Author: Justine Shanti Alexander

Announcing ‘Snow Leopard NEWS’!

The Snow Leopard Network (SLN) is a worldwide network dedicated to facilitating the exchange of information and insights around snow leopards. It strives to “link up to scale up” efforts and thereby enhance the impact of snow leopard conservation investments. 

Very much in this ethos, SLN is excited to announce an annual ‘open-access’ newsletter entitled ‘Snow Leopard NEWS’. Through a series of short notes and research contributions, the aim of the newsletter is to collate and make available the latest information on snow leopard ecology and conservation. Its ambit includes not only the snow leopard, but also its prey and carnivores that share the landscape with this majestic cat. Snow Leopard NEWS is also committed to featuring innovative conservation practices and policies which address threats impacting snow leopard habitats. Snow Leopard NEWS is especially committed to showcasing work that is undertaken by conservation practitioners at different levels across the snow leopard landscapes.

Three types of contributions are welcome: Field Notes, Short Notes and Notes from the Conservation Frontline. You can find more about each of these categories and the submission process here. Contributions will be finalized by an editorial team using a peer-review process. Snow Leopard NEWS will be published once a year, but ‘early view articles’ will be published online at an earlier date.

The call for Snow Leopard NEWS is now open: for the period June 1st 2021 – December 1st 2021. The first issue is expected to be out in the first half of 2022.

We are thrilled with this endeavor and we sincerely hope this will allow for greater collaboration, communication and sharing of knowledge feeding into stronger and more effective conservation efforts in the field. Do feel that Snow Leopard NEWS is where you can share latest ideas and developments from your and colleagues work. We are excited to see your contributions!

Visit our website for more information: www.snowleopardnetwork.org/snow-leopard-news/

Over 100 Years of Snow Leopard Research

 

The presenters – Rishi Sharma and Rashmi Singh – have undertaken a review of all published research on snow leopards between 1904 and 2020. The goal was to examine the current state of knowledge across the snow leopard range while identifying spatial and temporal gaps. The findings are striking – bringing together the latest published information. Importantly the presenters will highlight the key gaps in our knowledge which may hamper effective conservation planning and action on the ground. The presenters set out seven key priorities for snow leopard research and conservation. Following the presentation we will open the floor for questions and discussion on snow leopard research priorities for the coming decade(s). 

More about our speakers HERE.

SLN Webinar: Over 100 Years of Snow Leopard Research

Research on or about the snow leopard dates back at least 100 years. It began to intensify in the 1970s and has continued to grow rapidly in the last 10 years. The Snow Leopard Network is pleased to invite to our forthcoming webinar – WWF’s snow leopard specialist Rishi Sharma and fellow author Rashmi Singh. Together they carried out a detailed review of snow leopard published research drawing on Google Scholar and the Snow Leopard Network’s bibliography archive. The presenters will highlight the main directions of thinking which shaped what research and conservation was undertaken over the different periods. They end with a number of questions that researchers and conservationist still face today as we look ahead into the future. 

Do join us for this very interesting applied look back at snow leopard research history and an opportunity to contribute to a lively discussion on the way ahead.

About the Webinar

The presenters – Rishi Sharma and Rashmi Singh – have undertaken a review of all published research on snow leopards between 1904 and 2020. The goal was to examine the current state of knowledge across the snow leopard range while identifying spatial and temporal gaps. The findings are striking – bringing together the latest published information. Importantly the presenters will highlight the key gaps in our knowledge which may hamper effective conservation planning and action on the ground. The presenters set out seven key priorities for snow leopard research and conservation. Following the presentation we will open the floor for questions and discussion on snow leopard research priorities for the coming decade(s). 

About our Guests

Dr. Rishi Kumar Sharma. Born and brought up in a tiny village in the Himalayan foothills, Rishi is fascinated by all things concerning mountains. Rishi has a Master’s degree in Wildlife Science from the Wildlife Institute of India and a PhD in Ecology with a dissertation on snow leopards titled “A multi-scale study of habitat use and abundance of the endangered Snow Leopard “Panthera uncia“. Rishi has 15 years of experience in large carnivore research and conservation primarily tigers and snow leopards. He is currently the Science & Policy Lead for WWF’s Snow Leopard Conservation Program. He is passionate about finding solutions to conservation problems in High Asia by blending ecology, social sciences and the traditional community wisdom. His primary interests include carnivore ecology, animal behaviour, conservation biology and human dimensions of conservation.

Rashmi Singh is a PhD Scholar at the School of Human Ecology, Ambedkar University and Associate Editor for Pastoralism– research, policy and practice Journal. Her PhD work explores the politics of rangeland conservation in the Himalaya using an interdisciplinary approach. Her primary interest areas include research in the disciplines of pastoral studies, rangeland conservation and animal geography. Her ongoing research has highlighted the importance of including pastoralists in the policy formulation, conservation, and management of rangelands. She got interested in the fascinating world of snow leopards due to spirited discussion on “human snow leopard relationships” with Rishi, her partner. She is particularly interested in understanding the social dimension of Snow leopard conservation. She is intrigued by pastoral indigenous knowledge system and believes that long term regional studies are crucial for reconciling pastoral livelihood and rangeland conservation goals.

 

Ravneesh Singh/WWF-India

Date/Time

Tuesday, June 8th, 2021; 17:00- 18:00 India time

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. 

Session 1: Introduction to Monitoring and Evaluation

Welcome to Module 11! In this Session we focus on introducing principles of monitoring and evaluation and how it can support community conservation programs. We cover core terms, principles and approaches to M&E that are important foundations of conservation program planning and implementation. 

Session 1.1: Introduction

Session 1.2: Partners Principles for community conservation

Session 1.3: M&E Change is complex

Session 1.4: M&E understanding your context and contribution to change

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

SLN welcomes its Steering Committee member Orjan Johansson who introduces a recent publication on the scope of potential mis-identifications errors in camera trap data processing. He also shares the latest thinking on investigating this challenge further.

Orjan is joined by Abinand Reddy, David Borchers, Justine Shanti Alexander, Koustubh Sharma, Manvi Sharma and Paul van Dam-Bates as Panelists. Each panelist 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.  

This Webinar is offered thanks to GSLEP‘s support. Find out more about the Workshop and the Speakers HERE.

Session 2: Monitoring & Community Conservation

This Session explores participatory approaches to Monitoring! We use a case study from Spiti, India to illustrate how programs evolve and can monitor key outputs and outcomes.
Checkout what key principles stuck with participants.

Session 2.1: Introduction to Participatory Monitoring

Session 2.2: Shen Case Study

Session 2.3: Introduction to monitoring

Session 2.4: Shen as an example of Participatory Monitoring

Session 3: Participatory Approaches to Evaluation

James shares two case studies related to evaluating conflict and climate change adaptation strategies. Through these case studies we explore relevant indicators/approaches to assess progress towards the harder to measure longer outcomes (such as resilience, adaptation, etc.) through stakeholder participatory approaches.  

As preparation for the session please feel free to check out this video related to Climate Adaptation Strategies for Rural Livelihoods in Indonesia. James will be sharing insights on how the team evaluated progress in their programs. Please also read the following three publications that share more details on these case studies and the approaches. 

Session 3.1: Background to conservation conflict MEL

Session 3.2: Discussion on indicators

Session 3.3: Feedback and final discussion

 

Module 12: Fundamental Statistical Tools

About the course

A good working knowledge of statistics can help you achieve better study designs, choose the correct analytical framework, and present your results in a meaningful way. In conservation, statistics is crucial for making decisions and predictions based on data. Module 12 aims to provide an understanding of fundamental statistical tools, and how to implement them in the widely used R software. All sessions include practical exercises that will help you become familiar with the R language.

    • Session 1

All statistical endeavours start with data. In this session, you will learn how to import your data into the R environment. This will be the perfect opportunity for you to become familiar with the R language, as well as with its basic commands. You will learn about data types most commonly used by ecologists, and the basics of descriptive statistics.

    • Session 2

In this session, we explore in more details the fundamentals of statistical theory. Using built-in datasets in R, you will learn how to identify methods that are most appropriate depending on the data you are working with, as well as essential principles of hypothesis testing.

    • Session 3

Using what we learned in the previous two sessions, we will work through all essential steps involved in data analysis, with a focus on linear regression. This includes the formulation of a hypothesis, data preparation and visualisation, statistical testing, and finally, results interpretation. We will complete two full practical exercises in R using built-in datasets. At the end of this session, you will be split into different groups in order to carry out one final analysis, which will be presented the week after.

    • Session 4

This session will start with presentation of results from the last analysis (see Session 3). The rest of the session will be dedicated to identifying and avoiding common mistakes in data analysis. This will allow us to also discuss issues related to results interpretation, which is essential in the field of conservation science when results may directly inform conservation planning.

Skills you will gain

    • How to organise your data
    • Hypothesis testing
    • Linear regression
    • Interpretation of results
    • How to avoid common mistakes

Meet the Resource Team

Anne Heloise Theo is a marine ecologist working on community ecology and behaviour of reef fish. She is currently a PhD student in the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science.

Guillaume Demare is a PhD candidate at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, Germany. His research currently focuses on the community ecology of West African amphibians.

Date/Time

  • Thursdays June 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th 2021
  • 14:00-16:30 Bishkek time (2.5 hour)

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

  • 2.5 hour online Zoom Seminars take place Thursday of the month, June 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 Thursday 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

  • May 26th, 2021. Please note places are limited so please do
    not delay in applying.
  • Applications Closed