Cases / Protected area / relocation · Iran · 2000–2026
Asiatic cheetah conservation project in Iran: 25 years of funding and a count of 26 animals
Nature's voice · report
My Asiatic cheetahs numbered 200–300 in 44 sites over 120,000 km² in the 1970s, according to the project's final report quoted in a 2009 evaluation.
Did nature suffer? Yes. Harm is on record. Disputed
Recorded
- A Nature letter in December 2017 put my cheetahs at 43 individuals in Iran. Nature (Parchizadeh and Williams)
- The Department of Environment counted 26 of my cheetahs in August 2025, 20 in the wild and 6 in captivity. Tehran Times
- About 85 of my cheetahs have died from human-related factors since 2001, according to the Department of Environment. Tehran Times
- Road accidents account for 52% of my cheetah deaths, according to Iran International in March 2025. Iran International
- My southern habitats have had no breeding records or female sightings since 2010, and Kavir National Park has lost its cheetahs, according to a 2025 monitoring report. Iranian Cheetah Society team (Taktehrani et al.), hosted by IUCN
- One to two of my Asiatic cheetahs are killed by vehicles on Iran's roads each year, with a cluster of collisions on the Shahroud–Sabzevar highway, according to a 2018 study in Current Biology. Current Biology (Parchizadeh et al.)
- My wild sheep, wild goat and jebeer gazelle prey fell by almost 50% within a decade to 2008, according to the Phase I terminal evaluation. UNDP/GEF (Breitenmoser, Alizadeh, Breitenmoser-Würsten)
What the record lacks: 2 none on record · 2 not disclosed · 2 insufficient · 4 disputed · 2 unclear See the gaps
Accounts of the harm differ
How many Asiatic cheetahs remain in Iran
- Researchers Phase I final report (2008), as quoted by the terminal evaluators: 39–52 animals in the five project sites; 71–122 as a “very rough” total. The evaluators called the figures “speculative”. UNDP/GEF (Breitenmoser, Alizadeh, Breitenmoser-Würsten)
- Researchers J. Parchizadeh and S.T. Williams, Nature: “just 43 individuals left in Iran” (7 December 2017). Nature (Parchizadeh and Williams)
- Government and regulators Hamid Zohrabi, Department of Environment: “Almost 50” (December 2017); the earlier figures of 70–120 were unreliable. Tehran Times
- Government and regulators Department of Environment: 12 animals, 9 males and 3 females (January 2022, as reported). Iran International
- Government and regulators Shina Ansari, head of the Department of Environment: 17 (March 2025). Iran International
- Government and regulators Department of Environment: 26 in total, 20 wild and 6 captive (30 August 2025 and 31 August 2026). Tehran Times
Whether protection under the project reduced human-caused cheetah deaths
- Researchers Phase I project (as quoted by the evaluators): Human-caused mortality fell from an average of 1.5 cheetahs a year to around 0.5. UNDP/GEF (Breitenmoser, Alizadeh, Breitenmoser-Würsten)
- International bodies Terminal evaluators: “It is impossible to judge whether these figures represent a significant decrease.” UNDP/GEF (Breitenmoser, Alizadeh, Breitenmoser-Würsten)
Whether conservation efforts have been effective
- Government and regulators Hamid Zohrabi, Department of Environment: The project has prevented total extinction (December 2017). Tehran Times
- Researchers Iranian Cheetah Society monitoring team: Conservation efforts over the past decade have been insufficient or ineffective, and the loss of a few key breeding adults could remove the cheetah from Iran (January 2025). Iranian Cheetah Society team (Taktehrani et al.), hosted by IUCN
The Global Environment Facility, UNDP and Iran's Department of Environment funded the Conservation of the Asiatic Cheetah Project from 2001, and the Department took it over alone in December 2017. In August 2025 and August 2026 the Department counted 26 Asiatic cheetahs, 20 in the wild and 6 in captivity.
26Asiatic cheetahs counted by the Department of Environment, August 2025
20 wild and 6 captive. Other counts: 43 (Nature, December 2017), 12 (Department of Environment, January 2022), 17 (Department head, March 2025).
20 wild and 6 captive. Other counts: 43 (Nature, December 2017), 12 (Department of Environment, January 2022), 17 (Department head, March 2025).
Status As of August 2026: the Department of Environment counts 26 Asiatic cheetahs (20 wild, 6 captive), the national programme has been revised, and no budget figure has been published for the revision.
What?
Over 25 years the GEF, UNDP and Iran's Department of Environment funded the Conservation of the Asiatic Cheetah Project and its successors, and the Department of Environment counted 26 Asiatic cheetahs in August 2025, 20 in the wild and 6 in captivity. Tehran Times
Where?
Central Iranian plateau, mainly the Touran Biosphere Reserve in Semnan Province, with Miandasht (North Khorasan), Kavir National Park and Naybandan, Bafq and Dare-Anjir sites; road deaths cluster on the Shahroud–Sabzevar highway. Iranian Cheetah Society team (Taktehrani et al.), hosted by IUCN
When?
GEF approval 12 September 2000; Phase I 2001–2008; Phase II from 2009; UNDP support ended December 2017; Phase III drafted 18 August 2018; counts of 26 in August 2025 and August 2026. Global Environment Facility
Who?
Gained
- Iran's Department of Environment — US$724,300.00 of UNDP/GEF funds disbursed in Phase I, 2001–September 2008 UNDP/GEF (Breitenmoser, Alizadeh, Breitenmoser-Würsten)
- Game guards — 32 new guards hired in Phase I; salaries paid from the GEF budget until September 2004 and by the Department from October 2004 UNDP/GEF (Breitenmoser, Alizadeh, Breitenmoser-Würsten)
- Herders at Majerad, Ab Nar Oasis and Miandasht — Access and grazing rights bought by the Department of Environment in Phase I UNDP/GEF (Breitenmoser, Alizadeh, Breitenmoser-Würsten)
Lost
- Herders — According to the draft co-management strategy quoted by the evaluators, herders “have become convinced that cheetah conservation is synonymous with repression and alienation of herders from the resources they depend upon” UNDP/GEF (Breitenmoser, Alizadeh, Breitenmoser-Würsten)
Harmed
- Asiatic cheetah — From 200–300 animals in the 1970s to 26 counted in August 2025; about 85 human-related deaths since 2001 Tehran Times
- Wild sheep, wild goat and jebeer gazelle — Fell by almost 50% within a decade to 2008, according to the Phase I evaluation UNDP/GEF (Breitenmoser, Alizadeh, Breitenmoser-Würsten)
Why?
The project document aimed to “secure the conservation of the Asiatic cheetah” with the support of local communities; the 2009 evaluators found all four outcomes “fulfilled partially” and the outcomes “too ambitious and unrealistic”. UNDP/GEF (Breitenmoser, Alizadeh, Breitenmoser-Würsten)
How?
Through GEF/UNDP grants, Department of Environment budgets, game guards, bought grazing and access rights, protected-area upgrades and, from 2022, captive breeding. UNDP/GEF (Breitenmoser, Alizadeh, Breitenmoser-Würsten)
6 of 6 questions answered from the record
What happened
The record, in order.
The Conservation of the Asiatic Cheetah Project (CACP) began with a Global Environment Facility (GEF) grant of US$725,000 approved on 12 September 2000, with the Department of Environment (DoE) as executing partner under the UNDP/GEF project IRA/00/G35. The Wildlife Conservation Society, the Cheetah Conservation Fund and the IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group were among its partners; Panthera later replaced the Wildlife Conservation Society. Phase I ran from 2001 to 2008. Its terminal evaluation, written in 2009, recorded disbursements of US$724,300.00 from UNDP/GEF and US$858,405.89 from the DoE (US$1,582,405.89 in total) and listed 32 new game guards, protected areas created or upgraded, and grazing and access rights bought in Majerad (Touran), Ab Nar Oasis (Naybandan) and Miandasht.
Phase II started in 2009. A 2013 article by the freelance journalist Sam Khosravifard gave its budget as “$4 million funded by national and international organizations”, without a breakdown. In November 2017 UNDP announced that it would not extend the project; the Tehran Times reported its stated reasons as its own funding challenges and its view that Iran could run the project independently. UNDP support ended in December 2017. A DoE budget proposal of 15 billion rials (“nearly $375,000”) was agreed between the DoE chief, Isa Kalantari, and the head of the Budget and Planning Organization, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, and 10 billion rials were reallocated from other DoE projects to cover the cheetah project's deficit. Hamid Zohrabi of the DoE said the department had to support the project “with tight DOE budget”.
On 18 August 2018 the DoE and UNDP announced a drafted five-year Phase III covering migration corridors outside protected areas, ranger training, captive breeding and alternative livelihoods. Zohrabi said “the phase's finances will be assessed once the agreement is finalized”. In 2022 a captive pair at the Touran breeding centre produced three cubs by Caesarean section; one died on 4 May 2022, the second about two weeks later, and the third, Pirouz, on 28 February 2023 of acute kidney failure. The DoE reported no births at the centre in the 2026 breeding season and revised the national cheetah programme in August 2026 to include livestock and camel control, waterhole monitoring, anti-poaching, road safety, camera traps and community initiatives.
Counts of the animal differ by source and year. The Phase I final report, quoted in the 2009 evaluation, gave 50–100 animals in 2000 and 71–122 as a “very rough” total in 2008, which the evaluators called speculative. A Nature letter of 7 December 2017 put the total at 43; the DoE head, Shina Ansari, gave 17 in March 2025; the DoE gave 26 in August 2025 and August 2026. The DoE said about 85 cheetahs had died from human-related factors since 2001. Road accidents accounted for 52% of cheetah deaths, according to Iran International in March 2025.
- 2000GEF approves the Asiatic cheetah project, ID 865, with US$725,000 (12 Sep)
- 2008Phase I ends; disbursements of US$1,582,405.89 recorded by the terminal evaluation (Sep)
- 2009Phase II starts; terminal evaluation of Phase I published
- 2013Phase II extension finalised for November 2013–December 2016 (3 Nov)
- 2017Nature letter puts the population at 43 (7 Dec); UNDP support ends; DoE budget proposal of 15 billion rials
- 2018DoE and UNDP announce a drafted five-year Phase III (18 Aug)
- 2022Three captive-born cubs, two die within weeks (30 Apr/1 May; 4 May)
- 2023Last surviving cub, Pirouz, dies (28 Feb); a pregnant female is killed on a road in Semnan (March)
- 2025DoE head gives 17 cheetahs (March); DoE gives 26 (30–31 Aug)
- 2026No births at the breeding centre; programme revised (31 Aug)
What was said
Claims, in the words of those who made them.
“We urge Iran's government not to give up on cheetah conservation.”
“There can be no doubt that the CACP has successfully propagated cheetah conservation in Iran”
“it is impossible to judge whether these figures represent a significant decrease”
“has prevented total extinction”
“the conservation efforts over the past decade. have been insufficient or ineffective”
“I apologise to the people on behalf of myself and all my colleagues because we couldn't keep Pirouz alive.”
Where accounts differ
Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.
How many Asiatic cheetahs remain in Iran
Researchers
Phase I final report (2008), as quoted by the terminal evaluators
39–52 animals in the five project sites; 71–122 as a “very rough” total. The evaluators called the figures “speculative”.
UNDP/GEF (Breitenmoser, Alizadeh, Breitenmoser-Würsten)Researchers
J. Parchizadeh and S.T. Williams, Nature
“just 43 individuals left in Iran” (7 December 2017).
Nature (Parchizadeh and Williams)Government and regulators
Hamid Zohrabi, Department of Environment
“Almost 50” (December 2017); the earlier figures of 70–120 were unreliable.
Tehran TimesGovernment and regulators
Department of Environment
12 animals, 9 males and 3 females (January 2022, as reported).
Iran InternationalGovernment and regulators
Shina Ansari, head of the Department of Environment
17 (March 2025).
Iran InternationalGovernment and regulators
Department of Environment
26 in total, 20 wild and 6 captive (30 August 2025 and 31 August 2026).
Tehran TimesWhether protection under the project reduced human-caused cheetah deaths
Researchers
Phase I project (as quoted by the evaluators)
Human-caused mortality fell from an average of 1.5 cheetahs a year to around 0.5.
UNDP/GEF (Breitenmoser, Alizadeh, Breitenmoser-Würsten)International bodies
Terminal evaluators
“It is impossible to judge whether these figures represent a significant decrease.”
UNDP/GEF (Breitenmoser, Alizadeh, Breitenmoser-Würsten)Whether conservation efforts have been effective
Government and regulators
Hamid Zohrabi, Department of Environment
The project has prevented total extinction (December 2017).
Tehran TimesResearchers
Iranian Cheetah Society monitoring team
Conservation efforts over the past decade have been insufficient or ineffective, and the loss of a few key breeding adults could remove the cheetah from Iran (January 2025).
Iranian Cheetah Society team (Taktehrani et al.), hosted by IUCNHow it looked
What was shown, beside what was recorded.
Shown
- The project “has prevented total extinction”.Hamid Zohrabi, Department of Environment · Tehran Times
- The primary approach is “to conserve cheetahs in their natural habitats”.Hamid Zohrabi, Department of Environment · Tehran Times
- UNDP's withdrawal was explained by its own funding challenges and its view that Iran could run the project independently.Tehran Times, reporting UNDP's stated reasons · Tehran Times
Recorded
- Phase I disbursements: US$724,300.00 UNDP/GEF and US$858,405.89 Department of Environment, 2001–September 2008.
- Population estimates range from 200–300 (1970s) to 50–100 (2000), 43 (December 2017), 12 (January 2022), 17 (March 2025) and 26 (August 2025 and 2026), each by a different counter.
- About 85 cheetahs died from human-related factors from 2001 to August 2026, according to the Department of Environment.
- Southern habitats have had no breeding records or female sightings since 2010; Kavir National Park “has completely lost its cheetah population”.
- No budget figure was published with the 2018 Phase III draft or the August 2026 revised programme.
Who gained
Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.
Reached nature or the ground
Not published
GEF grant, Phase I (approved 2000)$0.72m
US$725,000; co-financing at approval US$690,000.
UNDP/GEF funds disbursed, Phase I$0.72m
Department of Environment funds disbursed, Phase I$0.86m
Converted from rials by the evaluators at 100 IRR = 0.0104678 US$.
Phase I total disbursed$1.58m
Phase II budget≈ $4m
“$4 million funded by national and international organizations”; no breakdown (Sam Khosravifard, 2013).
Department of Environment budget proposal after UNDP exit$0.38m
15 billion rials; dollar figure as given by the Tehran Times.
Gained elsewhere
Not totalled
Currency: USD · Window: 2000–2017, by line. All figures cover the same period. * Estimate built from cited figures.
Responses on record
- iran-doe (December 2017): Said the project had prevented total extinction and that the Department had to support it financially from its tight budget. · Tehran Times
- iran-doe (August 2026): “The primary approach is to conserve cheetahs in their natural habitats”; the 2026 breeding season produced no births, which the Department partly attributed to the young age of the females. · Tehran Times
- undp (November 2017): Announced in November 2017 that it would not extend the project; Tehran Times reported its reasons as its own funding challenges and its view that Iran can run the project independently. · Tehran Times
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What nature saw
Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
Counted, Aug 2025
26
20 wild, 6 captive (Department of Environment)
1970s estimate
200–300
44 sites over 120,000 km² (Phase I final report)
Human-related deaths since 2001
about 85
Department of Environment, August 2026
Phase I funds disbursed
US$1,582,405.89
UNDP/GEF and Department of Environment, 2001–2008
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
Court
- None on record No court case on record.
Record
- Insufficient Insufficient: the Phase I terminal evaluation states that “neither the initial baseline information nor the newest population estimates are reliable enough” to assess whether the population increased, and that official or informal data on poaching were not available.
- Disputed Disputed: counts of 12 (Department of Environment, January 2022), 17 (Department head, March 2025) and 26 (Department, August 2025 and 2026) cover the same period.
- Not disclosed Not disclosed: the budget of the drafted Phase III (18 August 2018) and of the programme revised in August 2026; the Tehran Times articles give no figure.
- None on record None on record: a livestock-depredation compensation system after the 2004 mention; the evaluators state there is “no further evidence for the establishment of such a system”.
- Insufficient Insufficient: the evaluators state they have no information allowing a proper attribution of actual Phase I expenditures to activities, that the Mentoring Team “was never constituted” and that the Steering Committee “was dysfunctional”.
- Unclear Unclear: the end of Phase II. Trend.az gives an extension to December 2016; the Tehran Times reports UNDP support ending in December 2017.
- Unclear Unclear: the birth date of the three cubs, 30 April 2022 (Al Jazeera) or 1 May 2022 (Department release cited by CNN).
- Not disclosed Not disclosed: the cost of building and running the Touran captive-breeding centre.
Did the harm stop?
Human-related cheetah deaths continued: the Department of Environment reported about 85 from 2001 to August 2026, and it revised the national programme in August 2026 to include road safety, anti-poaching and livestock and camel control.
Who paid?
Phase I: the GEF/UNDP (US$724,300.00) and the Department of Environment (US$858,405.89). Phase II: US$4 million “funded by national and international organizations”, without a breakdown. After UNDP support ended in December 2017: the Department of Environment, with 15 billion rials proposed in the budget.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society✓ Researchers✓ International bodies
Press and investigations
- DOE proposes $375,000 budget for cheetah conservationTehran Times · 2017-12-07
- Iran, UNDP prepare draft for Conservation of Asiatic CheetahTehran Times · 2018-08-18
- Iran to commemorate National Cheetah DayTehran Times · 2025-08-30
- Cheetah conservation plan revised with focus on reducing human threatsTehran Times · 2026-08-31
- How Many Asiatic Cheetahs Roam across Iran?Scientific American blog (Sam Khosravifard) · 2013-03-29
- CACP Phase II extensionTrend · 2013-11-08
- Only 17 Asiatic cheetahs remain in Iran, environmental chief warnsIran International · 2025-03-03
- Another Rare Asiatic Cheetah Killed In Car Accident In IranIran International · 2023-03-26
- Iran's Asiatic cheetah cub, Pirouz, dies of kidney failureAl Jazeera (AFP) · 2023-02-28
- Rare triplet Asiatic cheetah cubs mark an important first for the speciesCNN via KTVZ · 2022-05-11
Communities and civil society
- Asiatic Cheetah Population Monitoring in Northern HabitatsIranian Cheetah Society team (Taktehrani et al.), hosted by IUCN · 2025-01
Researchers
- Save Iran's cheetah from extinctionNature (Parchizadeh and Williams) · 2017-12-07
- Roads threaten Asiatic cheetahs in IranCurrent Biology (Parchizadeh et al.) · 2018-10-08
International bodies
- Conservation of the Asiatic Cheetah, its Natural Habitat and Associated Biota (GEF ID 865)Global Environment Facility · n.d.
- Terminal Evaluation Report, Conservation of the Asiatic Cheetah Project, IRA/00/G35UNDP/GEF (Breitenmoser, Alizadeh, Breitenmoser-Würsten) · 2009
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- Wildlife Conservation Society (NGO) — here: Phase I partner; contributed US$410,000; there: Co-author of the Caura mercury study
- Pacific tuna Vessel Day Scheme Pacific Islands (PNA members) · 2010–2025
- IUCN (International organisation) — here: Executing partner in the GEF database; hosts the 2025 monitoring report; there: Assessor of the Phoenix Islands Protected Area
- Paid markhor hunt in Surkhandarya, Uzbekistan Uzbekistan · 2024–2025
- IUCN (International organisation) — here: Executing partner in the GEF database; hosts the 2025 monitoring report; there: Lists the markhor on the IUCN Red List
- Pillay panel finds no proof WWF directed ranger abuses it supported Democratic Republic of the Congo · 2006–2020
- UN Development Programme (International organisation) — here: GEF agency for Phase I; led Phase II; support ended December 2017; there: UN agency; draft investigation of Messok Dja
- Report says a man died after ecoguard beating in Republic of the Congo park Republic of the Congo · 2017
- Wildlife Conservation Society (NGO) — here: Phase I partner; contributed US$410,000; there: conservation NGO; no response found in the sources reviewed
- Rio Tinto Juukan Gorge destruction Australia · 2020
- IUCN (International organisation) — here: Executing partner in the GEF database; hosts the 2025 monitoring report; there: Conservation body in a Collaboration Agreement with Rio Tinto (2010)
- South Pars and Assaluyeh: sulphur dioxide emissions and the pollution levy Iran · 2005–2026
- Department of Environment (Iran) (Public authority) — here: Executing agency; funded the project alone from December 2017; there: Regulator; filed court cases and costed damages
- Termit and Tin Toumma National Nature Reserve: 2019 boundary change around CNPC oil blocks Niger · 2012–2023
- IUCN (International organisation) — here: Executing partner in the GEF database; hosts the 2025 monitoring report; there: Survey of 2016; mission of January 2020
- Tobacco groups' diversification into oil, food and shipping United States · 2005–2026
- Wildlife Conservation Society (NGO) — here: Phase I partner; contributed US$410,000; there: Conservation organisation; trustee role documented
- UNESCO World Heritage listings and Indigenous rights Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda · 1991–2025
- IUCN (International organisation) — here: Executing partner in the GEF database; hosts the 2025 monitoring report; there: Technical evaluator for natural sites
- US withdrawal from 66 international bodies and Paris/UNFCCC United States · 2025–2027
- IUCN (International organisation) — here: Executing partner in the GEF database; hosts the 2025 monitoring report; there: Body the US withdrew from
- Venezuela 2026 twin earthquakes insurance gap Venezuela · 2026
- UN Development Programme (International organisation) — here: GEF agency for Phase I; led Phase II; support ended December 2017; there: Source of the $6.7 billion damage estimate
- Western gray whales off Sakhalin and the company-funded IUCN advisory panel Russia · 2004–2022
- IUCN (International organisation) — here: Executing partner in the GEF database; hosts the 2025 monitoring report; there: Convened and hosted the Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel
- Whale oil, kerosene and the 1986 whaling moratorium International · 1859–2022
- IUCN (International organisation) — here: Executing partner in the GEF database; hosts the 2025 monitoring report; there: Assessed the humpback whale (2008)
- WWF independent review (Pillay panel) and US funding suspension International · 2019–2020
- Wildlife Conservation Society (NGO) — here: Phase I partner; contributed US$410,000; there: Grantee under US review