Participatory Wildlife Monitoring

Field-based monitoring with local communities, volunteers, and conservation practitioners to document wildlife observations and strengthen stewardship.

Responsible Nature Tourism

Nature-based tourism approaches that respect wildlife and habitats while creating meaningful local benefits.

Stories from the Field: In Memory of Uncle Nasir

In memory of Nasir Azizkhani, affectionately known as “Uncle Nasir,” a respected retired ranger and storyteller of Golestan National Park, who passed away in 2025.

For many years, his life was closely connected to the park’s landscapes, wildlife, and people. Through his field knowledge, vivid stories, and deep respect for nature, he shared a living memory of Golestan with colleagues, visitors, and younger conservationists.

His legacy reminds us that conservation is not only about monitoring species and protecting habitats; it is also about listening to the people whose lives, experiences, and stories are woven into a landscape.

Our Projects

Protecting Urial During the Rutting Season

A Community-Based Conservation Project in Golestan National Park, Iran

One of our first community-based conservation projects focused on the Urial sheep (Ovis vignei) in Golestan National Park, Iran.

The rutting season, which takes place in autumn and particularly around November and December, is a sensitive period for Urial sheep. During this time, males may move beyond their usual areas in search of females and can come closer to areas where people are present. This can increase their vulnerability to illegal hunting.

To help reduce this risk, we launched a call for volunteers and invited people from different parts of Iran to join us in Golestan National Park. Volunteers worked alongside local communities to maintain a regular presence in the area, monitor wildlife activity, and support local protection efforts.

The contribution of local communities was particularly important. Local people played a central role in the project and supported the volunteer teams throughout their presence in the park. One of the main activities was keeping the park’s ranger outposts visibly active, including keeping their lights on at night. This simple but continuous presence helped discourage illegal hunters from entering the area.

The volunteer protection team remained in the park for 40 days. According to the park’s director and deputy director, no conflict or confrontation was reported during this period.

The project also created an unexpected opportunity for cooperation with people who had previously been involved in hunting. Some former hunters, as well as some legal hunters, supported the conservation effort and helped us reduce potential conflicts in the area.

The experience showed us that conservation does not always depend only on formal enforcement. When local communities, volunteers, conservation authorities and other stakeholders work together, a shared presence can become a powerful tool for protecting wildlife.

Following the rutting season, the community-based protection approach continued during the lambing period, when reducing disturbance and stress around breeding areas was particularly important. This approach has continued beyond the original project and remains part of our broader experience with participatory wildlife conservation.

For NatureWatchers, this project represents an important principle:

Protecting wildlife also means building relationships between people, communities and nature.

Protecting Brown Bears Through Community Cooperation

Reducing Human–Bear Conflict in Qarqhoud Protected Area, Iran

In the Qarqhoud Protected Area in northeastern Iran, brown bears face a recurring challenge when they emerge from their winter dens in late winter and early spring. Hungry after months of hibernation, bears may enter nearby orchards and agricultural areas in search of food, particularly when fruit and other crops are available.

For local farmers, these encounters can result in damaged orchards and significant concerns about their livelihoods. For the bears, however, entering an orchard is often simply a response to a basic need: finding food.

To reduce these conflicts without harming the animals, we worked together with local communities and organized teams to monitor areas where bears were likely to appear. Volunteers also spent time in villagers’ orchards, helping farmers deter bears and guide them away from agricultural areas without causing harm.

One of the methods used by the teams was maintaining a human presence and lighting fires in the orchards when necessary. The presence of people and light helped discourage bears from remaining in the orchards and reduced the likelihood of prolonged encounters between wildlife and local residents.

The cooperation of local people was at the heart of this effort. Some villagers actively supported the protection of brown bears and understood that occasional damage to their orchards was part of living alongside wildlife.

One local resident expressed this attitude simply:

“A bear’s nature is to search for food and feed itself. It may damage our orchards, but we don’t consider that a problem.”

For us, this project was not only about moving bears away from orchards. It was about building coexistence.

By working alongside local communities, responding to conflicts without harming wildlife, and involving volunteers directly in the field, we explored a practical approach to reducing human–bear conflict while strengthening local support for wildlife conservation.

At NatureWatchers, we believe that communities living alongside wildlife should not be seen only as people affected by conservation challenges. They can also become some of the most important protectors of wildlife.

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