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CNN Sunday Morning

A Wildlife Preserve Is a Cause for Concern in Iran

Aired July 15, 2001 - 07:24   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: In Iran, a wildlife preserve is on one hand, a thing of beauty in a barren landscape but on the other, a major cause of concern. That story now from CNN's Gary Strieker.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY STRIEKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a serious drought that has parched Iran for three years, this man has a critical mission in a vast wildlife preserve on a scorching plain in the center of the country.

Serai Golan Raza (ph) is a provincial game guard. He says protecting wildlife here means not only watching out for poachers, but also providing water supplies to sustain animals through the droughts.

The government spends serious money on this project, pumping water from deep wells and transporting it to storage tanks that supply drinking troughs in far corners of the reserve. This is diligent protection and the results are striking.

Wildlife populations are plummeting elsewhere in Iran, but despite recurring droughts, there are now more than 2,000 goitered and Jabeer gazelles in this reserve, three times as many as there were 20 years ago. But the wildlife recovery has serious repercussions for farmers just outside the reserve.

On a visit to a neighboring village, Raza's (ph) boss gets an earful from these farmers. They complain there are too many gazelles raiding their crops. They're now growing valuable pistachio trees here and when gazelles come in and chew on them, they don't produce nuts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): So we believe that something has to be done to stop this damage to us. I am talking as a representative of the Islamic Council of these people, more than 4,000 people. And they all complain that the damage is too much for us to bear.

STRIEKER: The director pleads for more time. He says he's asking for money to build better fences to keep animals out of the pistachios and to plant small areas of crops inside the reserve, attracting animals away from the farms.

The farmers are still willing to cooperate but their patience is obviously wearing thin.

(on-camera): Authorities here have succeeded in restoring some wildlife numbers to the highest level in decades. But this new problem that threatens the economic interest of farmers now overshadows everything they've achieved.

(voice-over): Raza (ph) says cooperation from villagers has been essential to protection of wildlife in Mehdiabad. If that cooperation is lost, the devastation of wildlife sweeping most parts of this nation could still happen here.

Gary Strieker, CNN, Mehdiabad, Iran.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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