Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Protected area / relocation · Iran · 2015–2025

Hyrcanian forests logging moratorium: announced budgets, partial allocation and the 2025 Elit fire

Nature's voice · report
In recent years 7.1% of my northern woodland was lost to logging and wildfires, as reported in December 2016.
Did nature suffer? Yes. Harm is on record. Disputed
Recorded
  • In December 2020 officials said about 42% of my Hyrcanian forests were being destroyed. Asr Iran
  • The forest-guard association said in 2020 that millions of my trees died over five to six years from excessive and unlawful exploitation. Asr Iran
  • A researcher said in 2019 that timber smuggling from me had increased instead of decreasing after the ban. Taadol newspaper
  • My Elit forest burned from 31 October 2025; the Mazandaran governor gave about 8 hectares and the IFRC cited media reports of at least 10–15 hectares in the Elit sector alone. Iran International
What the record lacks: 3 none on record · 1 not disclosed · 1 not measured · 4 disputed See the gaps
Accounts of the harm differ
Whether the logging ban reduced harm to the forest
  • Government and regulators Khodakaram Jalali, FRWO (2016): Damage to the forest will reach zero. Hamshahri Online
  • Researchers Khosrow Saghib Talebi, researcher (2019): Timber smuggling increased; the initial idea was good but its incomplete implementation made it ineffective. Taadol newspaper
  • Government and regulators Environmental officials (2020): Poor management, unready structures and non-allocation of the budget left the plan half-implemented, and operating companies turned back to logging. Asr Iran
  • Researchers Haidari and Karamdoost Maryan, Iranian Journal of Forest and Poplar Research (Shafarood study, 2016/2017): 73% of respondents favoured sustainable utilization and 27% forest rest; the plan should be either ceased or revised. Iranian Journal of Forest and Poplar Research (Haidari and Karamdoost Maryan)
  • Communities and civil society Forest-guard association (2020): Millions of trees died over five to six years from excessive and unlawful exploitation. Asr Iran
How much forest burned in the 2025 Elit fire
  • Government and regulators Mahdi Younesi, Mazandaran governor: About 8 hectares. Iran International
  • International bodies IFRC (citing media): At least 10–15 hectares in the Elit sector alone. IFRC
  • Government and regulators Reza Aflatouni, FRWO head: Declined to give the extent. Iran International

Iran halted commercial logging in its northern Hyrcanian forests from late 2016 and wrote the ban into the Sixth Development Plan in January 2017. Officials announced budgets and a compensation credit; the amounts actually paid to forestry-plan operators are not on record, and a wildfire in November 2025 drew a CHF 500,000 IFRC allocation.

about 20%Share of the 800 billion rial forest-protection budget allocated by June 2017
Eghtesad Online, 16 June 2017, on the budget for implementing the Forest Protection Law.

Status As of December 2025: the logging ban remains in law; no compensation payments to forestry-plan operators are on record; the IFRC operation for the 2025 wildfires runs to 30 September 2026.

What?
Iran halted commercial logging in the Hyrcanian forests from late 2016 and legislated the ban in January 2017; budgets and a compensation credit were announced, compensation payments are not on record, and a 2025 fire burned in the UNESCO-listed forest. Hamshahri Online
Where?
Caspian slopes of the Alborz in Gilan, Mazandaran and Golestan, Iran; the UNESCO property covers 145,004.74 ha; the Elit fire was between Chalus and Marzanabad, Mazandaran. UNESCO World Heritage Centre
When?
Logging halted in late 2016; law approved in January 2017; contracts to end in March 2018; UNESCO inscription on 5 July 2019; Elit fire from 31 October 2025. Hamshahri Online
Who?
Gained
  • Forests, Range and Watershed Management Organization — 800 billion rials budgeted for the Forest Protection Law, about 20% allocated by June 2017 Eghtesad Online
  • Iranian Red Crescent — CHF 500,000 IFRC allocation for the 2025 wildfires IFRC
Lost
  • Forestry-plan operators and forest companies' workers — Logging contracts ended by March 2018; unemployment led to a three-year phase-out, according to MP Shaari Eghtesad Online
Harmed
  • Hyrcanian forests — 7.1% of northern woodland lost to logging and wildfires (reported December 2016); about 42% reported as being destroyed (officials, December 2020); fire near Elit from 31 October 2025 Asr Iran
Why?
Iran's 2019 letter to UNESCO cites Article 38(F) of the Sixth Development Plan, which prohibits all wood cutting and harvesting in the Hyrcanian forests; UNESCO's World Heritage listing relies on the ban. Islamic Republic of Iran / ICHHTO
How?
A ministerial directive stopped commercial logging with a “forest rest” plan, followed by statute; compensation for operators and protection costs were to come from announced credits, of which about 20% of the 800 billion rial budget was allocated by June 2017. Eghtesad Online
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

On 15 December 2015 Khodakaram Jalali, then head of the Forests, Range and Watershed Management Organization (FRWO), said a plan to halt logging in the northern forests was ready pending funds of 200–250 billion toman a year. In Aban 1395 (October–November 2016) the Agriculture Minister's directive halted commercial logging and a “forest rest” plan began in Gilan. On 13 November 2016 Jalali, by then a deputy minister, put the credit needed at 300 billion toman over five years, or two to three if funded on time, and said the Planning and Budget Organization had agreed to include it in the 1396 (2017) budget. On 6 December 2016 the Parliament Speaker, Ali Larijani, proposed a 10-year ban with cancellation of contracts and payment of damages.

The ban was approved in law in January 2017 under Article 38(F) of the Sixth Development Plan (2017–2022). In a letter to UNESCO dated 5 February 2019, the head of the FRWO high council, Kamran Pourmoghadam, wrote that “all kind of wood cutting and harvesting of the Hyrcanian Forests is prohibited. Now, these forests are only under care and protection measures”. UNESCO inscribed the Hyrcanian Forests on 5 July 2019 and stated that logging, grazing, hunting and most other uses are “strictly prohibited within all component parts”. Jalali said harvests had been about 2 million cubic metres a year for two decades against about 500,000 in 2016, with 40 of 110 logging plans halted in 2016 and the rest within five years.

Funding was announced in several amounts. In December 2016 funds of 3 trillion rials (“about $74 million”) were reported for the bill's measures, which FRWO deputy Nasser Moqaddasi called insufficient. For implementing the Forest Protection Law, 800 billion rials (“about $23.2 million”) were budgeted, and about 20% had been allocated by June 2017, according to Eghtesad Online. For compensation of damages from the rest plan, “a credit of 80 billion toman has been forecast” for 1396 (2017–18), according to MP Ali Mohammad Shaari, who said the ministry wanted a one-year phase-out but unemployment among forest companies' workers led to three years, and called the directive “contrary to the Sixth Development Plan law”. Contracts with forestry-plan operators were due to end at the close of 1396 (March 2018). Environmental officials said in December 2020 that the necessary budget was not allocated, leaving the plan half-implemented.

Accounts of the plan's effect differ. In 2016 Jalali said damage to the forest would “reach zero”. In 2019 the researcher Khosrow Saghib Talebi said timber smuggling had increased instead of decreasing, and FRWO deputy Mohammadali Fakhari said the replacement plan, which allowed harvest only in planted forests and of fallen trees, was not designed to produce timber. In December 2020 officials said about 42% of the Hyrcanian forests were being destroyed and the forest-guard association said millions of trees had died over five to six years from excessive and unlawful exploitation.

A fire started near Elit, between Chalus and Marzanabad in Mazandaran, burned intermittently for weeks from 31 October 2025 and re-ignited in mid-November; Turkish aircraft and Revolutionary Guards water bombers were deployed. The Mazandaran governor, Mahdi Younesi, gave the burned area as about 8 hectares; the IFRC, citing media, wrote of at least 10–15 hectares in the Elit sector alone. The FRWO head, Reza Aflatouni, declined to give the extent. The IFRC allocated CHF 500,000 from its Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) to the Iranian Red Crescent on 7 December 2025 for the 2025 forest wildfires, which also hit eastern Golestan.

  1. 2015FRWO head says a plan to halt northern logging is ready pending funds of 200–250 billion toman a year (15 Dec)
  2. 2016Agriculture Minister's directive halts commercial logging; forest rest plan starts in Gilan (Oct–Nov); Larijani proposes a 10-year ban with damages (6 Dec)
  3. 2017Ban approved in law (January); 800 billion rials budgeted, about 20% allocated by June
  4. 2018Contracts with forestry-plan operators due to end (March)
  5. 2019UNESCO inscribes the Hyrcanian Forests (5 Jul); FRWO replacement plan allows harvest only in planted forests and of fallen trees
  6. 2020Officials say the plan is half-implemented and about 42% of the forests are being destroyed (December)
  7. 2025Elit fire from 31 October; international help requested 21–22 November; IFRC DREF of CHF 500,000 (7 Dec)

What was said

Claims, in the words of those who made them.

“all kind of wood cutting and harvesting of the Hyrcanian Forests is prohibited. Now, these forests are only under care and protection measures”

“Damage to the forest will reach zero”

Khodakaram Jalali, FRWO · 13 November 2016 · translated from Persian · Hamshahri Online

“We need to stop looking at these forests as timber showrooms.”

Hadi Kiadaliri, head of the Forestry Association · December 2016 · Eghtesad Online

“timber smuggling increased instead of decreasing”

Khosrow Saghib Talebi, researcher · September 2019 · translated from Persian · Taadol newspaper

“The initial idea. was good, but its incomplete implementation made it ineffective”

Khosrow Saghib Talebi, researcher · September 2019 · translated from Persian · Taadol newspaper

“was not prepared with the aim of producing timber”

Mohammadali Fakhari, FRWO deputy, on the replacement plan · September 2019 · translated from Persian · Taadol newspaper

“the necessary budget was not allocated”

Environmental officials · December 2020 · translated from Persian · Asr Iran

“State TV should not make the sweetness of such management bitter for people's taste.”

“contrary to the Sixth Development Plan law”

Ali Mohammad Shaari, MP for Behshahr, Neka and Galugah, on the one-year directive · January 2018 · translated from Persian · Eghtesad Online

Where accounts differ

Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.

Whether the logging ban reduced harm to the forest
Government and regulators
Khodakaram Jalali, FRWO (2016)

Damage to the forest will reach zero.

Hamshahri Online
Researchers
Khosrow Saghib Talebi, researcher (2019)

Timber smuggling increased; the initial idea was good but its incomplete implementation made it ineffective.

Taadol newspaper
Government and regulators
Environmental officials (2020)

Poor management, unready structures and non-allocation of the budget left the plan half-implemented, and operating companies turned back to logging.

Asr Iran
Researchers
Haidari and Karamdoost Maryan, Iranian Journal of Forest and Poplar Research (Shafarood study, 2016/2017)

73% of respondents favoured sustainable utilization and 27% forest rest; the plan should be either ceased or revised.

Iranian Journal of Forest and Poplar Research (Haidari and Karamdoost Maryan)
Communities and civil society
Forest-guard association (2020)

Millions of trees died over five to six years from excessive and unlawful exploitation.

Asr Iran
How much forest burned in the 2025 Elit fire
Government and regulators
Mahdi Younesi, Mazandaran governor

About 8 hectares.

Iran International
International bodies
IFRC (citing media)

At least 10–15 hectares in the Elit sector alone.

IFRC
Government and regulators
Reza Aflatouni, FRWO head

Declined to give the extent.

Iran International

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

  • After approval of the Sixth Development Plan all wood cutting and harvesting in the Hyrcanian Forests is prohibited and the forests are under care and protection only.
    Iran's supplementary information to UNESCO, 2019 · Islamic Republic of Iran / ICHHTO
  • Damage to the forest will reach zero.
    FRWO's Khodakaram Jalali, 2016 · Hamshahri Online

Recorded

  • The ban has statutory basis in Article 38(F) of the Sixth Development Plan.
    Islamic Republic of Iran / ICHHTO
  • About 20% of the 800 billion rial Forest Protection Law budget was allocated by June 2017.
    Eghtesad Online
  • A credit of 80 billion toman was forecast for compensation in 1396 (2017–18); the amount paid to operators is not on record.
    Eghtesad Online
  • The IFRC allocated CHF 500,000 to the Iranian Red Crescent for the 2025 forest wildfires.
    IFRC
  • The Elit fire burned about 8 hectares according to the Mazandaran governor and at least 10–15 hectares in the Elit sector according to the IFRC, citing media.
    Iran International

Who gained

Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.

Reached nature or the ground

Not published
No figure published.

Gained elsewhere

Not totalled
Currency: · Window: . All figures cover the same period. * Estimate built from cited figures.

Responses on record

  • iran-frwo (13 November 2016): Damage to the forest would “reach zero” under the forest rest plan. · Hamshahri Online
  • iran-frwo (November 2025): Head Reza Aflatouni declined to give the burned area of the 2025 fires and said state television should not make “the sweetness of such management bitter”. · Iran International

In court and with insurers

Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

Lawsuits and rulings

No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

Insurers

No insurer decision on record.

What nature saw

Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

Harvest, 2016 vs previous two decades
500,000 vs 2 million m³ a year
FRWO head Jalali's figures
Forest-protection budget allocated by June 2017
about 20%
Of 800 billion rials
Lost to logging and wildfires, as reported Dec 2016
7.1%
Northern woodland
IFRC allocation for the 2025 fires
CHF 500,000
To the Iranian Red Crescent, 7 December 2025

What we don't know

Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
No court caseKey earnings undisclosed

Nature

  • Disputed Whether the logging ban reduced harm to the forest
  • Disputed How much forest burned in the 2025 Elit fire

Court

Accounts

  • None on record Reza Aflatouni, FRWO head: Declined to give the extent.

Record

  • None on record None on record: the amount paid to forestry-plan operators as compensation; the sources give a forecast credit of 80 billion toman for 1396 (2017–18), a 3 trillion rial and an 800 billion rial budget, and no payments.
  • Not disclosed Not disclosed: the extent of the 2025 fires. The FRWO head declined to state the burned area, and no official final total is given.
  • Disputed Disputed: the 2025 Elit burned area, about 8 hectares (Mazandaran governor) against at least 10–15 hectares in the Elit sector alone (IFRC, citing media).
  • Disputed Disputed: whether the ban reduced harm to the forest. The FRWO said damage would reach zero; researchers and officials quoted in 2019–2020 reported rising smuggling and a return to logging.
  • Not measured Not measured: the volume of unlawful logging since 2017; no official series is given in the sources.

Did the harm stop?

Not on record. Officials said in December 2020 that about 42% of the forests were being destroyed and that operators had returned to logging, and a fire burned in the UNESCO-listed forest in November 2025.

Who paid?

None on record for compensation to forestry-plan operators. The IFRC allocated CHF 500,000 to the Iranian Red Crescent for the 2025 wildfires.

Sources

Voices on record: — Company or project✓ Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society✓ Researchers✓ International bodies

Government and regulators

Press and investigations

  7. “Rest” failed to deliver (Persian)
    Taadol newspaper · 2019-09-03
  9. Elit wildfire, Hyrcanian forests
    Iran International · 2025-11-25

Researchers

  1. The study and policy cessation of forest utilization, Shafarood forests (abstract)
    Iranian Journal of Forest and Poplar Research (Haidari and Karamdoost Maryan) · 2017

International bodies

  1. Hyrcanian Forests (1584bis)
    UNESCO World Heritage Centre · n.d.

Connected cases

Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
Terms used on this page

Science and environment

Hectare (ha)
A unit of area equal to 10,000 square metres, about 2.5 acres. 100 hectares make one square kilometre.
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