Summary

SGP Project No.: IRA/SGP/OP5/Y3/STAR/BD/13/07(183)

Following by the project no. IRA/SGP/OP5/Y2/STAR/BD/12/02(168) conducted earlier to establish a national network for further participatory research and conservation attempts addressing the Persian leopard in Iran, the current project is generally about empowerment of this established network across the country. The project has been started since January 2014. We designed educational and technical materials for education and training purposes. Establishment of the operational groups concentrating on three main subjects of the research and monitoring, community based programs and application of media and news in conservation of the Persian leopard in Iran, was conducted on the basis of the capacities of the Persian Leopard Online Portal for identification of relative individuals across each province. Subsequently, regional workshops were conducted to cover these topics. We also planned for future activities of the Persian Leopard National Network which was then, included in the Persian Leopard National Action Plan that officially endorsed in 2016. Additional to the activities of the project, several innovative programs have been developed. These include: the Persian leopard systematic monitoring scheme, active involvement of the media in awareness raising programs for the purpose of leopard conservation, preparation of 3 technical books and developing protocols for further reference of the participants for future activities, introducing the environmental leadership concept as a new topic to influence the policies and strategies for leopard conservation in Iran.