Hana Raza: Camera Traps and Persian Leopards in Iraqi Kurdistan

In this radio episode, we speak to Hana Raza, a wildlife conservationist from Iraqi Kurdistan and founder of the newly-formed NGO Leopards Beyond Borders. While working with Nature Iraq, Raza and her team found evidence of the Persian leopard, which was presumed locally extinct in Iraqi Kurdistan. Leopards Beyond Borders aims to protect this important species and, more widely, to establish protected areas for wildlife in Iraqi Kurdistan. In this conversation, Hana discusses the importance of camera trap images for influencing policymakers and international conservation communities, and the risks of doing wildlife conservation work in places where war and border conflicts have long-term and ongoing impacts.

Interviewers: Michelle Westerlaken and Trishant Simlai

Producer: Harry Murdoch

Visit the Smart Forests Atlas for more discussion around the Persian leopard and Hana's work.

Image source: Nature Iraq, https://osme.org/2016/01/funding-conservation-projects-a-voice-for-biodiversity-in-iraq/