Golestan-Nationalpark
The Golestan National Park is the oldest national park of Iran.
It lies in the northeast of the country in the province of Golestan and was founded in 1976 on the basis of two existing protected areas and Almeh Yashki. It covers an area of 91 890 hectares, the park is situated in the transitional area between the eastern foothills of the Alborz Mountains and the western foothills of the Kopet Dag Khorasan. It includes altitudes of 1000-1400 m above sea level and is known for its temperate rainforests, but also includes open habitats, such as grasslands, bush areas and rocky regions. The extremely diverse landscape zones presuppose a rich wildlife. In the park are leopard (Panthera pardus ), wolves (Canis lupus), wild boar (Sus scrofa), Maralhirsche (Cervus elaphus maral ), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), steppe wild sheep (Ovis orientalis Arkal ), wild goat (Capra aegagrus ) and gazelle ( Gazella subgutturosa ) ago.
The park is threatened by poaching and almost everywhere surrounded by cultivated, deforested land. Another problem is the leading through the National Asian Highway, which led to considerations of the restructuring of the road network in the National Park, but have not been enforced. An intersection of the park leads to the disruption of the ecological balance. The Golestan National Park is next to ecological well as cultural and tourist attraction and there are efforts to include this park in the world heritage list. On the tentative list of UNESCO, the park is already being made.