Environmental activists in Fars Province say the integrity of the Dena Forest is threatened by the resumption of gas pipeline construction in the region.
In 2009, the Zagros Oak Forest in Fars Province was severely damaged by a gas pipeline construction project in the area until protests by environmental activists forced the project to be shut down.
Back then, 14,000 trees were cut down, some over 100 years old, and the construction of access roads destroyed another 2,000 trees.
The environmental group Fars Green Group has now confirmed that heavy machinery is being brought back into the area for pipeline construction.
The head of the group, Bahman Izadi, has told the Mehr News Agency that construction has resumed on precisely the same route where it was formerly banned.
