Series of Events to Celebrate Dena Biosphere Reserve in Iran

• Director of UTCO Mr. Qunli Han handing over the certificate of Dena

Series of Events to Celebrate Dena Biosphere Reserve in Iran

A series of activities, held in a two-day festival, had taken place to commemorate the registration of Dena Biosphere Reserve in Iran under the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme. The 2-day festival, organized on 6 and 7 July 2011, was hosted by the city of Yasouj, attended by senior members of the Department of Environment (DoE), and representatives from United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO, the Jihad-agriculture Ministry, and officials of Kohkilouyeh-Boyerahmad province where the city of Yasouj is located.

During this festival the Letter of Credit from UNESCO MAB Programme on the registration of Dena Biosphere Reserve was presented by the Director and Representative of UNESCO Tehran Cluster Office, Mr. Qunli Han to the Head of the MAB Programme at the DoE and the local officials of the Kohkilouyeh-Boyerahmad Province.

In his remarks, Mr Han thanked and congratulated the Iranian Government, DoE, and the UNDP-GEF Programme for their achievements in registering Dena Biosphere Reserve and pointed out that although this is an honor for Iran but at the same time it is a great responsibility. Furthermore, he emphasized on the importance of biosphere reserves as a platform for managing the relationships between conservation and human interactions and economic development.

In addition, there was an inaugural event to unveil Dena Stone board, placed in one of the major squares of the town of Sisakht. The stone board includes information about Dena Biosphere Reserve, its zonation map, and a copy of the MAB Programme Certificate. A photo and painting completion and exhibition on the biodiversity and natural beauties of Dena region was also organized alongside this event by DoE, with a number of prizes given to winners of the competition as a token of appreciation.

Dena Biosphere Reserve is the 10th biosphere reserve of the country and the first site to be registered since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. The official registration was announced during the 22nd meeting of the International Co-ordinating Council of the MAB Programme which took place from 31May to 4th June 2010 in Paris. During the meeting, 12 other biosphere reserves from all over the world were also registered under the UNESCO MAB Programme.

Located in the western part of Iran in the Central Zagros Mountain region, the boundary of this biosphere reserve crosses over three provinces, namely Isfahan, Kohkilouyeh-Boyerahmad, and Charmahal-Bakhtiary, covering some 255,537 hectares. The area is extremely unique both in terms of biological conservation and cultural heritage. Currently there are 564 biosphere reserves from 109 countries registered under the UNESCO MAB Programme.

Please visit UNESCO Webpage for further information on UNESCO MAB Programe. www.unesco.org

Contact: Laya Taheri, Programme Assistant for Science, UNESCO Tehran Cluster Office (UTCO); l.mohammadi-taheri@unesco.org

• Source:UNESCO Tehran
• 03-08-2011

Dena Stone board unveiled during the ceremony