At the conclusion of its mission, a team of FAO forestry technical experts met with Iranian authorities on Thursday 21 August 2014, to present its findings and recommendations on containing the outbreak of the Oak dieback and Buxus blight diseases in the Zagros and Caspian forest regions, which to date have afflicted over 1 million hectares of trees in these forests.

Given the importance of this issue by the Iranian Government, the meeting was well attended by the Deputy Minister and Head of Forests, Rangeland and Watershed Management Organization (FRWO), the Director-General of the International Affairs and Specialized Organizations of the Ministry of Jihad-e-Agriculture as well as representatives from the Department of Environment and an NGO.

The FAO team which comprised both national and internationally renowned technical experts was led by Professor Jose Gonzalez Molina, Silviculture specialist from The University of León, Spain, and spent three weeks in Iran, conducting a comprehensive assessment and developing technical recommendations for the Oak and Buxus dieback phenomena in Zagros and Caspian forests.

The main finding of the team indicates that the magnitude of the phenomena is much larger than initially expected. Therefore, a comprehensive program needs to be formulated to address, in medium to large run, the wide-ranging issues identified in both the Zagros and the Caspian forests. Within the framework of such a program implementation of sustainable measures dealing with both the primary and secondary causes would be pursued. However, the most pressing issues would be addressed in short-term by FAO in close partnership with Forests, Rangeland and Watershed Management Organization through appropriate modalities.

1 million hectares out of 6 million hectares of Iranian forests have been affected and totally dried within the past five years which equates to roughly 18 million trees.