SLN Training Initiative – Community Conservation – Module 3

This course is Module 3 of the Snow Leopard Network’s training initiative.

Course Content 

Engaging and partnering with local communities is critical to the success of conservation efforts. The practical challenges of achieving effective engagement are considerable and conservation practitioners often learn from trial and error.

A set of principles and guidelines for community-based conservation, called the ‘PARTNERS principles’, have been developed based on the extensive experience of snow leopard conservation practitioners. They comprise a set of eight key principles for effectively taking forward community-based conservation programs. The principles have evolved into a workshop and an online toolkit to allow for practitioners to gather and discuss experiences and conservation issues. We hope that these principles will help us reflect on our work and think of how we can work towards developing stronger and more resilient relationships with community partners. If you are a conservation practitioner, or are preparing to work in conservation, the Partner Principles may help you explore, discuss and share different perspectives and approaches to community-based conservation. This module was developed in partnership with the Snow Leopard Trust. 

Meet the Trainers

This module has been co-created by a team of snow leopard conservation practitioners. The live training sessions will be led by a subset of this team. Additional special guests from across the snow leopard range will also be invited to share their expertise and experiences.

Ajay supports conservation efforts in the regions of Ladakh and Spiti valley in India. Over the last eight years, he has worked on setting up, running and monitoring community-conservation efforts in these regions. This effort aims at trying to create conditions conducive for conservation. More recently he has also been facilitating the process of building capacity for community-based conservation in snow leopard range countries.  

Juliette Young is a Professor at the University of Bourgogne Franche-Comte, where she studies the human dimensions of biodiversity conservation. Much of her work focuses on the role of different actors, especially decision-makers and local communities, in the sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity. She has been working with the Snow Leopard Trust since 2016 on training in community-based conservation. 

Justine is the Executive Director of the Snow Leopard Network. She provides support to the evaluation of the efficiency and effectiveness of community conservation initiatives to partners across the snow leopard range. Justine also acts as the Regional Ecologist for the Snow Leopard Trust and supports research and conservation work across in China, Mongolia, Pakistan, India and Pakistan.

Criteria for participation

• Snow Leopard Network Member
• Experience or willingness to work on snow leopard conservation efforts
• Confirmed availability to attend all the four online seminars of a given module
• Number of participants is limited to 25
• Priority will be given to participants from snow leopard range countries 

Planned Schedule

• 2.5 hour online Zoom Seminars take place every Wednesday of the month, September 2020 (4 Seminars; Sep 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th) 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 Wednesday 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, August 15th, 2020. Please note places are limited so please do
  not delay in applying.
• Applications are now closed