian provinces. In September 2023 the property was extended into Azerbaijani territory, becoming transnational.

The Hyrcanian ecoregion extends some nine hundred kilometres from southern Azerbaijan along the Caspian, with around 55,100 km² in all. Its value is evolutionary: these are deciduous forests of Arcto-Tertiary lineage that covered much of the northern hemisphere millions of years ago and retreated with the Quaternary glaciations, surviving here thanks to the shelter of the range and the moisture of the Caspian. They therefore preserve relict genera lost from the rest of Europe and western Asia, such as the Persian ironwood, the Caucasian zelkova, the Caucasian wingnut and the Caucasian persimmon.

Some 296 bird species and 98 mammals have been recorded in the region, among them the Persian leopard, the brown bear, the Caspian red deer and the wolf. The region is also an important migratory route for birds. The forests provide society with essential ecosystem services, from fresh water and protection against floods and landslides to genetic resources.