Recently, a national workshop was held in Kordan, near the capital Tehran, to train Iranian experts in how to resolve human–carnivore conflict in the country. The workshop, organized by Iran’s Department of the Environment, was attended by more than 70 senior experts from all over the nation – experts who are at the cutting edge of dealing with an emerging problem: the conflict between humans and carnivores. The workshop, which was led by experts from Future4Leopards Foundation, lasted for two days.

In recent years many large carnivores have been the victim of a lack of appropriate technical expertise among Iranian experts, who have not received proper training on how to resolve this difficult issue. For example, more than ten leopards have died during attempts to capture or translocate these cats when they become trapped among people. In the workshop, which was strongly welcomed by the attendees, lectures were presented on preventive measures to reduce conflict with larger carnivores as well as management actions that can be taken when conflicts do occur. Currently, the Foundation is working on a book on human–carnivore conflict management which is expected to be out next year.