Why is it important?

Decades of habitat disturbances and degradation has resulted in the imminent extinction of several endemic flora and fauna species in Iran, including the flagship specie, the Asiatic cheetah - Acinonyx jubatus venaticus.

Following a trend set by the extirpation of the Asiatic lion and the Caspian tiger, the Asiatic cheetah has continuously been declining in numbers over the past decades. The Asiatic cheetah which used to be widespread across the Indian subcontinent and Central and South-West Asia is one of the only remaining species of large cats in Iran.

The accelerating pace of the Asiatic cheetah’s extinction can be put down to multiple sources such as environmental changes, lack of availability to pray and increasing human encroachment on its habitat. Consequently its current range has been reduced to tiny pockets within the arid regions of central Iran. Realizing the acute need to conserve the Asiatic cheetah, the first phase of this project, which was implemented between 2001 and 2008, relied mainly on in-depth analysis of the biological and to some extent socio-economic causes directly threatening cheetahs and their associated endangered biota.

Building on the acquired knowledge on the biology and ecology of the cheetah, derived during these years, a second phase of the project was initiated in January 2009. UNDP Iran works with the Government of Iran to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 7 which is to ensure environmental sustainability by 2015. By conserving endangered species such as the Asiatic cheetah, the project will contribute to one of the MDG 7’s global indicator: the ratio of area protected to maintain biodiversity.

What is our goal?

The goal of this project is the conservation of the Asiatic cheetah along with a related complex of rare and endangered wildlife species of international importance, and their natural habitats. Given continued conservation efforts in the medium-to-long term (five to thirty years) the project aims to establish a sustainable, viable population of the Asiatic cheetah and a complex of rare and endangered wildlife species of international importance and their natural habitat in the I.R. of Iran.

Raising public awareness continues to be an important goal of the project with the aim of increasing the local participation in conservation of Asiatic Cheetah and their natural habitats.

How will we reach it?

In order to keep the conservation of the Asiatic cheetah high on the national and international agenda, the project aims to maintain and strengthen its relationship and cooperation with Iranian universities.
In particular young researchers are encouraged to take part in the project. The project also promotes producing and publishing research and reports in journals and on the project’s website in order to raise awareness.  In addition, the project also promotes other conservation projects in Iran and neighboring countries in order to  emphasize the importance of such work.

The success of implementing sustainable conservation strategies for the Asiatic cheetah depends on identifying actions and priorities that are based on the biology and ecology of the animal. Although the first phase of the project’s implementation provided a great insight into the animal’s population dynamics, behavior and survival factors, the available information is still rudimentary. By using suitable methods such as radio-telemetry, systematic camera-trapping etc, the project aims to collect reliable data through continuous field research in order to overcome this challenge. Possible research topics have been suggested as the cheetah’s feeding ecology and social organization as well as land tenure system and the manner with which different “subpopulations” are related to each other.

Phase II  has also addressed the challenge of integrating protected areas into the Asiatic cheetah’s conservation. In the first and second phases of the project several project sites were upgraded in terms of their protection status from “Prohibited Hunting” to “Wildlife Refuge” and “National Park” designations. By recruiting a significant number of game guards (110 in total), in addition to the Department of Environment’s own protection force, the project was able to provide relatively descent protection to the project sites. 
By involving local communities in the management of protected areas, the project strives to strike a fine balance between “protection” i.e. prevention of illegal hunting and grazing, and “co-management” i.e. integrating local communities into protected areas management. The prevention of illegal hunting, i.e. protection, can be strengthened by developing existing capacities of guards and supplying them with thorough continuous training and access to better equipment. Simultaneously, local communities will get integrated into managing protected areas by “co-management”, where emphasis will be put on refreshed and continued training, better and well maintained equipments (i.e. uniforms, personal equipment, communication and transport) and continuous feedback on performance. In addition by integrating the staff working at the protected area (i.e. managers, chief guards, guards) into the participatory work with the local communities, and integrate selected villagers into the management of protected areas (e.g. as guides to benefit ecotourism), the project  aims to strengthen the mutual understanding and trust amongst DoE field staff and local communities.

During the second phase, the project continues the community work started in 2006 in partnership with the Global Environment Facility’s Small Grants Programme (GEF-SGP). This partnership encourages local communities to couple environmental responsibilities and socio-economic benefits.

What have we achieved?

The objectives of the project have so far been achieved through a combination of collaborative management, education and awareness building, and direct action to improve enforcement of laws and regulations, such as proposing more strict penalties against the illegal hunting of cheetahs to be implemented by the Department of Environment.

For the purpose of the project, the number of gameguards was increased from 90 in 2008 to 110 in 2011. As a result, the surface area of cheetah habitats has expanded from 3.5 m Ha in 2008 to 6.2 M Ha  in 2010, and the number of cheetah habitats has increased from five in 2008 to eleven in 2011.

The project has increased scientific understanding of the Asiatic cheetah, its associated biota, the ecosystems which they inhabit and the anthropogenic threats they face. Public awareness has considerably increased during the recent years with the publication of numerous articles about the Asiatic cheetah in the research and scientific publications. More than 15 training workshops have been held from 2008 to 2011. In 2011 alone, 8 workshops were conducted. Three new NGOs have been formed since 2008 and one local group formed in 2011 has been involved in awareness-raising in schools.

Emergency measures to improve survival of cheetah in the immediate future will also be undertaken, so as to ensure that viable populations survive to benefit from the longer-term impacts of the core project activities.

NATIONAL MDG FOCUS

Ensure environmental sustainability

PROJECT AT A GLANCE

Project Title:

Conservation of the Asiatic Cheetah, its Natural Habitat and Associated Biota in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Phase 2

Location:

Kavir National Park
Khar Turan National Park
Naybandan Wildlife Refuge
Daranjir Wildlife Refuge Bafgh Protected Area

Start Date:

01.01.09     

Implementing Partner:

Department of Environment