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Schutgens, M. G., Hanson, J. H., Baral, N., Ale, S. B. (2018). Visitors’ willingness to pay for snow leopard Panthera uncia conservation in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal. Oryx, , 1–10.
Abstract: The Vulnerable snow leopard Panthera uncia experiences
persecution across its habitat in Central Asia, particularly
from herders because of livestock losses. Given the
popularity of snow leopards worldwide, transferring some
of the value attributed by the international community to
these predators may secure funds and support for their conservation.
We administered contingent valuation surveys to
 international visitors to the Annapurna Conservation
Area, Nepal, between May and June , to determine
their willingness to pay a fee to support the implementation
of a Snow Leopard Conservation Action Plan. Of the %of
visitors who stated they would pay a snow leopard conservation
fee in addition to the existing entry fee, the mean
amount that they were willing to pay was USD  per trip.
The logit regression model showed that the bid amount, the
level of support for implementing the Action Plan, and the
number of days spent in the Conservation Area were significant
predictors of visitors’ willingness to pay. The main reasons
stated by visitors for their willingness to pay were a
desire to protect the environment and an affordable fee. A
major reason for visitors’ unwillingness to pay was that
the proposed conservation fee was too expensive for them.
This study represents the first application of economic valuation
to snow leopards, and is relevant to the conservation of
threatened species in the Annapurna Conservation Area
and elsewhere.
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Farrington, J. (2005). A Report on Protected Areas, Biodiversity, and Conservation in the Kyrgyzstan Tian Shan with Brief Notes on the Kyrgyzstan Pamir-Alai and the Tian Shan Mountains of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and China. Ph.D. thesis, , Kyrgyzstan.
Abstract: Kyrgyzstan is a land of towering mountains, glaciers, rushing streams, wildflowercovered meadows, forests, snow leopards, soaring eagles, and yurt-dwelling nomads. The entire nation lies astride the Tian Shan1, Chinese for “Heavenly Mountains”, one of the world's highest mountain ranges, which is 7439 m (24,400 ft) in elevation at its highest point. The nation is the second smallest of the former Soviet Central Asian republics. In
spite of Kyrgyzstan's diverse wildlife and stunning natural beauty, the nation remains little known, and, as yet, still on the frontier of international conservation efforts. The following report is the product of 12 months of research into the state of conservation and land-use in Kyrgyzstan. This effort was funded by the Fulbright Commission of the U.S. State Department, and represents the most recent findings of the author's personal environmental journey through Inner Asia, which began in 1999. When I first started my preliminary research for this project, I was extremely surprised to learn that, even though the Tian Shan Range has tremendous ecological significance for conservation efforts in middle Asia, there wasn't a single major international conservation organization with an office in the former Soviet Central Asian republics. Even more surprising was how little awareness there is of conservation issues in the Tian Shan region amongst conservation workers in neighboring areas who are attempting to preserve similar species assemblages and ecosystems to those found in the Tian Shan. Given this lack of awareness, and the great potential for the international community to make a positive contribution towards improving the current state of biodiversity conservation in Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia, I have summarized my findings on protected areas and conservation in Kyrgyzstan and the Tian Shan of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Xinjiang in the chapters below. The report begins with some brief background information on geography and society in the Kyrgyz Republic, followed by an overview of biodiversity and the state of conservation in the nation, which at the present time closely parallels the state of conservation in the other former Soviet Central Asian republics. Part IV of the report provides a catalog of all major protected areas in Kyrgyzstan and the other Tian Shan nations, followed by a list of sites in Kyrgyzstan that are as yet unprotected but merit protection. In the appendices the reader will find fairly comprehensive species lists of flora and fauna found in the Kyrgyz Republic, including lists of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians, trees and shrubs, wildflowers, and endemic plants. In addition, a
draft paper on the history and current practice of pastoral nomadism in Kyrgyzstan has been included in Appendix A. While the research emphasis for this study was on eastern Kyrgyzstan, over the course of the study the author did have the opportunity to make brief journeys to southern Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Xinjiang. While falling short of being a definitive survey of protected areas of the Tian Shan, the informational review which
follows is the first attempt at bringing the details of conservation efforts throughout the entire Tian Shan Range together in one place. It is hoped that this summary of biodiversity and conservation in the Tian Shan will generate interest in the region amongst conservationists, and help increase efforts to protect this surprisingly unknown range that forms an island of meadows, rivers, lakes, and forests in the arid heart of Asia.
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Jackson, R. (2000). Community Participation: Tools and Examples. (pp. 1–9). Management Planning Workshop for the Trans-Himalayan Protected Areas, 25-29 August, 2000, Leh, Ladak.
Abstract: In response to dwindling wildlife populations and habitat, governments established national parks and protected areas, often with little input from people living in the immediate area. In some cases communities were relocated, but in most they are left to pursue traditional agricultural and pastoral livelihoods under a new set of rules. Important questions of land tenure remained unresolved, with a “fences and fines” approach to protected area management (Stolton and Dudley 1999).
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Jackson, R., Hunter, D., & Emmerich, C. (1997). SLIMS: An Information Management System for Promoting the Conservation of Snow Leopards and Biodiversity in the Mountains of Central Asia. In R.Jackson, & A.Ahmad (Eds.), (pp. 75–91). Lahore, Pakistan: Islt.
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Jackson, R. (1986). On the trail of the elusive snow leopard. World Wildlife Fund Monthly Report, May, 127–132.
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Jackson, P. (1998). Villagers save predatory snow leopard. Cat News, 28, 12.
Abstract: A short report is presented on the capture and relocation of a snow leopard in northern Pakistan. Villagers discovered the leopard attacking their goats and captured it. WWF-Gilgit relocated the leopard to a remote area. slj.
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Ikeda, N. (2004). Economic impacts of livestock depredation by snow leopard Uncia uncia in the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area, Nepal Himalaya (Vol. 31).
Abstract: It is necessary to fully understand the economic conditions of local herders in order to find solutions to the conflicts between wildlife conservation and livestock rearing in remote areas of low-income countries. In the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area (KCA), Nepal, livestock depredation by snow leopards impacts on yak herders' livelihoods. Retaliatory killings of snow leopard by the herders have been reported and the concerned authorities recently initiated snow leopard conservation programmes. In 2001, interviews with the yak herders who used the pastures in the Ghunsa valley in the preceding year collected data on the incidence of livestock death caused by snow leopards. The annual net cash income of the yak herders was estimated by obtaining baseline values of sales and expenditure per livestock head through field measurement of dairy products and interviews with a sample of herders. As yet, the average annual damage does not appear to have adversely affected fundamental livelihoods in households with an average herd size (36.6 head). However, in the worst scenario of livestock depredation, households with medium or small-sized herds (<40 head) might risk their living conditions becoming unsustainable or having to withdraw from yak pastoralism. A supplementary interview showed that the majority of the herders, except those who took completely neutral attitudes towards the regional conservation and development programme, had negative views of the snow leopard conservation policy. For the snow leopard conservation programme in the KCA to be a success, there must be a system to compensate the herders' households for livestock damage.
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Hussain, S. (2003). The status of the snow leopard in Pakistan and its conflict with local farmers (Vol. 37).
Abstract: Between 1998 and 2001 I carried out surveys in four areas in the Baltistan district of the Northern Areas of Pakistan to estimate the population of the snow leopard and to examine the threats to its future conservation. I estimate that a total of 36-50 snow leopards are present in the areas surveyed. Based on the availability of suitable snow leopard habitat and of its prey species, I estimate that 90-120 snow leopards are potentially present in Baltistan and 300-420 throughout its range within Pakistan's borders. Although this estimate is higher than extrapolations based on earlier surveys, the long-term future of the snow leopard is under threat. This is mainly due to retaliatory killings by farmers, and poaching for pelts and other body parts. Species-focused conservation policies, particularly those targeting ungulates for the promotion of trophy hunting, may constitute an additional threat to snow leopard conservation in the region. However, all forms of threats to the snow leopard in Baltistan appear to emanate from the relatively poor economic conditions of the local people.
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Gundersen, S., & Jackson, R. (1999). Snow Leopard in Nepal (S. Gundersen, Ed.).
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Fuller, S., & Ahmed, J. (1997). Opportunities for Transfrontier Protected Areas in Northern Pakistan. In R.Jackson, & A.Ashiq (Eds.), (pp. 204–215). Lahore, Pakistan: Islt.
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