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Ramsar, Iran

Coordinates: 36°55′N 50°40′E / 36.917°N 50.667°E / 36.917; 50.667
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For the wetland preservation organization, see Ramsar Convention.
Ramsar
Persian: رامسر ‹Remsar›
The Old Hotel
The Old Hotel
Nickname: 
Ramsar
Motto: 
Paradise in Earth (Behesht roye Zamin)
Country Iran
ProvinceMazandaran Province
CountyRamsar County
Government
 • Mayor (Ŝahrdār)Mohsen Morradi
Elevation
985 m (3,232 ft)
Population
 (2006[1])
 • Totalmore than 70,000
Time zoneUTC+3:30 (IRST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+4:30 (IRDT)
Websitehttp://www.sh-ramsar.ir

Ramsar (in Persian: رامسر) is a town in the Mazandaran province of Iran, on the coast of the Caspian Sea. It was also known as Sakhtsar in the past. Natives of Ramsar speak the Gilaki language which is a member of Iranian languages. The town is known for having the highest levels of natural background radiation on Earth.

Location

Ramsar is the westernmost county and city in Mazandaran. It borders the Caspian Sea to the north, Gilan province to the west, Qazvin Province to the south, and Tonekabon to the east.

Map showing position of Ramsar county as well as Ramsar city in Mazandaran province

Tourism

Ramsar is a popular sea resort for Iranian tourists. The town also offers hot springs, the green forests of the Alborz Mountains and the vacation palace of the last Shah, and additionally the Hotel Ramsar. Twenty-seven kilometres south of Ramsar and 2700 meters above sea level in the Alborz mountains is Javaherdeh village, which is an important tourist attraction in Ramsar county.

Radioactivity

Some areas around Ramsar have the highest level of natural radioactivity in the world, due to the presence of radioactive hot springs. The dose of radiation received by a person living in Ramsar for one year can be in excess of 260 mGy.[2]

The highest levels of background radiation recorded in the world till date is from areas around Ramsar, particularly at Talesh-Mahalleh which is a very high background radiation area (VHBRA) having an effective dose equivalent several times in excess of ICRP-recommended radiation dose limits for radiation workers and up to 200 times greater than normal background levels. Most of the radiation in the area is due to dissolved radium-226 in water of hot springs along with smaller amounts of uranium and thorium due to travertine deposits. There are more than nine hot springs in the area with different concentrations of radioisotopes, and these are used as spas by locals and tourists.[3] This high level of radiation does not seem to have caused ill effects on the residents of the area and even possibly has made them slightly more radioresistant, which is puzzling and has been called "radiation paradox". It has also been claimed that residents have healthier and longer lives.[4] On the basis of this and other evidences including the fact that life had originated in a much more irradiated environment, some scientists have questioned the validity of linear no-threshold model, on which all radiation regulations currently depend.[5] Others point out that some level of radiation might actually be good for health and have a positive effect on population based on radiation hormesis model, by jump starting DNA repair mechanisms inside the cell.[6][7] Due to consumption of radioactive water around Ramsar, the agricultural products as well as other living matter and humans are also slightly radioactive.[8]

An Iranian study has shown that people in the area have a significantly higher expression of CD69 gene and also a higher incidence of stable and unstable chromosomal aberrations.[9]

Ramsar Convention

The Caspian Sea off the coast of Ramsar.

The Convention on Wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, is an intergovernmental treaty which provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. There are presently 160 Contracting Parties to the Convention, with 1920 wetland sites, totaling 1,680,000 square kilometres, designated for inclusion in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance. Presently, there are 160 contracting parties, up from 119 in 2000 and from 18 initial signatory nations in 1971. [10] Signatories meet every three years as the Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP), the first held in Cagliari, Italy in 1980. Amendments to the original convention have been agreed to in Paris (in 1982) and Regina (in 1987).[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ Statistical Centre of Iran, 2006 Population and Housing Census, Administrative units of Razavi Khorasan and their populations. (excel-file, in Persian). Retrieved 2008-07-05.
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ http://www.angelfire.com/mo/radioadaptive/ramsar.html
  4. ^ http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/309/5736/883
  5. ^ http://www.angelfire.com/mo/radioadaptive/ramsar.html
  6. ^ http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/ecology/positive-effects-of-nuclear-radiation/1066
  7. ^ http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/01/050128222047.htm
  8. ^ http://www.angelfire.com/mo/radioadaptive/ramsar.html
  9. ^ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15063540
  10. ^ [http://www.ramsar.org/cda/ramsar/display/main/main.jsp?zn=ramsar&cp=1-36-123^23808_4000_0__retrieved 2011-03-07
  11. ^ Ramsar: A brief history, retrieved 2009-11-07

36°55′N 50°40′E / 36.917°N 50.667°E / 36.917; 50.667

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