Research and Management Practices for Conservation of the Persian Leopard in Iran

The population of the Persian leopard (Panthera pardus saxicolor) has drastically declined; this Asian leopard subspecies has disappeared from some parts of its former range. Containing large areas of potential habitats with leopard presence across almost all of its provinces, Iran is known to be the last stronghold for the Persian leopard in the region. This book comprehensively covers research, management and conservation practices of the Persian leopard, including: · The first phase of the Persian Leopard National Action Plan in Iran together with an innovative leopard insurance program and a contingent valuation practice with respect to the wildlife trafficking law enforcement in Iran· Research on a hypothesis about the risk of a major fragmentation and splitting the leopard distribution range in Iran into a northern and a southern parts · An innovative and empirically fitted species- and region-specific approach for assessing the cumulative effect of land use and land cover changes on the leopard persistence · Distribution modeling of leopard potential habitats on a regional basis, accompanied by ground validation techniques · An evaluation to three threshold rules to define the habitat suitability indices · Persian leopard habitats and relative corridors in the trans-boundary areas of the East Azarbaijan province of the northwest of Iran in the Caucasus Ecoregion. The innovative research and conservation approaches presented in this book will be of great interest to those studying the leopard and other large carnivore species. The innovative models presented in this book about cumulative effect of the land use and land cover changes will be beneficial to land use managers, planners and decision makers in selecting wildlife friendly solutions for development programs. The strategic and action planning model as well as the leopard compensation program as an insurance scheme are developed specifically for the local condition and leopard status in Iran. Front Matter ....Pages i-xxx Front Matter ....Pages 1-1 General Overview to the Research Programs in Part I (Arezoo Sanei)....Pages 3-11 A King for the Mountainous Landscapes: An Overview to the Cultural Significance and Conservation Requirements of the Persian Leopard in Iran (Arezoo Sanei, Hossein Mohamadi, Shirin Hermidas, Hamid Reza Asgarian)....Pages 13-49 Novel Regional Classification of Natural and Socioeconomic Characteristics for the Persian Leopard Research and Conservation Programs (Arezoo Sanei)....Pages 51-80 Countrywide Distribution Modelling of the Persian Leopard Potential Habitats on a Regional Basis in Iran (Arezoo Sanei, Mohamed Zakaria, Laleh Daraei, Mohamad Reza Besmeli, Faramarz Esfandiari, Heidar Veisi et al.)....Pages 81-107 Ground Validation of the Persian Leopard MaxEnt Potential Distribution Models: An Evaluation to Three Threshold Rules (Arezoo Sanei, Mohamed Zakaria, Hossein Mohamadi, Mohamad Reza Masoud, Behrouz Jafaari, Hossein Delshab et al.)....Pages 109-129 An Innovative Approach for Modeling Cumulative Effect of Variations in the Land Use/Land Cover Factors on Regional Persistence of the Persian Leopard (Arezoo Sanei, Mohamed Zakaria, Mohamad Roslan Mohamad Kasim, Abdullah Mohd)....Pages 131-164 An Overview to the Persian Leopard Trans-boundary Habitats in the Iranian Sector of the Caucasus Ecoregion (Arezoo Sanei, Mohamad Reza Masoud, Hossein Mohamadi)....Pages 165-172 Front Matter ....Pages 173-173 Introduction to the Persian Leopard National Conservation and Management Action Plan in Iran (Arezoo Sanei, Ali Teimouri, Goli Ahmadi Fard, Hamid Reza Asgarian, Masoud Alikhani)....Pages 175-187 A Contingent Valuation Practice with Respect to Wildlife Trafficking Law Enforcement in Iran (Case Study: Panthera pardus saxicolor) (Maliheh Bazghandi, Yadollah Bostan, Jalil Sarhangzadeh, Ali Teimouri)....Pages 189-211 An Innovative National Insurance Model to Mitigate the Livestock–Leopard Conflicts in Iran (Arezoo Sanei, Ali Teimouri, Reza Asadi Ahmad Abad, Shabnam Saeida, Saeid Taheri)....Pages 213-224 Back Matter ....Pages 225-228