The Department of Environment of Iran is the custodian of 324 protected areas, covering approximately 12% of the country. However, despite more than half a century of activity, has this organization been able to establish an efficient method of selecting areas and an effective model for managing protected areas? To what extent has the selection of protected areas been carried out within the framework of the mission of these areas and the representative ecosystems of the country? What proportion of ecosystem diversity and biodiversity hotspots is under the protection of the Department? Why do a large number of areas lack management plans, and why are those that have management plans not properly and flexibly zoned and designed? Also, in areas that have international titles in addition to national titles (such as biosphere reserves), why has zoning of areas with the national pattern (11 zones) failed to meet the zoning requirements of the biosphere reserves? In this analytical article, an attempt is made to identify and address three challenges facing the management of protected areas: 1) the mission of protected areas, 2) the selection of protected areas, and 3) the zoning of protected areas and introduce suggested solutions.
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