After sanctions: the urge to upgrade and integrate conservation in Iran

The economic sanctions imposed on Iran by the international community during the past decade were some of the harshest since those enacted in 1979, following the Islamic Revo­ lution. But by the beginning of 2016, the country had entered the post­ sanctions era. As a consequence, international collaborations and eco­ nomic investments are expected to recover (Stone 2015b; Cinelli and Balmer 2016). Easier access to inter­ national resources and expertise may improve the efficiency and effective­ ness of current practices in conserva­ tion and environmental management. However, economic development will likely accelerate under foreign investments; this, coupled with weak existing regulatory capacity and inad­ equate environmental safeguards, may place the nation’s already imperiled biodiversity at even greater risk. Due to its location between contra­ sting phytogeographical realms, Iran has a rich diversity of flora and fauna; yet overexploitation of the country’s natural resources during recent decades has had serious negative outcomes for organisms and habitats. In particular, many wetlands – once numerous and thriving – have been lost or degraded by extensive ground­ water withdrawals, recent construc­ tion of hundreds of dams, and climatic changes (Amira slani and Dragovich 2011; Akhani 2015). Drainage and unsustainable land­ use practices have pushed soil erosion to approximately 25 tons per hectare a year, a rate 4.3­ fold higher than the world average (Akhani 2015). The areal extent of Iran’s particularly diverse forests, which are among the oldest in the northern hemisphere, has been halved during the past 50 years due to extensive logging and urban expan­ sion (Stone 2015a). Notably, the last 50 (or fewer) Asiatic cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus), a subspe­ cies that once roamed over most of Southwest Asia, are now found only in Iran and are threatened with extinction resulting from conflict with past oralists, lack of prey, and road kills (Stone 2015a). Finally, most protected areas experience high levels of poaching moti vated by sub­ sistence, income generation, hunting traditions, and hostility toward park staff. For example, populations of many native ungulate species within Iran’s oldest national park – Golestan – have declined by around 66–89% since the 1970s (Ghoddousi et al. in press). Controversially, the establish­ ment of protected areas in Iran largely followed a top­ down approach, lead­ ing to frequent tensions with local communities. Furt hermore, manage­ ment mainly takes the form of surveil­ lance monitoring, as opposed to identifying and mitigating threats. In general, protected areas in Iran are subject to a lack of personnel, equip­ ment, and funding (Kolahi et al. 2012). Therefore, despite large areal increases now exceeding 10% of Iran’s land coverage, protected areas have failed to effectively address biodiver­ sity threats (Figure 1). Since the lifting of sanctions, media coverage on foreign investments and economic deals has rapidly increased, and the ratified deals already total several billion US dollars (Cinelli and Balmer 2016). Numerous inter­ national investors are attracted to the country’s vast resources of petroleum, natural gas, and minerals; under­ developed industry, agriculture, and infrastructure; and unexploited mar­ kets (Cinelli and Balmer 2016). While the lifting of sanctions may ease some of the adverse environ­ mental consequences driven by sub­ standard development during the years of economic isolation (Soroush and Madani 2014), demand for natu­ ral resources and pressure on already heavily disturbed ecosystems will likely increase, due in large part to the aforementioned surge in develop­ ment and ineffective environmental protection (Rao et al. 2013). After suspending large­ scale fertilizer and pesticide applications during the embargo (FAO 2015), Iranian agri­ culture today is largely underperform­ ing and ready for new investments; due to global agricultural demand, WRITE BACK WRITE BACK WRITE BACK