Another Iranian site registered under world’s Convention on Wetlands

Tehran, IRNA - The Department of Environment of Iran has managed to secure the registration of the Barm Alavan Wetland in the southern Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province under the Convention on Wetlands, a move which brings to 26 the number of Iranian wetlands protected by the major international environmental treaty.

Arezoo Ashrafizadeh, director of the Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Office at the Iranian Department of Environment, said on Saturday that Barm Alavan Wetland is a unique long-lasting lake with brackish shores which covers an area of 20 hectares. She also said that Barm Alvan Lake is surrounded by almond and oak trees in the Zagros mountain range and that it has a rare biodiversity.

The Barm Alvan Lake is located in the vicinity of the protected zone of the Tang-e-Sulak watershed; she said, adding that the lake plays a key role in storage of water to support the wildlife in and around the protected area.

According to the official, Barm Alavan Wetland has 170 species of birds, mammals, fishes, reptiles, amphibians as well as submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) and flowering plants.

The Convention on Wetlands is an intergovernmental treaty that was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and came into force in 1975.

4208**4261