Professor Seyed-Emami is the recipient of 2019 “Nowruz Award for Personality of the Year in the Field of Environment and Natural Heritage.”
Dr. Kavous Seyed-Emami was a sociologist, environmentalist, university professor, co-founder
and director of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation. We honor Professor Kavous Seyed-Emami posthumously for his life of dedication and hard work on behalf of Iran’s natural heritage and his tireless efforts devoted to conservation and preservation in Iran. Professor Seyed-Emami is the recipient of 2019 “Nowruz Award for Personality of the Year in the Field of Environment and Natural Heritage” for:
– His comprehensive planned projects for the preservation of Iran’s natural and environmental heritage
– For his extensive work on implementation of projects for rare animal habitat projects in Iran and Asia focusing on protecting and saving them from extinction
– For his efforts to bring together international researchers and experts in the field of
environmental subjects and assist them in order to help Iran’s environment
– For organizing programs in order to inform and educate people about the environmental
issues in Iran and assisting artists to engage people about the environment.
– For his decades of tireless struggles, devoted determination and a dedicated life to
preservation of Iran’s natural heritage.
Bio
Kavous Seyed-Emami (1953–2018) was an Iranian-Canadian university professor and a prominent environmentalist. Professor Seyed-Emami was a Western-educated Iranian and returned to Iran after the Iranian Revolution and fought in the war against Iraq. He later started his academic career as the professor of Sociology at Imam Sadiq University in Tehran and a visiting scholar at the University of Lethbridge in 2017. He was one of the founders of the
Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation (PWHF), a private non-profit organization dedicated to the
conservation and preservation of wildlife in Iran, which he led before his death.
Professor Seyed-Emami was arrested by the Iranian government and in February 2018, Iran’s judiciary claimed that he committed suicide while in detention in Evin Prison, Tehran, because of the evidence against him in a spying case. This claim, including the alleged suicide, has been vehemently rejected by his family.
Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chrystia Freeland offered her condolences and stated that Canada expects” the Government of Iran to provide information and answers into the circumstances surrounding this tragedy.” She welcomed the return of Seyed-Emami’s sons back to Canada in March 2018 and asked the Government of Iran to lift the travel ban on Seyed-Emami’s spouse, Maryam Mombeini.
We honor Professor Kavous Seyed-Emami posthumously for dedicating his life to conservation and preservation of Iranian Natural heritage.
