Parastoo Eshrati

Assistant Professor, School of Architecture, College of Fine Arts, University of Tehran

Parastoo Eshrati is an Iranian architect (B.A., Shiraz University, 2001-2006), landscape architect (M.A., University of Tehran, 2006-2008), and landscape conservationist (Ph.D., University of Tehran, 2008-2013). She is an assistant professor at the University of Tehran, College of Fine Arts, School of Architecture.

Her MA thesis was on historic landscape and her Ph.D. dissertation was about developing a theatrical framework for the concept of cultural landscape with an emphasis on conservation of Historic Urban Landscapes of Isfahan City. In 2011, she spent five months at ICCROM in Rome as a visiting researcher and worked on her dissertation under the supervision of ICCROM academic members. She is IFLA-Middle East representative to the Working Group on Cultural Landscapes and IFLA-UIA Working Group; founding and board member of Landscape Scientific Society of Iran and head of the Cultural Landscape Group.

She is one of the first persons who raised the issue of “landscape conservation” at the academic level in Iran, and thus made effective steps in strengthening the relations of the two separate academic disciplines, landscape & conservation, in national level.”

Why women? Why climate change? Why Now?

Why women? The answer is simple and obvious: because they exist and form an undeniable part of society. Now why pay attention to this undeniable part? Because their existence and influence are openly and covertly denied by men and women. Resisting this denial requires more energy and time for a woman than a man to do a professional job.

Why climate change? It is important to address this issue because the climate is changing, and these changes not only do not guarantee the survival of humans on earth but are harmful to them. The principle and law of nature is always the preservation of the ecosystem, not the preservation of human beings.

We have forgotten this simple and obvious principle for years, and the situation has reached such a level that nature solves this problem with an intelligent response. It does not matter how this solution can make life difficult for -both men and women- human beings.

Why now? If we try to solve the problem now, it is too late. It is too late to believe in women as a significant part of society and to survive against nature. I emphasize again. We are not trying to save nature; We are trying to save ourselves. Because we do not believe in this simple and obvious principle, we call our efforts an attempt to save the earth. Although it is late on the one hand, on the other hand, as a Persian proverb says: it is never too late to mend.

What is the biggest challenge facing women leaders in male dominated field and how to overcome them?

As I said, there are two main challenges. One of these challenges is the non-acceptance of women by men, and the other is the non-acceptance of women by other women. A successful manager can’t always give a positive answer. A successful manager must protect the rights of his or her team members and him or herself. A successful manager must be able to express his or her opinion.

But in some society, the woman who is not a follower of a man and has her idea… a woman who resists against the unequally in work… a woman who freely expresses her scientific and professional opinion based on her knowledge and experience… a woman who is accurate, orderly, and hardworking, is not necessarily considered a capable woman. The soft skills that a successful male manager should have are not generalized to a successful female manager.

What are the pressing issues you are contributing as a landscape architect for tackle climate change?

My team members and I, who are not necessarily all women, are looking to bring the Landscape Approach to the macro level of policy in fields related to landscape. Because the main steps in this field depend on changing attitudes at the macro level.

Holding national and international conferences, briefings, and workshops for managers and employees of government agencies such as the Ministry of Energy and municipalities and conducting research projects in the field of water management is one of the most important things we try to do. We are trying to reconsider the vernacular approach used in the past in water management at the policy and macro levels.

This is necessary for a country located in the desert strip of the earth, and drought is one of the main effects of climate change on it. Floods are another drought caused by climate change that has had widespread destructive effects on Iranian cities and villages in the last decade. Laying the groundwork for changing urban planning and design approaches based on the effects of climate change and updating vernacular knowledge with current knowledge to reduce the negative effects of drought and flood is something I seek every day.

As the editor of specialized councils and a member of the policy council of the Iranian Encyclopedia of Engineering in Iran, under the supervision of the Great Islamic Encyclopedia (Center for Iranian and Islamic Studies), I provide the ground for codifying the vernacular knowledge of landscape engineering in Iran so that this encyclopedia can be used as a comprehensive, complete, and valid reference by landscape experts in planning and new designs based on historical knowledge.

Also, I try to promote the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) as an effective approach in the integrated conservation-development projects (ICDPs) at the national level by cooperating in developing the Iranian Scientific Association for Landscape and the Cultural Landscape department as one of the scientific departments of this association.

Planning to hold a Landscape Conservation Workshops Series on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape is one of my actions in this field.

This approach can be used as one of the responsive approaches in the management of the HUL in the way of sustainable development. The historic systems of formation and development of historic cities have been in constant interaction with the micro-ecosystem. The use of these can be effective in adapting to climate and reducing the effects of climate change.

I am currently conducting a research project for the Tehran Urban Research and Planning Center to apply new approaches to runoff management in local streets. With the implementation of this plan, the city of Tehran will be allowed to meet the water needs of its green space and be more resistant to floods. I hope that this project will become a model for other cities in Iran.

I hope that the collection of these projects and programs can help my country emerge proud in the transition from the era of climate change.