Cultural Heritage Warning: The Condition of Mount Damavand is Disastrous
Alireza Izadi, Director General of the Office of Registration of Natural and Spiritual Historical Monuments of Cultural Heritage, described the condition of Mount Damavand as disastrous due to destructive human activities, including the construction of horizontal mines.
In an interview with ILNA, Izadi mentioned that part of the erosion of Iran’s highest peak is natural and due to its being alive, but he emphasized that the major and destructive part is due to unauthorized road construction, irresponsible mining, lack of restoration by miners, irresponsible climbing, and the dumping of thousands of tons of waste and human excrement in various areas.
According to Izadi, these issues and the lack of a central unified management have hindered the registration of Damavand on the World Heritage List.
Based on the latest measurements, Mount Damavand, which had a height of 5,671 meters four decades ago, now has a height of 5,610 meters, indicating a reduction of about 60 meters.