ABSTRACT
The Islamic Republic of Iran is situated in the eastern portion of the northern hemisphere, in the southwest of Asia, and in the west of the Palaearctic region. Iran is well-known as one of the world's major centers of biodiversity and natural heritage, because of the junction of major plant geographical regions. Preservation of the biodiversity of Iran would benefit from the selection and priority conservation of flagship species, especially carnivores, which can provide habitat connectivity because of their relatively large home ranges. It is very difficult to assess biodiversity trends in Iran since the national biodiversity indicators are not fully developed. In order to conserve existing biodiversity of the country, representative samples of the nature of land have been selected and are being conserved under different categories such as Protected Areas, National Parks, Wildlife Refuges and National Natural Monuments.
