CIC Honours Iran’s MansurAbad with the 2024 Markhor Award at CBD CoP16 in Cali, Colombia
Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia – October 29, 2024
The International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation (CIC) awarded the MansurAbad Community-Based Protected Area in Iran the prestigious 2024 Markhor Award. Presented at a special event during the 16th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD CoP16), this recognition celebrates MansurAbad’s transformative conservation success, championed by the CIC Iran delegation. The project exemplifies how community-driven efforts can revitalise ecosystems, benefiting wildlife and local communities.
The award ceremony, held at CBD CoP16 in Cali, brought together key figures in global conservation. Esteemed speakers included Sebastian Winkler, Director General of CIC; Ivonne Higuero, Secretary General of CITES; Dilys Roe, Chair of IUCN Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Working Group; Bahodur Sheralizod, Tajikistan’s Minister of Environment; and Dr. Hanieh Moghani, Expert Member and Vice-Chair, United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII). Each spoke of the importance of sustainable use and community involvement in conservation, emphasising the achievements of the MansurAbad Protected Area.
Watch the Press Conference live at 15:30PM COT here, a recording will be available after the event: https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1w/k1w2vsk52w
The Markhor Award and Its Legacy
Supported by the Wild Sheep Foundation, IUCN, and the CBD, the CIC Markhor Award recognises exceptional biodiversity conservation efforts which promote sustainable use to ensure human livelihoods. Since 2008, the award has been celebrated at each CBD COP, with initiatives from Tanzania, Tajikistan to Mexico, showcasing how sustainable resource use can support both ecological and community well-being.
Sebastian Winkler, Director General of CIC, praised the project, saying, “The MansurAbad Community-Based Protected Area exemplifies the profound impact that communities can have on conservation when given the tools and autonomy to protect their own natural heritage. This award recognises not only the success in wildlife recovery but also the sustainable development it has brought to the local community, providing a model for conservation efforts worldwide.”
The MansurAbad project demonstrates this vision by transforming a former poaching hotspot into a protected area that revitalises biodiversity and strengthens local livelihoods.
Under the stewardship of the Rafsanjan Nature Custodians, MansurAbad has revived populations of key wildlife species and developed sustainable economic opportunities through controlled hunting and eco-tourism. The project supports the targets of the 2030 Global Biodiversity Framework and highlights its role in advancing safe and legal biodiversity use (Target 5), ensuring equitable benefits for the community (Target 9), and supporting Iran’s cultural heritage of conservation.
For additional information, please see https://www.cic-wildlife.org/cic-markhor-award-2024/ or to arrange interviews, please contact:
Tristan Breijer FRGS
tristan.breijer@cic-wildlife.org
