Bonn, 24 November 2022 - On 20-22 September 2022, Government representatives and experts from Persian Leopard Range States came together for the first Persian Leopard Range States Meeting held in Tbilisi, Georgia. The Meeting was convened by the CMS Secretariat with logistical support from the Caucasus Nature Fund and with funding from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection of Germany (BMUB) through Germany’s Federal Agency for Nature Protection (BfN). Participants exchanged experiences from their countries, discussed and endorsed the first Range-wide Strategy for the Conservation of the Persian Leopard, which can be found on the first Persian Leopard Range States Meeting Website.

The Persian Leopard (Panthera pardus tulliana) is a sub-species of the Leopard whose range stretches across twelve Range states from the Middle East to the Caucasus, Central and South Asia. The largest population of Persian Leopards is found in Iran. Presence of resident Persian Leopard populations is not confirmed in some of the Range States, such as Turkey, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, but recolonization by dispersing animals from neighboring countries is considered likely. Key threats to Persian Leopard survival include: poaching, habitat fragmentation, overgrazing of livestock resulting in prey depletion and lack of cross-border cooperation and coordination. On average, more than 85% of Persian leopard range is located in so-called borderlands in close proximity to national boundaries, making cooperation between Range States a key pre-condition for the survival of this sub-species.

The Range-Wide Strategy for the Conservation of the Persian Leopard, endorsed by the Meeting is a comprehensive document which addresses, inter alia, the need to conduct targeted research on Persian Leopard habitat, range, occurrence and threats to its survival, outlines concrete activities to protect the species, including ex situ and in situ conservation and to strengthen transboundary cooperation. Results, indicators, timeline and estimated budget that are part of the document should facilitate its implementation by national governments. Monitoring of the implementation of the Strategy will be done within the framework of CMS’ Central Asian Mammals Initiative. Furthermore, the Range States agreed to submit the Strategy to the 14th meeting of CMS’ Conference of the Parties, taking place in October 2023 in Uzbekistan to increase the visibility of Persian Leopard conservation and to enable adoption of the Strategy by all CMS Parties.