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Gazelle revival in Iran leaves farmers all wet

Despite recurring drought there are three times as many Goitered and Jeeber gazelles as there were 20 years ago

By Gary Strieker
CNN Environmental Correspondent

MEHDI-ABAD, Iran (CNN) -- Water is the essence of life. And nowhere is that more true than the scorched plains of central Iran, where park rangers have rejuvenated parched populations of threatened gazelles. But the animal revival, as orchard farmers well know, has negative consequences as well.

In a serious drought that has plagued Iran for three years, Zarae Gholam Reza has a critical mission. He is a provincial game guard in a vast wildlife reserve in the center of the country.

Protecting wildlife here means more than watching out for poachers, it means providing water supplies to sustain animals through the droughts, he said.

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.

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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 Jebeer 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, Reza's boss receives an earful from farmers. They complain there are too many gazelles, raiding their crops.

'Something has to be done'

The farmers grow valuable pistachio trees, and when gazelles come in and chew on them, they don't produce any nuts.

Gazelles roam in central Iran

"We believe something has to be done to stop this damage to us," said Mohammad Hakami, who as a member of the village Islamic council represents more than 4,000 people. "They all complain the damage is too much to bear."

The director pleads for more time. He sad he has asked 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 remain willing to cooperate, but their patience is obviously wearing thin.

Authorities have succeeded in restoring some wildlife numbers to the highest levels in decades, but this new problem that threatens the economic interests of farmers now overshadows everything they have achieved.

Reza said cooperation from villagers has been essential to protection of wildlife in Mehdi-Abad. If that cooperation is lost, the devastation of wildlife sweeping most parts of this nation could still happen here.