Over an area of 2,500,000 hectares, Conservation of Biodiversity in the Central Zagros Project will work with the agriculture, forestry, rangelands, water and tourism sectors in order to mainstream biodiversity conservation and sustainable use into the sectors.

It covers almost all of Chaharmahal & Bakhtiari province, large parts of Kohkiluyeh & Boyerahmad province, and most of Eghlid and Marvdasht districts in Fars province and Semirom district in Isfahan Province.

The project will strengthen the ability of the protected area system and will also demonstrate biodiversity mainstreaming at the local level in eight pilot villages across the Zone, and establish mechanisms to facilitate the dissemination and replication of the successful village approaches. Finally, the project will develop the necessary capacity, at individual, institutional and systemic level, in national agencies to support ongoing efforts to improve livelihoods and stimulate economic development across the Zone.

Also in this project, the overall mountain ecosystem will remain intact and the range of habitat for large species will be extended to at least the entire Conservation Zone. Hence the health and population of these individual species will stabilise or grow. Through this Project, the habitat for small mammals, invertebrates and flora will be sustainably utilized. The value attached to biodiversity, by local villagers and government, in monetary and non-monetary terms, will increase.

In addition, the project’s mainstreaming approach across a number of key sectors and forms of land-use is intended to further increase connectivity by promoting greater flexibility in management of biodiversity across the landscape.  Hence, should the region experience climate change, the chances of species and eco-systems being able to adapt is relatively high – they can migrate along the connected network to new climatic or altitudinal zones. Hence conservation of this Zone should provide some important lessons and understanding of how biodiversity can adapt to climate change.

The Project will also have many sectoral benefits related to Iran’s capacity to manage its natural resources, to protect its environment, and develop its socio-economy. The mechanisms, procedures and techniques introduced through the Project will directly develop capacity to manage natural resources, at provincial and village level. Likewise, the Project should generally develop the capacity of provincial government agencies (notably DoE and MoAJ) to plan activities, to coordinate, to interact with local and national stakeholders, and hence to more effectively implement their mandate. This should lead to improved environmental management and government support to rural development across the four provinces.

PDF Block B

The PDF Block B was undertaken to complete baseline studies addressing scientific, technical and socio-economic aspects. The ultimate objective was to design a full-sized GEF Project Brief. In addition to elaborating the basis of the full-sized project, the PDF B activities were strategically designed to establish the management structure, coordination mechanisms, and stakeholder participatory mechanisms required for implementation of the full-sized project.

The objectives of  PDF Block B were as follows:

1. Establish management structure and coordination and support Mechanisms;
2. Site selection;
3. Establish provincial level planning and participatory mechanisms;
4. Full appraisal of project sites;
5. Identification and mobilization of co-funding sources;
6. GEF project brief preparation.

The Seven following sites in seven provinces of the country were chosen for the project:

1. Mount Dena protected area-70% in Kohkiluyehh & Boyerahmad and 30% in Isfahan;
2. Sabzkuh protected area- Chaharmahal & Bakhtiari Province;
3. Semirom Area- Isfahan Province;
4. Miankotal protected area-Fars Province;
5. Baghe-Shadi Area-Yazd Province;
6. Oshtronkkuh in Lorestan-Lorestan Province;
7. Bisotun protected area-Kermanshah Province.

The project document of PDF B was approved on 14 October 2002 by Deputy head of Natural Environment and Biodiversity of Department of Environment and Resident Representative of United Nations Development Programme in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Implementation Phase

The project document of Implementation Phase was approved on 28 June 2005 by Deputy head of Natural Environment and Biodiversity of Department of Environment and Resident Representative of United Nations Development Programme in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Project Goals

Overall Goal: The Zagros Mountains Socio-Economy Develops Successfully and Supports Biodiversity Restoration and Conservation

GEF Project Objective: Conservation of the Biodiversity and the Landscape within the Central Zagros Landscape Conservation Zone

Project Outcomes

Outcome 1: A national institutional and policy framework that is fully supportive of mainstreaming biodiversity into development in the central Zagros mountains;
Outcome 2: Sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity is integrated into economic and sectoral programmes and government practices across the Central Zagros Landscape Conservation Zone;
Outcome 3: Successful, sustainable, financially replicable models of village levels approaches to increasing income generation and conserving biodiversity in biodiversity rich areas.

Project Outputs:

Output 1.1 Partnerships established between biodiversity sector and key national and international stakeholders;
Output 1.2 National macro and sectoral polices and practices modified/developed to favour sustainable utilisation of Zagros biodiversity;
Output 1.3 Lessons learnt disseminated across the entire Zagros mountainous region;
Output 2.1 New Strategy for Development operational, incorporating new vision, and biodiversity;
Output 2.2 Effective mechanisms to support village-driven improved livelihood development in the Zone;
Output 2.3 Biodiversity mainstreamed into water resources sector development;
Output 2.4 Biodiversity mainstreamed into agriculture, rangelands and forestry sectors development;
Output 2.5 Biodiversity mainstreamed into development of the tourism sector;
Output 2.6 Biodiversity conservation tools are effective across the entire Conservation Zone;
Output 3.1 8 Selected villages;
Output 3.2 Participatory natural resource planning, monitoring and management mechanisms established in each village, with full involvement of local communities, and in cooperation with DoE staff;
Output 3.3 Long term natural resource management plans for each village;
Output 3.4 Plans are implemented, monitored, revised in an iterative manner;
Output 3.5 Improved appreciation of biodiversity and its contribution to socio-economic development in villages across the Zone.

Stakeholders:

The key provincial agencies involved in the project are as follows:
- Department of Environment;
- Global Environment Facility (GEF);
- United Nations Development Plan (UNDP);
- Provincial Planning Councils;
- Provincial Departments of Environment;
- Provincial Departments of Ministry of Agricultural Jihad;
- Provincial Natural Resources Departments;
- Provincial and Regional Water Affairs Departments of the Ministry of Energy;
- Provincial Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organizations;
- Islamic Village Councils of the Pilot Villages;
- NGOs;
- Universities;
- Private Sector;
- Local Communities.

Project Management

In order to manage and coordinate the project activities, two offices have been established, one in Tehran and one inside the Conservation Zone. The office in Tehran will act as the Project Secretariat and will be in charge of coordination and communication at the national and international level. The Project Secretariat will liaise amongst national level governmental, non-governmental and international related entities. The Project Secretariat will be responsible for supporting the Project Steering Committee and Technical Advisory Team.

The Zagros Project Office (ZPO) in Chaharmahal & Bakhtiari province (Shahrekord) will coordinate its activities closely with the four provincial governments. The Zagros Project Office will be managed by the National Project Manager who reports directly to the National Project Director in Tehran. Although reporting to the national Department of Environment office in Tehran, it will be responsible for communication with governmental and non-governmental agencies.

In the Project development phase Provincial Coordination Offices (PCOs) have been established in each of the four participating provinces.
Many Activities and Outputs require the active involvement of sectoral agencies at the national level. The agencies will take on most of the responsibilities for the implementation of the related Activities. The sectoral agency will be responsible for preparing the Terms of Reference for all such activities, for identifying consultants and contractors, and for supervising and monitoring the activities.

The Project will benefit from the policy guidance and technical support of two national level forums. First, the Project Steering Committee will continue to be the highest-level decision making body of the Project. It will consist of representatives of key national agencies and of each province. At least one non-governmental representative will sit on the Project Steering Committee. The Project Steering Committee will be chaired by the National Project Director and will take decisions on a consensual basis. Meetings are to be held at least twice a year.

The Technical Advisory Team provides technical advice to the project. The Technical Advisory Team also helps communicate Project intentions and findings, and helps coordinate activities with other projects. The Technical Advisory Team is made up of experts from national agencies, independent experts and NGOs. Although the Technical Advisory Team does not make decisions, it is an influential advisory body. In addition, the Technical Advisory Team members will elect one member to stand in the Project Steering Committee.