Ramsar, a northern coastal city in Iran, is surrounded by the Caspian Sea in the north and the Alborz mountains in the south. The city is known “as Aroos-e Iran” (“the bride of Iranian cities”) because of its magnificent scenery and natural spas and waterfalls. The Ramsar cable car connects the beach to the mountain forest, providing spectacular views of the city and its surrounding areas. Ramsar has a combination of rocky and sandy beaches. Visitors can fiond traditional Iranian “tea houses’” set into cliffs, where the waves literally break underneath the cafes.
According to Web Ecoist, a website focusing on green isssues, “This city and county on the southern coast of the Caspian Sea is famous (or should we say, infamous) for having the highest levels of natural background radiation on Earth: 250 mSv per year! Background radiation levels up to 80 times the world average peak in the city’s Talesh Mahalleh district, where natural hot springs are abundant and limestone sourced from the area is used to make bricks and masonry used in area homes.”
The Ramsar Convention, (named after Ramsar city) signed in 1971, was the first global convention related to biodiversity to be developed and agreed upon. The convention, also referred to as The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, looked specifically at the wetlands around Ramsar, and came into force in 1975, ensuring that Ramsar’s wetlands and the fragile ecosystem there is protected, and its resources used wisely. Animal and plant species in the region are protected, and sustainability is the overall goal of the convention, which has now been adapted internationally, with partners around the world pledging a commitment to protect precious natural resources in their own regions.
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