Environmentalists press for protection of Cloud Forest

TEHRAN,June 28(MNA) – A number of environmentalists were to hold a gathering on Friday in the Talkatakhteh region to push for declaring the Cloud Forest as a protected region. The Cloud Forest is 50km northeast of Shahrood, Semnan Province. The gathering was held by eco-activists from the provinces of Golestan and Semnan and in coordination with the local offices of the Environment Protection Organization in the two provinces. The activists had received license from the offices of governors in the two provinces for the rally. Cloud Forest, called Jangle-e Abr in Persian, is one of most beautiful places housing the valuable taxus species. The scenic forest, which is the continuum of northern forests in the south of Alborz mountain range, is full of steep hills and has one river running through it. Over the past few years demands were made to have a road built through the forest; however, despite warnings by experts the previous administration agreed to construct the road. Now, the Environment Protection Organization has announced that the construction of the road has been put on hold and the final decision in this regard will lie in the hands of the “assessment committee” of the Environment Protection Organization. Out of five roads in the area, three are now open to the public. However, at this stage experts suggest that the best strategy to go about is to improve the standard safety of the already built roads instead of constructing a new one with huge funds and at the cost of environment.