TEHRAN– Developing the Miankaleh wetland in the northern province of Mazandaran into an international tourism destination is possible, the province’s governor has said.

Nature tourism will be the biggest attraction of this wetland for both national and foreign tourists, Seyyed Mahmoud Hosseinipur said on Saturday.

This area is an ideal place for investors, as they can increase their capacity under the supervision of the province’s Environment Department and in collaboration with other government bodies, the official added.

As the biggest source of income for the region, tourism and economic activities in Miankalah should be utilized as effectively as possible, he noted.

The long and narrow peninsula is 48 kilometers long, and between 1.3 and 3.2 kilometers wide, which sets apart the Gorgan Bay from the Caspian Sea. Four villages, namely Ashuradeh, Qezel-e Shomali, Qezel-Mehdi, and Qavasatl, are situated on the peninsula.

Miankaleh was designated a Ramsar site in 1975. Major habitats include wetlands, inter-tidal mud with sandy shores, shallow marine waters, forests, peatlands and agricultural areas.

It is home to many unique Caspian birds and reptile species native to this region. It's also a very important internationally recognized refuge for migratory birds.

The peninsula's water deficits, additionally mismanagement, unsustainable agricultural practices, and severe depletion of the wells and groundwater resources have exacerbated the Miankaleh peninsula’s condition.

Local people earn their income from agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, handicrafts, carpet weaving, traditional poultry farming, and tourism.

Overgrazing, illegal hunting, fishing, deforestation and the unplanned spread of villages are some of the challenges posing a threat to the region’s environment.

In January 2020, the media reported the mysterious death of over 40,000 migratory birds in the Miankaleh peninsula; a week later, the veterinary organization announced that "botulinum poisoning" was the reason behind mass bird mortality.

In 2021, a similar incident happened, as some 10,000 bodies of lifeless migratory birds were found around the Miankaleh peninsula and Gorgan Bay as a result of botulism poisoning.

ABU/AM