The environment was once a safe space for activism in Iran. No longer.
In early 2018, nine environmental experts and activists from the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation (PWHF) were arrested in Iran after being accused of collecting “sensitive” environmental information and using camera traps to monitor Iran’s ballistic missile program.
In this article, Kaveh Madani notes, “Environmental problems recognize no borders and have the power to unite people regardless of their beliefs, cultures, ethnicities, and socio-economic status. Precisely this power, however, makes the environmental sector vulnerable to the attention of authoritarian elements. For years it was a safe space for activism in Iran, but the combination of general environmental awareness and increasing public anger at the government for a range of grave environmental problems has convinced some that this space is now a threat to national security.