HERA

Our work

From data to testimony, from testimony to accountability

HERA works on a link that is too often overlooked: the moment environmental degradation turns into human displacement — and the decisions behind it.

A group of people walk across dry ground near the receding shore of Lake Urmia.
Lake Urmia · Photo: Solmaz Daryani, CC BY-SA 4.0

Human

Environmental displacement is, above all, a human experience. We document the testimony of affected communities — with informed consent and with their safety first — and set it alongside the data.

  • Ethical documentation of testimony
  • Rights of displaced people and host communities
  • Internal and cross-border migration
Lake Urmia seen from the International Space Station: red and pink brine surrounded by white salt flats.
Lake Urmia from orbit · Photo: NASA Johnson Space Center, Public domain

Environment

We track drying lakes and wetlands, land subsidence, dust storms and soil erosion using satellite, statistical and field data.

  • Satellite and open-data analysis
  • Water, soil and air
  • Climate change and desertification
Two women in long veils walk under tamarisk trees in a village covered by wind-blown sand.
Hamoun, Iran–Afghanistan border · Photo: Solmaz Daryani, CC BY-SA 4.0

Resilience

Knowledge that never reaches communities does not help them. We create training, workshops and open resources so that evidence becomes a tool.

  • Educational workshops and seminars
  • Open, bilingual learning resources
  • Dialogue with communities and researchers
An abandoned greenhouse, its plastic torn to shreds, half-buried in sand.
Hamoun region · Photo: Solmaz Daryani, CC BY-SA 4.0

Accountability

Many environmental disasters are not natural; they are the result of decisions. We analyse the policies, projects and choices behind environmental harm, and put evidence-based questions to those responsible.

  • Policy and project analysis
  • Document-based reporting
  • Non-partisan public policy dialogue

First research focus

Water, land and displacement in Iran and the region

Lake Urmia, once one of the largest saltwater lakes in the world, has lost a large share of its water over recent decades. The Hamoun wetlands on the Iran–Afghanistan border have repeatedly dried out, sending storms of sand and salt into surrounding villages.

These are not only environmental crises: each one has reshaped the lives, livelihoods and decisions to stay or leave of thousands of people. HERA is dedicating its first research programme to this link, and will publish its findings openly in English and Persian.

Our research ethics

Informed consent

No testimony is published without clear consent that can be withdrawn.

Safety of contributors

We protect the identity of people at risk; anonymity is the default.

Open methods

We publish the data, methods and limitations alongside every study.

Peer review

Major reports are reviewed by independent experts before publication.

Coming next

Planned

HERA Atlas

An interactive map of the links between environmental harm and displacement, built on open data.

Planned

Voices archive

Documented testimony from affected communities, under a full ethical protocol.

Planned

Publications

Research reports and policy briefs with permanent identifiers (DOI).

A researcher or partner organisation?

If you work on related questions, we would love to talk.

Collaborate with HERA