Campaign to Save Iran's Yew Trees

October 15, 2018

1 min read

Yew trees are the source of the cancer-treatment drug Taxol and can be a considerable source of income for villagers in northern Iran

The area in Iran that is home to yew trees is also a destination for many domestic and foreign tourists, who are attracted by its pristine nature

By opening tourist centers, Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization has started a drive to develop the ecotourism potential of the region

To prevent the yew tree from going extinct, each tree will be given a registered ID

It is hoped that the jobs ecotourism creates will diminish illegal logging of endangered yew trees

The biggest threat to yew trees in Iran is illegal logging for its wood because of its color and quality, which is very much in demand for making hookahs and intricate wooden ornaments

Jobs are scarce in the area so some people resort to poaching yew trees

Amir Mohammad helps his father in a forest of yew trees and like many other children in the village he loves these trees. “I will not let them cut down my red trees,” he says

It is a small village so sometimes environmental guards and those who illegally cut down the trees come across public spaces like ponds and mosques

Beekeeping is encouraged in yew forests to create jobs and to prevent illegal logging

Reza was charged with illegal logging by environmental guards but now he is a preservationist. He and his wife are engaged in making handicrafts and providing services for tourists

Taxus baccata, known as European yew in English or as “red tree” in Persian, is an evergreen tree that can live up to between 400 and 600 years. All parts of a yew tree are toxic to humans but the trees are also the source of Taxol, an expensive alkaloid used in chemotherapy and treatment of cancer. Because of this medical benefit, some developed countries cultivate these trees, which are in danger of becoming extinct. But in Iran they are often cut down to make things like hookahs and wooden ornaments.

The village of Siah Roodbar in the northeastern province of Golestan is one of the biggest sources of this tree in Iran. However, it has lost many tree to poachers and illegal logging by people desperate to make some income.

Recently, some young people from the village started an online campaign, “I am a yew, too” (#من_هم_یک_سرخدارم in Persian) to save this precious resource and asset, both to warn people of the danger of the trees becoming extinct and to ask the government agencies to take action.

Photos by the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA)