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Murali, R., Ikhagvajav, P., Amankul, V., Jumabay, K., Sharma,
K., Bhatnagar, Y. V., Suryawanshi, K., Mishra, C. (2020). Ecosystem service dependence in livestock and crop-based. Journal of Arid Environments, 180, 1–10.
Abstract: Globally, in semi-arid and arid landscapes, there is an
ongoing transition from livestock-production systems to crop-production systems, and in many parts of Asia's arid mountains, mining for minerals is also increasing. These changes are accompanied by a change in the generation and quality of ecosystem services (ES), which can impact human well-being. In this study, to better understand the impacts of such transitions, we quantified ES in two crop-based and three livestock-based production systems in the arid and semi-arid landscapes of the High Himalaya and Central Asia, specifically in the Indian Himalaya, Kyrgyz Tien Shan, and Mongolian Altai. Our results showed 1) high economic dependence (3.6–38 times the respective annual household income) of local farmers on provisioning ES, with the economic value of ES being greater in livestock-production systems (7.4–38 times the annual household income) compared to crop-production systems (3.6–3.7 times the annual household income); 2) ES input into cashmere production, the main commodity from the livestock-production systems, was 13–18 times greater than the price of cashmere received by the farmer; and 3) in the livestock production systems affected by mining, impacts on ES and quality of life were reported to be negative by majority of the respondents. We conclude that livestock-based systems may be relatively more vulnerable to degrading impacts of mining and other ongoing developments due to their dependence on larger ES resource catchments that tend to have weaker land tenure and are prone to fragmentation. In contrast to the general assumption of low value of ES in arid and semi-arid landscapes due to relatively low primary productivity, our study underscores the remarkably high importance of ES in supporting local livelihoods. |
Karnaukhov А. S., K. М. P., Kuksin А. N., Malykh S. V., Poyarkov А. D., Spitsyn S. V., Chistopolova М. D., Hernandez-Blanco J. A. (2020). Snow Leopard Population Monitoring Guidebook (Russian).
Abstract: The “Snow Leopard Population Monitoring Guidebook” is the result of a multiyear effort to study and monitor the status of key snow leopard populations in the Russian Federation conducted by WWF Russia specialists alongside colleagues in protected areas and the Severtsov Institute for Ecology and Evolution (Russian Academy of Sciences). The book provides the most recent data regarding the distribution and population of the snow leopard in three administrative subjects of the Russian Federation – Republics of Altai, Tyva, and Buryatiya. Optimal survey routes and a grid network for camera-trapping stations are discussed and are based on a previously-developed program for standardized monitoring and surveying of the snow leopard population. The most important part of this publication is the analysis of methodologies for evaluating the status of population groups of this rare cat – from the traditional route census approach to innovative systems for automated collection of field data. In addition, the results of multi-year work analyze snow leopard nutrition and evaluate the genetic diversity of the snow leopard population in Russia.
Keywords: Russian
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Khanyari, M., Zhumabai uulu, K., Luecke, S., Mishra, C.,
Suryawanshi, K. (2020). Understanding population baselines: status of mountain ungulate
populations in the Central Tien Shan Mountains, Kyrgyzstan. Mammalia, , 1–8.
Abstract: We assessed the density of argali (Ovis ammon) and ibex
(Capra sibirica) in Sarychat-Ertash Nature Reserve and its neighbouring Koiluu valley. Sarychat is a protected area, while Koiluu is a human-use landscape which is a partly licenced hunting concession for mountain ungulates and has several livestock herders and their permanent residential structures. Population monitoring of mountain ungulates can help in setting measurable conservation targets such as appropriate trophy hunting quotas and to assess habitat suitability for predators like snow leopards (Panthera uncia). We employed the double-observer method to survey 573 km2 of mountain ungulate habitat inside Sarychat and 407 km2 inside Koiluu. The estimated densities of ibex and argali in Sarychat were 2.26 (95% CI 1.47–3.52) individuals km-2 and 1.54 (95% CI 1.01–2.20) individuals km-2, respectively. Total ungulate density in Sarychat was 3.80 (95% CI 2.47–5.72) individuals km-2. We did not record argali in Koiluu, whereas the density of ibex was 0.75 (95% CI 0.50–1.27) individuals km-2. While strictly protected areas can achieve high densities of mountain ungulates, multi-use areas can harbour meaningful though suppressed populations. Conservation of mountain ungulates and their predators can be enhanced by maintaining Sarychat-like “pristine” areas interspersed within a matrix of multi-use areas like Koiluu. |
Chetri, M., Odden, M., Devineau, O., McCarthy, T., Wegge, P. (2020). Multiple factors influence local perceptions of snow leopards and
Himalayan wolves in the central Himalayas, Nepal. PeerJ, , 1–18.
Abstract: An understanding of local perceptions of carnivores is
important for conservation and management planning. In the central Himalayas, Nepal, we interviewed 428 individuals from 85 settlements using a semi-structured questionnaire to quantitatively assess local perceptions and tolerance of snow leopards and wolves. We used generalized linear mixed effect models to assess influential factors, and found that tolerance of snow leopards was much higher than of wolves. Interestingly, having experienced livestock losses had a minor impact on perceptions of the carnivores. Occupation of the respondents had a strong effect on perceptions of snow leopards but not of wolves. Literacy and age had weak impacts on snow leopard perceptions, but the interaction among these terms showed a marked effect, that is, being illiterate had a more marked negative impact among older respondents. Among the various factors affecting perceptions of wolves, numbers of livestock owned and gender were the most important predictors. People with larger livestock herds were more negative towards wolves. In terms of gender, males were more positive to wolves than females, but no such pattern was observed for snow leopards. People’s negative perceptions towards wolves were also related to the remoteness of the villages. Factors affecting people’s perceptions could not be generalized for the two species, and thus need to be addressed separately. We suggest future conservation projects and programs should prioritize remote settlements. |
Salvatori, M., Tenan, S., Oberosler, V., Augugliaro, C., Christe, P., Groff, C., Krofel, M., Zimmermann, F., Rovero, F. (2021). Co-occurrence of snow leopard, wolf and Siberian ibex under livestock encroachment into protected areas across the Mongolian Altai. Biological Conservatio, 261(109294), 1–14.
Abstract: In countries such as Mongolia, where globalization of the cashmere market has spurred herders to massively increase their livestock numbers, an important conservation concern is the effect of livestock encroachment on wildlife. This is especially important inside protected areas (PAs), which often represent the last refugia for threatened large mammals. We used camera-traps to sample four areas with different protection status across the Mongolian Altai Mountains, and targeted a predator-prey system composed of livestock, one large herbivore, the Siberian ibex, and two large carnivores, the snow leopard and the wolf. To determine the effect of livestock on habitat use by the wild species and their spatio-temporal co-occurrence we applied an occupancy framework explicitly developed for modelling interacting species. We recorded a widespread presence of domestic animals in the PAs, and observed avoidance of sites used by livestock by snow leopard and ibex, while wolves tended to co-occur with it. Snow leopard and ibex showed clear mutual co-occurrence, indicating a tight predator-prey relationship. Results provide evidence that, at the scale of sites sampled primarily to maximise snow leopard detections, grazing livestock interferes with wild species by inducing avoidance in snow leopards, and attraction in wolves. We suggest that (1) PAs management should enforce real grazing limitations on the ground, especially in the core areas of the parks; (2) new policies incorporating wildlife conservation into government subsidies to pastoralists should be envisaged, to prevent increasing displacement of snow leopards and ibex; (3) as wolves co- occurred with livestock, with the potential for human-wildlife conflicts, we encourage the use of a set of prevention techniques to mitigate livestock depredation.
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Rashid, W., Shi, J., Rahim, I. U., Qasim, M., Baloch, M. N., Bohnett, E., Yang, F., Khan, I., Ahmad, B. (2021). Modelling Potential Distribution of Snow Leopards in Pamir, Northern Pakistan: Implications for Human–Snow Leopard Conflicts. Sustainability, 13(13229), 1–15.
Abstract: The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) is a cryptic and rare big cat inhabiting Asia’s remote and harsh elevated areas. Its population has decreased across the globe for various reasons, includ
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Pahuja, M., Sharma, R. K. (2021). Wild Predators, Livestock, and Free Ranging Dogs: Patterns of Livestock Mortality and Attitudes of People Toward Predators in an Urbanizing Trans-Himalayan Landscape. Frontiers in Conservation Science, 2(109), 1–13.
Abstract: Livestock depredation by large carnivores is a significant source of conflicts over predators and an important conservation and economic concern. Preventing livestock loss to wild predators is a substantial focus of human-carnivore conflict mitigation programs. A key assumption of the preventive strategy is reduction in the livestock losses leading to a positive shift in the attitudes toward predators. Therefore, it is important to quantify the true extent of livestock mortality caused by wild predators and its influence on attitudes of the affected communities. We examined seasonal and spatial patterns of livestock mortality and factors influencing people’s attitudes toward wild predators i.e., snow leopards (Panthera uncia) and wolves (Canis lupus chanco) and free-ranging dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) in a Trans-Himalayan urbanizing landscape in India. We used systematic sampling to select the survey households and implemented a semi- structured questionnaire to respondents. The sampled villages (n = 16) represent a mosaic of urban and agricultural ecosystems within a radius of 40 km of Leh town. In 2016–2017, 93% of the sampled households lost livestock to predators, accounting for 0.93 animals per household per year. However, of the total events of livestock mortality, 33% were because of weather/natural events, 24% by snow leopards, 20% because of disease, 15% because of free-ranging dogs and 9% because of wolves. The annual economic loss per household because of livestock mortality was USD 371, a substantial loss given the average per capita income of USD 270 in the region. Of the total loss, weather/natural events caused highest loss of USD 131 (35%), followed by snow leopards USD 91 (25%), disease USD 87 (24%), free ranging dogs USD 48 (13%), and wolves USD 14 (4%). Despite losing a considerable proportion of livestock (33 %) to wild predators, respondents showed a positive attitude toward them but exhibited neutral attitudes toward free-ranging dogs. Gender emerged as the most important determinant of attitudes toward wild predators, with men showing higher positive attitude score toward wild predators than women. Our findings highlight the context specific variation in human-wildlife interactions and emphasize that generalizations must be avoided in the absence of site specific evidence.
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Xiao, L., Hua, F., Knops, J. M. H., Zhao, X., Mishra, C., Lovari, S., Alexander, J. S., Weckworth, B., Lu, Z. (2022). Spatial separation of prey from livestock facilitates coexistence of a specialized large carnivore with human land use. Animal Conservation, , 1–10.
Abstract: There is an increasing emphasis in conservation strategies for large carnivores on facilitating their coexistence with humans. Justification for coexistence strategies should be based on a quantitative assessment of currently remaining large carnivores in human-dominated landscapes. An essential part of a carnivore’s coexistence strategy has to rely on its prey. In this research, we studied snow leopards Panthera uncia whose habitat mainly comprises human-dominated, unprotected areas, to understand how a large carnivore and its primary prey, the bharal Pseudois nayaur, could coexist with human land use activities in a large proportion of its range. Using a combination of livestock census, camera trapping and wildlife surveys, across a broad gradient of livestock grazing intensity in a 363 000 km2 landscape on the Tibetan Plateau, we found no evidence of livestock grazing impacts on snow leopard habitat use, bharal density and spatial distribution, even though livestock density was 13 times higher than bharal density. Bharal were found to prefer utilizing more rugged habitats at higher elevations with lower grass forage conditions, whereas livestock dominated in flat valleys at lower elevations with higher productivity, especially during the resource-scarce season. These findings suggest that the spatial niche separation between bharal and livestock, together with snow leopards’ specialized bharal diet, minimized conflicts and allowed snow leopards and bharal to coexist in landscapes dominated by livestock grazing. In recent years, reduced hunting and nomadic herder’s lifestyle changes towards permanent residence may have further reinforced this spatial separation. Our results indicated that, for developing conservation strategies for large carnivores, the niche of their prey in relation to human land-use is a key variable that needs to be evaluated.
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Xiao, C., Bai, D., Lambert, J. P., Li, Y., Cering, L., Gong, Z., Riordan, P., Shi, K. (2022). How Snow Leopards Share the Same Landscape with Tibetan Agro-pastoral Communities in the Chinese Himalayas. Journal of Resources and Ecology, 13(3), 483–500.
Abstract: The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) inhabits a human-altered alpine landscape and is often tolerated by residents in regions where the dominant religion is Tibetan Buddhism, including in Qomolangma NNR on the northern side of the Chinese Himalayas. Despite these positive attitudes, many decades of rapid economic development and population growth can cause increasing disturbance to the snow leopards, altering their habitat use patterns and ultimately impacting their conservation. We adopted a dynamic landscape ecology perspective and used multi-scale technique and occupancy model to better understand snow leopard habitat use and coexistence with humans in an 825 km2 communal landscape. We ranked eight hypothetical models containing potential natural and anthropogenic drivers of habitat use and compared them between summer and winter seasons within a year. HABITAT was the optimal model in winter, whereas ANTHROPOGENIC INFLUENCE was the top ranking in summer (AICcw≤2). Overall, model performance was better in the winter than in the summer, suggesting that perhaps some latent summer covariates were not measured. Among the individual variables, terrain ruggedness strongly affected snow leopard habitat use in the winter, but not in the summer. Univariate modeling suggested snow leopards prefer to use rugged land in winter with a broad scale (4000 m focal radius) but with a lesser scale in summer (30 m); Snow leopards preferred habitat with a slope of 22° at a scale of 1000 m throughout both seasons, which is possibly correlated with prey occurrence. Furthermore, all covariates mentioned above showed inextricable ties with human activities (presence of settlements and grazing intensity). Our findings show that multiple sources of anthropogenic activity have complex connections with snow leopard habitat use, even under low human density when anthropogenic activities are sparsely distributed across a vast landscape. This study is also valuable for habitat use research in the future, especially regarding covariate selection for finite sample sizes in inaccessible terrain.
Keywords: habitat use; landscape ecology; occupancy model; Qomolangma; Panthera uncia
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Saeed, U., Arshad, M., Hayat, S., Morelli, T. L., Nawaz, M. A. (2022). Analysis of provisioning ecosystem services and perceptions of climate change for indigenous communities in the Western Himalayan Gurez Valley, Pakistan. Ecosytem Services, 56(101453), 1–12.
Abstract: Climate change is a significant threat to people living in mountainous regions. It is essential to understand how montane communities currently depend especially on the provisioning ecosystem services (ES) and the ways in which climate change will impact these services, so that people can develop relevant adaptation strategies. The ES in the Gurez Valley, in the Western Himalayas of Pakistan, provide a unique opportunity to explore these questions. This understudied area is increasingly exposed not only to climate change but also to the over- exploitation of resources. Hence, this study aimed to (a) identify and value provisioning ES in the region; (b) delineate indigenous communities’ reliance on ES based on valuation; and (c) measure the perceptions of indigenous communities of the impact of climate change on the ES in Gurez Valley. Semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were used to classify the provisioning ES by using the ‘Common International Classification on Ecosystem Services’ (CICES) table and applying the ‘Total Economic Valuation (TEV)’ Frame- work. Results indicate that the indigenous communities are highly dependent on ES, worth 6730 ± 520 USD/ Household (HH)/yr, and perceive climate change as a looming threat to water, crops, and rearing livestock ESS in the Gurez Valley. The total economic value of the provisioning ES is 3.1 times higher than a household’s average income. Medicinal plant collection is a significant source of revenue in the Valley for some households, i.e., worth 766 ± 134.8 USD/HH/yr. The benefits of the sustainable use of ES and of climate change adaptation and mitigation, are culturally, economically, and ecologically substantial for the Western Himalayans.
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