Editorial Team – Page 5 – Snow Leopard Network

SLN Workshop: Snow Leopard Individual Identification- Increasing precision in camera-trap abundance estimates?

Identifying snow leopards by their spot patterns is crucial for assessing their populations. However snow leopards can be misidentified. Current analytical frameworks, such as the spatial capture recapture or the now retired (conventional) capture recapture methods, assume full confidence in the individual ID data being used for analysis. Misidentifying individuals can thus bias snow leopard abundance estimates depending on the type of misidentification error. Teams across the snow leopard range and world are working to find approaches that address these limitations.

This workshop aims to highlight how errors in snow leopard identification is a concern and ways that such errors can be minimised. This will include the presentation of recommendations to improve individual identification from camera trap images. We will also cover on-going and future developments in statistical ecology that could address this uncertainty analytically.

SLN welcomes its Steering Committee member Orjan Johansson who will introduce a recent publication on the scope of potential mis identifications errors in camera trap data processing. He will also share the latest thinking on investigating this challenge further. Orjan will be joined by Abinand Reddy, David Borchers, Justine Shanti Alexander, Koustubh Sharma, Manvi Sharma and Paul van Dam-Bates as Panelists. Each panelist will share their experiences and insights on snow leopard camera trapping and the tools that are being developed to address concerns with individual identification. We hope that this workshop will help share good practices and recommendations for improving individual identification.

About the Workshop

Reliable assessments of snow leopard populations are key for their conservation. A recent paper (Johansson et al. 2020) points to frequent errors in identifying individuals and highlights how even small errors can inflate population abundance estimates.

Snow leopards can be misidentified as their spot patterns may not be easily recognized when their thick fur gets ruffled or when their body is photographed at different angles. Identification becomes even more difficult with blurry images associated with slow shutter speeds in low light or an animal’s rapid movements. A large number of photographs of different individuals can also lead to observer fatigue and subsequent errors in the identification process. Johansson et al. (2020) reported that observers tended to identify more individuals than were actually captured leading to inflated estimates. Current Capture Recapture models assume complete accuracy in the identification of individuals. These methods estimate the probability with which some individuals may never get captured during a camera trapping exercise and this allows reliable and replicable estimates of the population being surveyed. However misidentifying individuals can bias abundance estimates depending on the type of misidentification error. Improving the individual identification of snow leopards with artificial intelligence, and building uncertainties in the identification process into later statistical models, are both challenges that are at the cutting edge of research efforts. It is necessary to minimize the misidentification of animals through careful scrutiny, transparent reporting, and skills development and assessment.

The workshop aims to outline a few tools and recommendations. Orjan will start with presenting the key findings from the study and highlight possible sources of error and what to look out for. Our guest Panelists will then share recommendations for reducing errors and introduce analytical approaches that may help support teams. We will then open the discussion for ways to improve camera-trapping surveys.

About our Guests

Abinand Reddy is a PhD student at the Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling, St Andrews. He is interested in developing and applying quantitative methods to inform conservation. His PhD research currently revolves around extending SCR models for better estimates of snow leopard densities.

David Borchers is a distinguished academic at the University of St Andrews, with more than 30 years experience developing and applying statistical methods to address problems in ecology. His current main research interests focus on spatial capture-recapture and related methods.

Justine Shanti Alexander is the Executive Director of the Snow Leopard Network and the Regional Ecologist for the Snow Leopard Trust. She supports snow leopard research and conservation work across China, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan and India. She also provides technical and coordination support to the GSLEP PAWS effort across range countries.

Koustubh Sharma is the International Coordinator of the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP) and a Senior Regional Ecologist at the Snow Leopard Trust. With nearly 20 years of experience in ecological research, wildlife conservation and training, he helps build collaborations and coordinate alliances and at multiple levels for snow leopard research and conservation.

Manvi Sharma is a Research Associate with the Nature Conservation Foundation, India. Her research interests include behavioral ecology, population ecology, and evolutionary ecology. She is working on the project on population assessment of snow leopards and their prey in India.

Orjan Johansson is a senior conservation scientist at the Snow Leopard Trust. His research evolves mainly around snow leopard ecology and behaviour. Orjan devotes a lot of his time to a snow leopard study in Mongolia.

Paul van Dam-Bates is a PhD student in statistics at the University of St Andrews working with David Borchers and Michail Papathomas on latent ID spatial capture-recapture methods for camera traps and acoustic recorders. Prior to this, Paul did a masters in statistics at the University of Victoria, worked as a statistician for the Department of Conservation in New Zealand and was a statistical consultant for Ecofish Research Ltd.

Date/Time

Tuesday, May 11th, 2021; 14:00-15:15 Bishkek time (1h15min)

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.
Please feel free to write questions in the comment area and there will be time for questions/discussion at the end of the talk.
Please note that the session will be recorded and later featured on the SLN website. If you have concerns about this please let us know before the session.

Snow Leopard Conservation in Wakhan, Afghanistan

SLN is pleased to welcome Mr. Sorosh Poya Faryabi and Dr. Eve Bohnett for this special Country Update. The Wakhan Corridor is a narrow strip of isolated high mountain terrain in the far northeast of Afghanistan. The landscape is situated in the western part of the snow leopard range, linking with Pakistan, Tajikistan and China. WCS Afghanistan in close partnership with the government of Afghanistan, has collated critical information about snow leopards in Wakhan through camera trapping and collaring. It also continues implement with district authorities varied community-based conservation action in this extremely remote part of the country.

About the talk

This webinar provides an overview of recent snow leopard conservation efforts in the Wakhan National Park (WNP), a 10,950km² GSLEP designated ‘priority landscape’ in Afghanistan. The National Park is situated at the junction of the Pamir, Hindu Kush and Karakoram mountain ranges. WNP is co-managed by communities and the national government as an IUCN Category VI protected area. Since 2006 it has received contributions from numerous bilateral donors for conservation actions undertaken by the government, with the technical support of WCS. This region hosts the core of the snow leopard population in Afghanistan.

Mr. Sorosh Poya Faryabi, Conservation and Science Manager for WCS Afghanistan, provides an update on the status of snow leopards in the country. It starts off with the history of WCS engagement in snow leopard conservation in the country, followed by an overview of conservation efforts to protect snow leopards in WNP. Dr. Eve Bohnett then describes the population assessment approach and associated challenges the team has experienced in identifying snow leopard individuals with artificial intelligence in the Wakhan. Finally, the presenters look ahead and share ideas for the future development for snow leopard monitoring in the country.

This presentation is a tribute to the People of Wakhan who provide snow leopards a safe haven in their area.

Find out more about our speakers HERE.

Module 11: PARTNERS Monitoring and Evaluation

About the module

Monitoring and Evaluation is a critical part of community conservation programs. It is necessary to identify and address any implementation challenges. It can also ensure that conservation programs are improved as required in response to changing threats and opportunities at the local level.

This module will focus on introducing participants to participatory approaches in monitoring and evaluation of community conservation programs. It will cover core terms, principles and approaches to M&E that are important foundations of conservation program planning and implementation. How can M&E be incorporated into conservation programs in a way that supports community ownership and engagement?

We will draw on a set of principles and guidelines for community-based conservation, called the ‘PARTNERS principles’, which have been developed based on the extensive experience of snow leopard conservation practitioners. The team will showcase participatory techniques for M&E from snow leopard and wider landscapes across the world. These sessions will build on Module 3 and Module 7 offered in 2020. An optional session will include a “workshop” style approach where the team works through planning a monitoring or evaluation method for real world examples from the snow leopard range.

This module is offered thanks to the partnership with France’s National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment and the Snow Leopard Trust.

A livestock owner in Ladakh, India, who partnered with the Nature Conservation Foundation to build a predator-proof corral. Photo: Snow Leopard Trust

Dates/time of module

Wednesdays May 5th, 12th, 19th 2021
14:00-16:00 Bishkek time

Module Outline

Session 1: Introduction to Monitoring and Evaluation
Session 2: Community Conservation & Monitoring
Session 3: Participatory Approaches to Evaluation

Meet the Resource Team

Ajay Bijoor 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.

James Butler is currently running a program entitled ‘Knowledge brokering for Pacific climate futures’, which is designing participatory approaches to encourage the emergence of knowledge brokers, and then mechanisms to support them. Previously James has worked in resource conflict situations in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Zimbabwe and Scotland.

Juliette Young is a senior researcher at INRAE (France’s National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment) 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 Shanti Alexander 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 China, Mongolia, Pakistan, India and Pakistan.

Criteria for participation

Snow Leopard Network Member
Confirmed availability to attend all the four online seminars of a given module
Number of participants is limited to 25

Planned Schedule

2 hour online Zoom Seminars take place Wednesdays of the month, May 2021 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.
Please note that all sessions are recorded and then made available online through the SLN youtube channel. By participating in these online sessions you automatically agree to authorise recording of audio and visual content presented during the live event and consent to subsequent use of the recording in the public domain by SLN. If you have any concerns please contact us.

Deadline for Applications

April 25th, 2021. Please note places are limited so please do
not delay in applying.
Applications Closed

New Article to the Bibliography

Title: Large-scale and fine-grain population structure and genetic diversity of snow leopards (Panthera uncia Schreber, 1776) from the northern and western parts of the range with an emphasis on the Russian population.

Authors: Korablev, M. P., Poyarkov, A. D., Karnaukhov, A. S., Zvychaynaya, E. Y., Kuksin, A. N., Malykh, S. V., Istomov, S. V., Spitsyn, S. V., Aleksandrov, D. Y., Hernandez-Blanco, J. A., Munkhtsog, B., Munkhtogtokh, O., Putintsev, N. I., Vereshchagin, A. S., Becmurody, A., Afzunov, S., Rozhnov, V. V.

Abstract: The snow leopard (Panthera uncia Schreber, 1776) population in Russia and Mongolia is situated at the northern edge of the range, where instability of ecological conditions and of prey availability may serve as prerequisites for demographic instability and, consequently, for reducing the genetic diversity. Moreover, this northern area of the species distribution is connected with the western and central parts by only a few small fragments of potential habitats in the Tian-Shan spurs in China and Kazakhstan. Given this structure of the range, the restriction of gene flow between the northern and other regions of snow leopard distribution can be expected. Under these conditions, data on population genetics would be extremely important for assessment of genetic diversity, population structure and gene flow both at regional and large-scale level. To investigate large-scale and fine-grain population structure and levels of genetic diversity we analyzed 108 snow leopards identified from noninvasively collected scat samples from Russia and Mongolia (the northern part of the range) as well as from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan (the western part of the range) using panel of eight polymorphic microsatellites. We found low to moderate levels of genetic diversity in the studied populations. Among local habitats, the highest heterozygosity and allelic richness were recorded in Kyrgyzstan (He = 0.66 ± 0.03, Ho = 0.70 ± 0.04, Ar = 3.17) whereas the lowest diversity was found in a periphery subpopulation in Buryatia Republic of Russia (He = 0.41 ± 0.12, Ho = 0.29 ± 0.05, Ar = 2.33). In general, snow leopards from the western range exhibit greater genetic diversity (He = 0.68 ± 0.04, Ho = 0.66 ± 0.03, Ar = 4.95) compared to those from the northern range (He = 0.60 ± 0.06, Ho = 0.49 ± 0.02, Ar = 4.45). In addition, we have identified signs of fragmentation in the northern habitat, which have led to significant genetic divergence between subpopulations in Russia. Multiple analyses of genetic structure support considerable genetic differentiation between the northern and western range parts, which may testify to subspecies subdivision of snow leopards from these regions. The observed patterns of genetic structure are evidence for delineation of several management units within the studied populations, requiring individual approaches for conservation initiatives, particularly related to translocation events. The causes for the revealed patterns of genetic structure and levels of genetic diversity are discussed.

URL: https://snowleopardnetwork.org/bibliography/Korablev_et_al_2021.pdf

Session 1: Overview of the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) and how it works

Module 9: Session 1

Overview of the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) and how it works.

This session will provide an overview of SMART use and navigation, design of the data model and data base, basic analysis with queries and summaries, an overview of reporting.

We thank Rab Nawaz, Purevjav Lkhagvajav, and Erdenetsolmon Ganbaatar for their case study presentations.

Session 1.1: Overview of SMART conservation tools

Session 1.2: Database setup, design data model, run basic analysis and reporting.

Session 1.3: Community Patrolling, Tost Reserve, Gobi Region, Mongolia.

Session 1.4: Local PA management in Arkhangai Province, Mongolia

Session 1.5: Patrolling and law enforcement, Pakistan – Rab Nawaz (WWF Pakistan)

Session 1.6: SMART Discussion

Country Update: Snow Leopard Conservation in Wakhan, Afghanistan

SLN is pleased to welcome the WCS Afghanistan team for this special Country Update. The Wakhan Corridor is a narrow strip of isolated high mountain terrain in the far northeast of Afghanistan. The landscape is situated in the western part of the snow leopard range, linking with Pakistan, Tajikistan and China. WCS in close partnership with the government of Afghanistan, has collated critical information about snow leopards in Wakhan through camera trapping and collaring. It also continues implement with district authorities varied community-based conservation action in this extremely remote part of the country.

Do welcome Mr. Sorosh Poya Faryabi and Dr. Eve Bohnett and join us to listen to this very interesting presentation and discussion.

Camera trap photo of a female snow leopard with her two grown-up cubs in Ween Sar, Shikargah Valley, Wakhan National Park, Badakhshan Province, June 2020, ©WCS, UNDP-GEF and EU project

About the talk

Mr. Sorosh Poya Faryabi, Conservation and Science Manager for WCS Afghanistan, will provide an update on the status of snow leopards in the country. This will start off with the history of WCS engagement in snow leopard conservation in the country, followed by an overview of conservation efforts to protect snow leopards in WNP. Dr. Eve Bohnett will describe the population assessment approach and associated challenges the team has experienced in identifying snow leopard individuals with artificial intelligence in the Wakhan. Finally, the presenters will look ahead and share ideas for the future development for snow leopard monitoring in the country.

This presentation is a tribute to the People of Wakhan who provide snow leopards a safe haven in their area.

Predator Proofing household corrals windows and doors Ftur and Kushnikhan villages of Wakhan National Park, Wakhan National Park, Badakhshan Province, September 2020, ©Amruddin Sanjer, UNDP-GEF and EU project

Snow leopard ranger team practicing data collection on the SMART mobile CyberTracker app, Wakhan, Badakhshan province, 26th November 2020, © Ali Madad Rajabi, UNDP-GEF Project.

About our Guests

Mr. Sorosh Poya-Faryabi joined WCS Afghanistan as Training Education and Outreach Adviser (2013- 2015) and was then promoted to the position of Conservation and Science Manager (2017). In this role, Sorosh oversees the overall implementation of conservation science actions for WCS in Afghanistan and particularly in the Wakhan National Park, which hosts the core population of snow leopards in the country. Before joining WCS, Sorosh worked as a programme officer at the Asia Foundation and was a member of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. Sorosh received a M.Eng from the University of York in 2008 and a MPhil in conservation from the University of Cambridge in 2016.

Dr. Eve Bohnett is currently a contractor with WCS Afghanistan and a postdoctoral research fellow at San Diego State University, USA. Her interests include statistical ecology, teaching data science skills, conservation planning, and environmental governance. Eve received her Ph.D. from the University of Florida (2016-2020). Her dissertation research focused on spatio-temporal modelling for assessing landscape biodiversity and species distributions for birds and mammals using occupancy modelling and machine learning. Eve also received a M.Sc. from Wildlife Institute at Beijing Forestry University (2012-2015) while participating in research for wild felid and large mammal survey methods, mostly camera trapping study design and analysis. Her favourite hobbies are singing/song writing, studying Chinese, and traveling to pilgrimage places.

Participatory management planning: Wakhan district governor discussing the Wakhan National Parks management plan with Kyrgyz community in Siki village of Little Pamir, , Wakhan National Park, Badakhshan Province, August 2020, © Abdul Akbari, UNDP-GEF and EU Project.

Date/Time:Tuesday, 30th March, 2021; 17:00 Afghanistan Time (AFT)

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.
Please feel free to write questions in the comment area and there will be time for questions/discussion at the end of the talk.
Please note that the session will be recorded and later featured on the SLN website. If you have concerns about this please let us know before the session.

Counting a flock of sheep and goats in Big Pamir, Wakhan National Park, Badakhshan Province, September 2020, © Ali Madad Rajabi, UNDP-GEF and EU Project.

Session 2: Getting started with the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART)

Module 9: Session 2

Getting started with the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART)

This Session provides a guide to how to prepare for SMART at a new site, determine the suitability of the site, division of tasks, designing the data model, training, monitoring and evaluation procedures.

Session 2.1: Effective Introduction of SMART protection management

Session 2.2: SMART Discussion

Session 3: Using SMART tools to collect field data

Module 9: Session 3

Using SMART tools to collect field data

This Session will introduce SMART Mobile and Collect- the exciting new additions to the SMART conservation toolkit– and how they can be used to protect wildlife and improve protected area management in the range of the snow leopard.

Session 3.1: Field data recording with SMART conservation tools

Session 3.2: Demonstration of how to install SMART mobile on a handheld device

Session 3.3: Case study – Field patrolling with multiagency anti-poaching unit (MAPU)

Module 10: Conservation Communication

The Snow Leopard Network (SLN) and Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP) are pleased to launch a Snow Leopard Conservation Communication Module. This module seeks to bring together resource persons from around the snow leopard range and wider world, to discuss approaches for communications regarding the conservation of snow leopards. The focus in this instance will be on effective communications with decision makers, journalists, donors and the general public.

About the module

Communications may mean different things to different people. In the introductory session, we will to start by encouraging you to ask yourself some of the fundamental questions about communication: What are you trying to achieve, who are you trying to reach and why, and what you would like your audience to do as a result of your attempt at communicating.

We will then share knowledge and stimulate conversations about various communications strategies and techniques; i.e.,discuss how to identify and reach your target audiences and how to maximise the communications channels that are available to you; raise questions about ethics and talk about messaging and storytelling.

Some of the questions we hope to discuss during the module include: how can we use communications to inspire action? How do we use images effectively and ethically? How do we ensure that the language we use is inclusive and empowering? How do we shift narratives about conservation from problems to solutions, (and why is this shift important)? How do we report back to donors and funding partners in a way that inspires them to continue their support? We are also keen to make this module as useful as possible – so please share your priorities when you sign up for the module and we will try to accommodate them to the best of our abilities.

This Module is aimed at practitioners working in the field of communicating conservation. We hope that the sessions will be interactive and draw upon participants’ experiences and ideas. It will also help shape future thinking and practice around communication for conservation. The Snow Leopard Network is partnering with GSLEP to offer this module and hopes to use the outcomes as a foundation for future initiatives.

Outline Schedule

Session 1: Introduction to Communications – what, why, how, to whom?

Session 2: The Photographic Image, Ethics & Storytelling

Session 3: Communications & Advocacy

Session 4: Communicating solutions & towards a toolkit

Meet the Resource Team

Behzad Larry is the CEO of Voygr Expeditions and a founding member of the High Asia Habitat Fund. An avid explorer, Behzad specializes in documenting the remote reaches of the world. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) and a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society.

Dr. Bermet Tursunkulova is the Director of Development and Associate Professor in Political Science at the American University in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic. She is also a part-time PR and Fundraising Consultant for SLT/SLKF. She holds a PhD in Political Science, she is a former Advisor to the Prime-Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Julia Migne is the Director of Conservation Optimism, a global community dedicated to sharing stories and resources to empower people from all backgrounds to make a positive impact for wildlife and nature. She specialises in science communication and outreach and loves sharing conservation success stories. Julia is also the co-founder of the international media platform INKLINE.

Dr. Koustubh Sharma is the International Coordinator of the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Program and a Senior Regional Ecologist with the Snow Leopard Trust. He holds a PhD in Wildlife Zoology from Mumbai University, and a Masters degree in Physics. He is particularly passionate about communicating science and conservation with the public.

Matthias Fiechter is a Media & Communications Officer at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), where he works primarily with news and science journalists to get nature conservation stories covered in the press. Before, Matt worked for 7 years as the Communications Manager at Snow Leopard Trust, where he produced communications content for audiences including donors, supporters and partners.

Prasenjeet Yadav is a molecular ecologist turned National Geographic Photographer focusing on wildlife and science stories. Early in his scientific career, he realized that his real passion lay in storytelling. He now combines his experience in research with his photography skills to popularize ecological and conservation sciences in the wider society. He is currently working on a story for National Geographic Magazine in Indian Himalayas.

This module will be supported by SLN and GSLEP’s Justine Shanti Alexander, Ranjini Murali and Rakhee Karumbaya.

Criteria for participation

Snow Leopard Network Members
Non Snow Leopard Network Members are also encouraged to apply
Confirmed availability to attend all the four online seminars of a given module
Number of participants is limited to 20-30

Planned Schedule

2 hour online Zoom Seminars take place every Wednesday of the month, April 2021 (4 Seminars; March 31st, April 7th, 14th, 21st 2021) at 14:00- 16:00 Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan time
Please note we encourage participants to attend the complete set of Seminars as they are interconnected and build on each other
Please note that all sessions will be recorded and later featured on the SLN website. If you have concerns about this please let us know.

Applications

Applications close Wednesday, March 24th, 2021.
Please note places are limited so please do not delay in applying.
Applications Closed

Snow leopards in Nepal: Satellite Telemetry Update

This webinar shares the latest preliminary findings on collared snow leopards in Nepal. SLN aims to continue to highlight the multiple approaches teams across the range are using to study and conserve snow leopard populations. Nepal was the first country to conduct telemetry work on snow leopards back in early 1980s. This Country Update captures how telemetry continues to be used in the country, now using GPS technology. Our speakers also highlight how telemetry results are being linked to community knowledge and conservation action on the ground.

SLN welcomes Samundra Subba and Sheren Shrestha from WWF Nepal in this further update from teams working in Nepal. Orjan Johansson – SLN Steering Committee member and also a specialist on snow leopard collaring- will be joining us as facilitator. Do join us for this interesting Webinar and the discussion that follows- your views will enrich the session!

About the talks

Ensuring the long term viability of snow leopards (Panthera uncia) across large human dominated landscapes requires an understanding of its spatial ecology and movement behavior. In the first section of the talk, Samundra Subba will present preliminary findings of the first ever GPS telemetry study by the Nepal government in the western and eastern snow leopard landscapes, and supported by WWF. The speakers will give insights into what was found regarding the snow leopard’s spatial range and movement patterns, including transboundary travel to India and China.

In a second section, Sheren Shrestha will describe how the collaring research is blended with community knowlege to strengthen conservation efforts. While modern science and technology has helped us understand the elusive snow leopards better, many conservation solutions find basis in traditional and community knowledge. Sheren will furthermore outline how their project supports the Nepal government to find solutions that benefit both snow leopards and communities in the Himalayas, with focus on Shey Phoksundo National Park in western Nepal.

About our speakers

Samundra Subba is currently working as a Research Officer at WWF Nepal. He has a Master’s degree in Conservation Biology from Lund University, Sweden, and has been working in Nepalese landscape researching and conserving large carnivores – snow leopard and tiger, over the past eight years. During his tenure with WWF, Samundra has supported numerous research interventions on these carnivores, including satellite telemetry of snow leopards in east and west Nepal.

Sheren Shrestha is Senior Program Officer with the Wildlife Programs of WWF Nepal. He has managed the snow leopard conservation program for WWF Nepal since 2016. He has a post-graduate degree in Environmental Sciences, and has previously worked with two premier wildlife organizations in India. His special interest includes human-wildlife conflict management focusing on strengthening community awareness and mobilization. He enjoys writing, traveling, photography, singing-songwriting and making video documentaries on conservation and social issues.

Date/Time: March 17th 2021; 6:30 PM Kathmandu, Nepal

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 Webinar.
Please feel free to write questions in the comment area and there will be time for questions/discussion at the end of the talk.
Please note that the session will be recorded and later featured on the SLN website. If you have concerns about this please let us know.