According to local media reports, following a military maneuver by the Islamic Republic of Iran’s army on Wednesday, September 3, vast forested areas near the village of Yengijeh in the region known as Kani Qolajan were engulfed in flames.
The reports note that members of civic associations and environmental groups remained on-site until late at night in efforts to contain and extinguish the fire.
In recent years, the forests of the Zagros range have repeatedly fallen victim to massive wildfires—blazes often ignited by the activities of Iran’s military and paramilitary forces, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the army, or exacerbated by negligence and mismanagement.
In this context, Masoud Mohammadi, an environmental activist from Salas Babajani in Kermanshah province, told Rudaw News:
“If there are no forests and trees, these mountains and rocks will not remain here either. Erosion will occur, landslides will follow, and floods will form. Today in the Zagros region, temperatures are rising. Why? Because the trees are burning. Forests and living beings are like a chain—if one link disappears, the rest will also be lost.”
Mohammadi further explained:
“What happens when forests and trees are set on fire deliberately? This is done intentionally. Those who set fire to the forests are the enemies of nature and of environmental defenders. Burning the Zagros forests means annihilating wildlife and destroying life itself.”
Statistics show that this year alone, more than 2,774 hectares of forest in Kermanshah province have been destroyed by fire. In Sanandaj, 1,800 hectares have burned; in Lorestan, 646 hectares; in Ilam, at least 1,200 hectares; and in West Azerbaijan province—home to the smallest share of forests—nearly 400 hectares have been lost.
Yaser Noori, an environmental activist from Javanrud, emphasized:
“Wildfires in the Zagros have devastating environmental, economic, and social consequences—eradicating diverse plants and trees, endangering animal species, stripping local communities of vital natural resources, and accelerating soil erosion and flooding.”
He added:
“Forest fires are the greatest environmental catastrophe for future generations. The destruction of trees that take thousands of years to mature means the loss of invaluable natural wealth for the generations to come.”
According to Iran’s Department of Environment, between 500 and 600 hectares of forest are lost in the country every single day.
Over the past 80 years, nearly 7 million hectares of Zagros forest have been destroyed. Today, only 6 million hectares remain.
The Zagros mountain range, located in Iranian Kurdistan, extends from the northwest of Iran near the borders with Turkey and Iraq down to the Persian Gulf in the south.
