UNDP-GEF Project Writeups

UNDP-GEF PROJECT WRITEUPS

A partnership funded by GEF and implemented by UNDP

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Basic Project INFO

FOCAL AREA:
Biodiversity
PROJECT TITLE:
Conservation of the Asiatic Cheetah
PROJECT NUMBER:
COUNTRY:
PROJECT STATUS:
Completed (2001-2006)
PROJECT DOWNLOAD (WORD)

Conservation of the Asiatic Cheetah, its natural habit and associated biota (CAC)

Facts and figures

The vast desert area of Dasht-e-Kavir in Iran has become the last refuge to the Asiatic Cheetah and, even here sightings have dramatically declined since 1978. Reasons for the cheetah's decline include natural habitat disturbance and land degradation, including desertification; decline in prey; poaching and unsustainable hunting.

Habitats have become degraded due to spreading agriculture, human settlement, mining and infrastructure construction. Increasing numbers of livestock - goats, sheep and camels - have degraded pastures and reduced the densities of the wild animals on which the cheetah preys. The construction of roads through remote areas, the use of vehicles for hunting and an abundance of firearms facilitate poaching of cheetah and other wildlife species while the provision of legal hunting licenses can be considered over-generous.

The Asiatic Cheetah occupies an important symbolic place in Iranian culture and the President of the Republic has specifically called for its protection.

Project description

The project was designed to enable the conservation of the Asiatic cheetah, the related complex of endangered wild species and their natural habitats. The support and collaboration of local communities was a central theme of the project and was achieved through a combination of collaborative management, education/awareness building, and direct action to improve enforcement of laws and regulations.

Emergency measures to improve survival of cheetah in the immediate future were also undertaken, to ensure that viable cheetah populations survive to benefit from the project's longer-term impacts. These included providing community education and seeking a reduction in the number of annual gun licenses issued. The project also sought to increase scientific understanding of the cheetah; its associated biota, habitats, and the threats they face.

SELECTED PROJECT ACTIVITIES/RESULTS

A Secretariat for the Conservation of Asiatic Cheetah in Iran was established. Presidential support was gained for the project.
The status of key cheetah habitats was raised - the 1,520,000 ha Naybandan from Protected Area to Wildlife Refuge; the 150,000 ha Dar-e Anjir area from Hunting Prohibited Area to Protected Area; and the 1,400,000 ha Kharturan from Wildlife Refuge to National Park.
Fines for illegal poaching of cheetahs were raised from US$ 2,500 to US$ 12,500.
To strengthen conservation capacity in national parks and protected areas 35 game guards were recruited and trained. Seven new guard stations were established in Naybandan, Kharturan and Dar-e Anjir. In total 16 workshops were held to train game guards.
Tracks of cheetahs and their rivals were studied and their prey skeletons were collected. GIS maps were prepared for identified cheetah habitats. An anecdotal study was made on the behavior of the stripped Hyena and its role as an important cheetah rival.
A socio-economic study of communities living in proximity to cheetah habits was also conducted. Water and traditional grazing rights were identified in selected sites.
The project has collaborated with Sheikh Butti's Cheetah Breeding Research Center in Dubai. A plan has been drawn up for the capture breeding of cheetah in Iran.
In April 2005 the project appointed Hooshang Ziaie, an internationally-renowned environmentalist and professor and author of A Field Guide to the Mammals of Iran, as its new project manager.
The project collaborated with civil society in collecting of field data and in conducting public awareness campaigns. A sampling of Cheetah prey in one area was conducted by 44 volunteers, specialists and local game guards over 15 days. Awareness activities included village workshops, the publication of brochures, a calendar and the development of a website (English and Farsi).
Other awareness activities have included education and collaboration workshops (with an address by a religious leader on the importance of conservation); a one-day educational festival for local children; and the distribution of CDs containing film and still images of cheetahs to park rangers.
Working groups were identified to undertake a biological survey in collaboration with WCS. This included the filming of 25 hours of video and shooting about 2,510 camera-trap pictures of wildlife.
Experience from the Asian Cheetah project will be of help to indigenous communities and environmental protection agencies in other countries in establishing effective management partnerships to protect and sustain their endangered species and habitats. Invaluable management lessons for protection and sustainable use of fragile arid land biomes have also been learned for replication elsewhere.
Partners etc

The joint Iranian Department of the Environment Wild Conservation Society (WCS), Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF); International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN); and Sheikh Butti's Cheetah Breeding Research Center in Dubai.

Dedicated project website: http://cheetah.irandoe.org/

Newsletter: No

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