Dr Mahmood Soofi

Dr Mahmood Soofi is a Research Fellow in Conservation Science and became a member of the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) in November 2024.

Prior to joining the University of Kent, Mahmood held several postdoctoral research and teaching positions at Georg-August University of Goettingen, Germany; the University of Aberdeen, UK; the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Darwin, Australia, and Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany. Mahmood was raised in a ranger family living adjacent to Iran’s premier biosphere reserve – Golestan National Park – and therefore he is fascinated by wildlife and concerned about biodiversity conservation since childhood. Mahmood has a wide range of practical and academic expertise in the fields of conservation, biodiversity, and ecology within protected areas systems. While much of his work has focused on Iran, he has also conducted research in Papua, Indonesia, and collaborates on research projects in Cameroon and Europe. Particularly, he has focused on the assessment of wildlife monitoring techniques, mitigating conflict in conservation and quantifying unlawful harvest rates within protected areas, with implications for the way conservation occurs on the ground. Effective management of protected areas relies on understanding and managing human behaviour. Mahmood therefore draws on insights from various disciplines including ecology, social, and psychology to improve coexistence between people and wildlife, transform conservation conflicts, evaluate the outcomes from conservation and enforcement strategies within protected areas systems. Broadly, Mahmood is interested in informing policy, advancing nature recovery efforts, and planning for effective, sustainable, and socially just conservation.

Mahmood Soofi welcomes the opportunity to supervise students interested in the research themes outlined above.

Current PhD students

Zahra Azizi. 2023-2026. Effectiveness of protected areas in conserving coleoptera biodiversity in the Hyrcanian Forest. Tarbiat Modares University, Iran [Co-supervisor].

Past PhD-students

Vianny Rodel Nguimdo Vouffo. 2023–2025. Evaluating biodiversity within socio-ecological systems to inform community-led management of the African rainforest. Georg-August University of Göttingen, Germany [Co-supervisor].

Zahra Ebrahimi-Monfared. 2021–2024. Assessing the effectiveness of protected area in relation to human-carnivore conflict in Golestan National Park. Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Iran [Co-supervisor].

Hossein Yazdandad. 2018–2024. Conservation genetics and biological status assessment of Persian Fallow Deer (Dama mesopotamica; Brooke, 1875). Tarbiat Modares University, Iran [Co-supervisor]. 

Associate Editor – Conservation Science and Practice

Associate Member of the Society for Conservation Biology

Member – IUCN SSC Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group (Suli)

Member – IUCN/CMS Persian Leopard Working Group (PeleWG)

Member – IUCN SSC Deer Specialist Group