TEHRAN – President Hassan Rouhani has been invited to attend a ceremony to celebrate registration of Hyrcanian Forest as a UNESCO World Heritage.

Such a national celebration was previously slated to be held on Monday in Babolsar, Mazandaran province. However, it is postponed to a date when President Rouhani will pay a visit to the northern province in the near future, IRNA reported.

The celebration has been canceled today due to [an unexpected] change in plans of tourism minister Ali-Asghar Mounesan who was scheduled to join the event, deputy provincial tourism chief said. 

“The next date for the Hyrcanian Forest celebration has not been determined yet, however, we have been informed that the festivity will be attended by the tourism minister during the President’s visit [to the province],” Mehdi Izadi added.

Hyrcanian Forest (also known as Caspian Forest) was named a UNESCO World Heritage earlier in July during the 43rd session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.

Spanning from the south of Azerbaijan to about 850 km eastward to the provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran and Golestan, the Hyrcanian forests are witnesses of the ancient forests of the world estimated to be survived for a long period spanning 35 and 50 million years.

According to UNESCO, the forest contains the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation. It also contains superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance.

AFM/MG