The third Yahya Prize ceremony took place at Raad Charity Hall, Tehran, on the evening of December 4th 2016. Established by the Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) in 2014 through a generous donation by an Iranian artist couple, Mojtaba Ramzi and Paridokht Moshkzad, the Yahya Prize recognises individual Iranian rangers who have done outstanding efforts to protect Iran’s wildlife and natural environment. This year the Award honoured three rangers: 1) Modaser Teymouri from Sadeh Protected Area, Razavi Khorasan Province; 2) Mousa Gholamzadeh Sarab from Dorbadam Protected Area, Razavi Khorasan Province; and 3) Ali Kalaneh from Payband National Park, Mazandaran Province. The winners received their prizes from the Award committee, which has selected the honoured rangers through an intensive five-month effort. Additionally, the Award acknowledged families of three Iranian rangers killed during the fight with poachers in 2016.
The 2016 Yahya Prize ceremony was held in collaboration with Iran Zamin Bank, University of Environment, Raad Charity, Saman Golriz, Iran Environment and Wildlife Watch (IEW), Zistboom Environment News Agency, and Wildlife Pictures Institute. Delegates from Iran Department of Environment, Conservation of the Asiatic Cheetah Project (CACP), and several Iranian NGOs and nature lovers attended the event.
