Abstract: Snow leopards occur near the snow line in northern Pakistan in the districts of Swat, Dir and Chitral of the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP), Muzaffarabad district in Azad Kashmir and Gilgit and Baltistan districts in the Northern Areas. Although a number of protected areas are present in the form of national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and game reserves (Table 1) where legal protection is available to all wildlife species, including snow leopards, the status of this endangered species is not improving satisfactorily. The reasons are many and range from direct persecution by livestock owners to the less than strict management of protected areas.
Because of remote and inaccessible locations and lack of proper communication with local communities, government officials and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) concerned with conservation find it difficult to obtain statistics on mortality of snow leopards. However, the killing of snow leopards is not uncommon. Because of the close and long-term association between local villagers and snow leopards, it is only through the support and cooperation of these peoples that protection of this endangered species can be assured against most of the existing threats. The effects of such cooperation has been clearly shown through some of the conservation projects of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) – Pakistan. Details of such projects and certain lessons that can be learned from these and similar projects are discussed in this paper.

Abstract: Nepal's snow leopards (Uncia uncia) are mostly found along the northern border with Tibet (China). The largest populations are in Dolpa, Mugu, Manang, and Myagdi Districts. Potential habitat totals about 30,000 square kilometers. Numbers are estimated at 300-500, but surveys are urgently needed to confirm this rough guess. Like elsewhere, the primary threats center on poaching, depletion of natural prey, livestock depredation and resultant retributive killing of snow leopards by herders, and the lack of public awareness and support for conserving snow leoaprds, especially among local herders.

Abstract: During November 1985 through July1996, a survey of snow leopard presence and ecology was conducted in selected areas of the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh in north-western India. The study was carried out under the auspices of the Wildlife Institute of India in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the International Snow Leopard Trust. The objectives of the survey were essentially determine the relative presence of the snow leopard and its associated prey species,investigate human interaction with the snow leopard and select an appropriate site for more intensive studies of the snow leopard and its ecosystem.