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News / 29 April 2022

In Memoriam: Khadija Catherine Razavi (CENESTA)

Both ENDS mourns the death of Khadija Catherine Razavi, founder of CENESTA – Centre for Sustainable Development and Environment in Iran.

There has been a long working relationship between CENESTA and Both ENDS, on critical involvement in the international negotiations on the implementation of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, on sustainable land use and inclusive land tenure governance.

We got to know Khadija as a very warm, courageous and determined, just and ethical person. Indigenous knowledge, biodiversity and local communities were the benchmarks against which she tested policies, actions and companies. She was super critical on agribusiness and their role in ecosystem destruction and land degradation and got very upset when Syngenta was allowed as observer to the UNCCD and financed the Soil Leadership Academy. We loved her personal dedication and involvement. With her small, graceful and kind appearance, she gave every room that she entered a beautiful sparkle.

She was a great inspiration for environmental justice, a very warm and passionate person. Together with her late husband and co-environmentalist Dr Taghi Tarvar (1942-2018), she will be missed very much in the environmental movement.

Our heart and thoughts are with Khadija's family, friends, colleagues.

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