Twelve fires from Tir 26 to Mordad 12 have burned at least 536 hectares of the Miankaleh wildlife sanctuary’s areas; a figure that may increase with the completion of investigations into two other fires.

Mohammadreza Kaneani, the general director of the Mazandaran Department of Environmental Protection, said that most of the fires occurred in the western part of Miankaleh and that the investigations indicate a specific pattern at the sites where the fires broke out, although their causes have not yet been announced. According to him, no animal deaths have been reported so far, and no new fires in this area have been recorded since Mordad 12.

Kaneani, warning about burning straw and chaff after rice harvesting, deemed the act a crime under the Clean Air law and emphasized educating farmers to use alternative methods. He also announced the Environmental Protection Organization’s plan to compensate for damages and strengthen Miankaleh’s conservation capacity.

Miankaleh is among the most important coastal ecosystems of the Caspian Sea and a habitat for endangered species. Initial environmental assessments have cited human factors as the most likely cause of the recent fires, and local officials are still investigating the dimensions of these incidents.