The Arasbaran or Qaradagh is a vast mountainous area in the north of East Azarbaijan Province in Iran, which has been registered in the Natural Heritage List of Iran, and part of it has also been registered by UNESCO as a biosphere reserve.
Arasbaran is one of the most prominent regions of Iran in terms of biodiversity. The region is home to more than 13% of Iran’s vegetation; although its extent is less than 5% of the country’s territory.
29% of Iran’s mammals, 44% of birds, 32% of amphibians, 9% of aquatic animals and 20% of reptiles live in Arasbaran.
The Arasbaran region on a global scale is equal to 34% of the flora of Armenia, 25% of the flora of Azerbaijan Republic, 25% of the French flora, 25% of Georgia’s vegetation, and 17% of the vegetation of Italy.
The region was registered in 1977 as a “Biosphere Reserve” in the UNESCO Man and Planet project (MAP).
Arasbaran is home to approximately 23,500 nomads, who generally live in interurban areas. People in rural areas are busy with farming, animal husbandry, gardening, handicrafts and tourism activities while in urban areas commercial activities are taking place.
The announcement of part of Arasbaran as a biosphere by UNESCO has added to the tourist potentialities of the region.
Here are photos of this region retrieved from IRNA:
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