Month: June 2020

We invite you to watch our second Snow Leopard Network webinar of this series; updates from snow leopard range countries. Our guest Dr. Gantulga Bayandonoi, from WWF-Mongolia, shares with us recent updates on a country level distribution survey of snow leopards in Mongolia. Dr. Bayandonoi’s presentation of 20 minutes is followed by a vibrant discussion on the conservation of the species and the National survey covering the entire snow leopard range of the country. Purejav Lkhagvajav, Snow Leopard Conservation Foundation Mongolia, joins us as guest discussant. 

Thank you to all the participants who joined us live.

We have added two books to our bibliography.

1. Karnaukhov А. S., Korablev М. P., Kuksin А. N., Malykh S. V., Poyarkov А. D., Spitsyn S. V., Chistopolova М. D., Hernandez-Blanco J. A. Snow Leopard Population Monitoring Guidebook. – WWF. Krasnoyarsk. 2020 – 164 pp. (you can download it by the link: https://wwf.ru/en/resources/publications/booklets/materialy-k-rukovodstvu-po-monitoringu-sostoyaniya-populyatsii-snezhnogo-barsa/) – English version

URL:https://snowleopardnetwork.org/bibliography/Karnaukhov_et_al_2020.pdf

2. Карнаухов А. С. Материалы к руководству по мониторингу состояния популяции снежного барса / А. С. Карнаухов, М. П. Кораблев, А. Н. Куксин, С. В. Малых, А. Д. Поярков, С. В. Спицын, М. Д. Чистополова, Х. А. Эрнандес-Бланко. – Красноярск: Все мирный фонд дикой природы (WWF), 2020. – 168 с. (you can dowlload it by the link: https://wwf.ru/resources/publications/booklets/materialy-k-rukovodstvu-po-monitoringu-sostoyaniya-populyatsii-snezhnogo-barsa/) – Russian version

URL:https://snowleopardnetwork.org/bibliography/Karnaukhov_et_al_2020_ru.pdf

Ecosystem service dependence in livestock and crop-based production systems in Asia’s high mountains.

Our first ever paper discussion was held on 22 June, 2020 with Dr. Ranjini Murali. Ranjini discussed how local communities are integral partners in snow leopard conservation. This research points to ways that ecosystem service based approaches can be applied for snow leopard conservation. For example, we can work with local communities, identify and strengthen management practices that prevent overharvest of provisioning services. Or, we could develop market-based mechanisms that ensure investments back into snow leopard landscapes, since ecosystem services heavily subside the outputs like cashmere, from these landscapes.

We wish to thank Ranjini for taking the time to do this and also wish to thank our participants for joining this discussion.  We hope to have more such interactive sessions in the future.

Title: Ecosystem service dependence in livestock and crop-based production systems in Asia’s high mountains.

Authors: Murali,R., Ikhagvajav, P., Amankul, V., Jumabay, K., Sharma, K., Bhatnagar, Y. V., Suryawanshi, K., Mishra, C

Abstract:  Globally, in semi-arid and arid landscapes, there is an ongoing transition from livestock-production systems to crop-production systems, and in many parts of Asia’s arid mountains, mining for minerals is also increasing. These changes are accompanied by a change in the generation and quality of ecosystem services (ES), which can impact human well-being. In this study, to better understand the impacts of such transitions, we quantified ES in two crop-based and three livestock-based production systems in the arid and semi-arid landscapes of the High Himalaya and Central Asia, specifically in the Indian Himalaya, Kyrgyz Tien Shan, and Mongolian Altai. Our results showed 1) high economic dependence (3.6–38 times the respective annual household income) of local farmers on provisioning ES, with the economic value of ES being greater in livestock-production systems (7.4–38 times the annual household income) compared to crop-production systems (3.6–3.7 times the annual household income); 2) ES input into cashmere production, the main commodity from the livestock-production systems, was 13–18 times greater than the price of cashmere received by the farmer; and 3) in the livestock production systems affected by mining, impacts on ES and quality of life were reported to be negative by majority of the respondents. We conclude that livestock-based systems may be relatively more vulnerable to degrading impacts of mining and other ongoing developments due to their dependence on larger ES resource catchments that tend to have weaker land tenure and are prone to fragmentation. In contrast to the general assumption of low value of ES in arid and semi-arid landscapes due to relatively low primary productivity, our study underscores the remarkably high importance of ES in supporting local livelihoods.

URL:  https://snowleopardnetwork.org/bibliography/Murali_et_al_2020.pdf

SLN is inviting you to meet authors of new publications uploaded to the Snow Leopard Bibliography. These sessions are intended to allow members to discuss the subject matter of the paper with the author and other SLN members. Please join us for the first “Snow Leopard Conversation” Session with Dr. Ranjini Murali

Snow Leopard Conversations – Paper Discussion with Ranjini Murali on 22 June, 2020 at 12:30 pm IST

Please click on the link below to register: REGISTER 

 

 

Module 1

Course Content

Reliable assessments of snow leopard populations are key for their conservation. Camera trapping is state-of-the-art approach to monitor rare and elusive species, such as snow leopards. Our Module 1 aims to equip participants with the knowledge and tools to plan and carry out a rigorous camera trap survey for assessing snow leopard population abundance/density. We will be sharing the latest recommended methods adopted by the PAWS GSLEP Programme. The module will cover key concepts underlying spatial capture recapture methods.

Participants will be expected to have the Software R (https://www.r-project.org/) and RStudio downloaded and setup on computer, Digital maps of your study area to plan your hypothetical survey (Elevation Raster layer).

Meet the Trainers

Dr. Koustubh Sharma: Koustubh is the International Coordinator of the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Program and a Senior Regional Ecologist with the Snow Leopard Trust. He, along with Justine help coordinate Population Assessment of the World’s Snow Leopards (PAWS) as a GSLEP initiative. He holds a PhD in Wildlife Zoology from Mumbai University, and a Masters degree in Physics. He has undergone training on spatial capture recapture methods at the Centre for Research in Ecological and Environmental Research (CREEM), University of St. Andrews, and on advanced applications of ArcGIS by ESRI. He has been involved with colleagues and partners in developing training tool-kits and delivering training workshops for a suite of ecological methods relevant for snow leopard research and conservation.

Dr. Justine Shanti Alexander: Justine is the Executive Director of the Snow Leopard Network. She provides technical support to the world population assessment of snow leopards (PAWS) and other efforts related to camera trapping. Justine also acts as the Regional Ecologist for the Snow Leopard Trust and supports research and conservation work across the snow leopard range. She holds a PhD in snow leopard population assessments from Beijing Forestry University and a MSc in Conservation Science from Imperial College London. 

Criteria for participation

  • Snow Leopard Network Member
  • Experience of working on snow leopard conservation or concrete plans to be involved in such efforts
  • Confirmed availability to attend all the four online seminars of a given module
  • Number of participants is limited to 20-30
  • Priority will be given to participants from snow leopard range countries

Planned Schedule

  • 2 hour online Zoom Seminars take place every Monday of the month, July 2020 (4 Seminars; July 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th) at 14:00 Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan time
  • Additional group work, assignments or readings are likely to be organized by the trainers
  • Please note we expect all participants to attend the complete set of Monday Seminars as they are interconnected and build on each other
  • Details of each specific Seminar topic will be shared approximately 5 days beforehand; including any expected preparations by participants.

Deadline for Applications

  • Friday, June 24th, 2020. Please note places are limited so please do not delay in applying.
  • To apply please check the Criteria for participation and complete the following application; https://ee.kobotoolbox.org/x/rtJRf068

Kindly note these trainings are free to participants. Also that the trainers are sharing their time and knowledge with us as a gesture to the Network and to snow leopards!

We invite you to our second SLN webinar of this series. We are pleased to welcome our guest Dr. Gantulga Bayandonoi who will share with us recent updates on a country level distribution survey of snow leopards in Mongolia.

Please register through the link below and help us spread the word and share the news with your colleagues and those who would be interested in attending.

REGISTER HERE 

Snow Leopard Webinar

An online webinar series from snow leopard experts across the world. Our guest snow leopard experts will share with you the latest developments in both science and conservation policy and practice across the snow leopard range. A brief, inspiring talk will be followed by a discussion period where we can explore ideas in further depth drawing on our experts experience and knowledge.

Date/Time: 30 June 2020 Tuesday (Please log into the meeting 5 min early to set up) 18:00 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia time

Structure: 60 min webinar- 30 min Guest speaker presentation/30 min discussion. During the talk feel free to write questions in the chat section that we can take forward during the discussion section.

Guest Speaker: Dr. Gantulga Bayandonoi, WWF Mongolia; Guest Discussant: Purejav Lkhagvajav, Snow Leopard Conservation Foundation Mongolia

Title: A joint effort to map the snow leopard across Mongolia

Webinar talk: The Snow Leopard Network is inviting guests from across the snow leopard range as part of a webinar series to offer insights and share the latest developments in snow leopard conservation and science. We are excited to introduce our second guest, Dr. Gantulga Bayandonoi, who will focus his talk on a collaborative effort to map the snow leopard’s distribution across Mongolia. Mongolia is believed to be home to the second largest population of snow leopards in the world.  WWF-Mongolia and SLCF-Mongolia, along with partner organizations, came together to take forward the first national assessment of snow leopard distribution that accounts for imperfect detection. The results will be used to guide conservation activities across the country.

More about our guest: Dr. Gantulga Bayandonoi is a biologist working on safeguarding Mongolia’s threatened species and has worked with WWF Mongolia since 2017. He is WWF Mongolia’s coordinator for the nationwide snow leopard population assessment. Together with his team and partners, this effort has led to surveying over 19,000 kms in transects across snow leopard habitat; a distance that is equivalent to almost half the earth’s circumference!

Location: ZOOM, to join this talk, REGISTER HERE

Please note:

    • If you have never used Zoom before, we recommend that you try the link 10 minutes before the start of the lecture.
    • Also note that as of May 30, 2020, all Zoom clients on older versions will receive a forced upgrade when trying to join meetings and this may take time to download.
    • During the talk, please keep your microphone muted.
    • Please feel free to write questions in the comment area and there will be time for questions/discussion at the end of the talk.
    • The Zoom event is limited to 100 participants. Please register for the event and also sign in early to ensure your place.