Abstract: We explore the role of community-based conservation (CBC) in the sustainable management of conservation conflicts by examining the experiences of conservation practitioners trying to address conflicts between snow leopard conservation and pastoralism in Asian mountains. Practitioner experiences are examined through the lens of the PARTNERS principles for CBC (Presence, Aptness, Respect, Transparency, Negotiation, Empathy, Responsiveness, and Strategic Support) that represent an inclusive conservation framework for effective and ethical engagement with local communities. Case studies from India, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, and Pakistan show that resilient relationships arising from respectful engagement and negotiation with local communities can provide a strong platform for robust conflict management. We highlight the heuristic value of documenting practitioner experiences in on-the-ground conflict management and community-based conservation efforts.

Abstract: Noninvasive fecal assays were used to study steroid metabolism and ovarian activity in several felid species. Using the domestic cat (Felis catus) as model, the excretory products of injected [14C]estradiol (E2) and [14C]progesterone (P4) were determined. Within 2 days, 97.0 +/- 0.6% and 96.7 +/- 0.5% of recovered E2 and P4 radioactivity, respectively, was found in feces. E2 was excreted as unconjugated estradiol and estrone (40%) and as a non-enzyme- hydrolyzable conjugate (60%). P4 was excreted primarily as non-enzyme- hydrolyzable, conjugated metabolites (78%) and as unconjugated pregnenolone epimers. A simple method for extracting fecal steroid metabolites optimized extraction efficiencies of the E2 and P4 excretion products (90.1 +/- 0.8% and 87.2 +/- 1.4%, respectively). Analysis of HPLC fractions of extracted fecal samples from the radiolabel-injected domestic cats revealed that E2 immunoreactivity coincided primarily with the unconjugated metabolized [14C]E2 peak, whereas progestogen immunoreactivity coincided with a single conjugated epimer and multiple unconjugated pregnenolone epimers. After HPLC separation, similar immunoreactive E2 and P4 metabolite profiles were observed in the leopard cat (F. bengalensis), cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa), and snow leopard (Panthera uncia). Longitudinal analyses demonstrated that changes in fecal E2 and P4 metabolite concentrations reflected natural or artificially induced ovarian activity. For example, severalfold increases in E2 excretion were associated with overt estrus or exogenous gonadotropin treatment, and elevated fecal P4 metabolite concentrations occurred during pregnant and nonpregnant (pseudopregnant) luteal phases. Although overall concentrations were similar, the duration of elevated fecal P4 metabolites during pseudopregnancy was approximately half that observed during pregnancy. In summary, steroid metabolism mechanisms appear to be conserved among these physically diverse, taxonomically related species. Results indicate that this hormone-monitoring approach will be extremely useful for elucidating the hormonal regulatory mechanism associated with the reproductive cycle, pregnancy, and parturition of intractable and endangered felid species.

Abstract: The endangered snow leopard (Panthera uncia) is widely but sparsely distributed throughout the mountainous regions of central Asia. Detailed information on the status and abundance of the snow leopard is limited because of the logistical challenges faced when working in the rugged terrain it occupies, along with its secretive nature. Camera-trapping and noninvasive genetic techniques have been used successfully to survey this felid. We compared noninvasive genetic and camera-trapping snow leopard surveys in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. We collected 180 putative snow leopard scats from 3 sites during an 8-day period along 37.74 km of transects. We then conducted a 65-day photographic survey at 1 of these sites, approximately 2 months after scat collection. In the site where both techniques were used noninvasive genetics detected 5 individuals in only 2 days of fieldwork compared to 7 individuals observed in the 65-day camera-trapping session. Estimates of population size from noninvasive genetics ranged between 16 and 19 snow leopards in the 314.3-km2 area surveyed, yielding densities of 4.9–5.9 individuals/100 km2. In comparison, the population estimate from the 65-day photographic survey was 4 individuals (adults only) within the 264-km2 area, for a density estimate of 1.5 snow leopards/100 km2. Higher density estimates from the noninvasive genetic survey were due partly to an inability to determine age and exclude subadults, reduced spatial distribution of sampling points as a consequence of collecting scats along linear transects, and deposition of scats by multiple snow leopards on common sites. Resulting differences could inflate abundance estimated from noninvasive genetic surveys and prevent direct comparison of densities derived from the 2 approaches unless appropriate adjustments are made to the study design.

Abstract: In Chinese and English.
Note: this is a slightly expanded book version of the following report with a full Chinese translation: Tsering Dawa, John D. Farrington, and Kelsang Norbu. Human-wildlife Conflict in the Chang Tang Region of Tibet: The Impact of Tibetan Brown Bears and other Wildlife on Nomadic Herders with Recommendations for Conflict Mitigation. Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China: WWF China-Lhasa Field Office, 2006.
The multiple-use Chang Tang and Seling Lake Nature Reserves were created in 1993 to protect the unique assemblage of large fauna inhabiting the high-altitude steppe grasslands of northern Tibet, including the Tibetan antelope, Tibetan wild ass, Tibetan brown bear, Tibetan Gazelle, wild yak, and snow leopard. Prior to creation of the reserve, many of these species were heavily hunted for meat and sale of parts. Since creation of the reserve, however, killing of wildlife by subsistence hunters and commercial poachers has declined while in the past five years a new problem has emerged, that of human-wildlife conflict. With human, livestock, and wildlife populations in the reserves all increasing, and animals apparently emboldened by reserve-wide hunting bans, all forms of human-wildlife conflict have surged rapidly since 2001. This conflict takes on four primary forms in the Chang Tang region: 1)killing of domestic livestock in corrals and on open pastures by Tibetan brown bears, snow leopards, and other predators, 2) Tibetan brown bears badly damaging herders’ cabins and tents in search of food, 3) loss of important grass resources to large herds of widely migrating wild ungulates, particularly the Tibetan wild ass, possibly leading to winter starvation of livestock, 4) driving off of domestic female yaks by wild yak bulls in search of harems.
In April of 2006, the authors conducted a wildlife conflict survey of 300 herding households in Nagchu Prefecture’s Shenzha, Tsonyi, and Nyima Counties. Results showed that the 87 percent of households had experienced some form of wildlife conflict since 1990. The Tibetan brown bear was the largest source of wildlife conflict, affecting 49 percent of surveyed households, followed by grazing competition conflict which affected 36 percent of surveyed households, and snow leopard conflict which affected 24 percent of surveyed households. Type and frequency of wildlife conflict problems cut across all three surveyed socio-economic factors, residence type, size of living group, and economic status/herd size, and was primarily a function of location. A break down of incidences of human-wildlife conflict into three 5 to 6-year time periods between January 1990 and April 2006 revealed dramatic increases in conflict occurring since 2001. When compared to the 1990-1995 period, the incidence of conflict today ranged from 2.6 times higher for fox conflict to 5.5 times higher for conflict with snow leopards, while there was a 4.6 fold increase in the occurrence of bear conflict. From second-hand accounts and wildlife remains confiscated from herders, it is now believed that retaliatory killing of wildlife rivals commercial poaching as the greatest threat to the continued existence of the Chang Tang region's large fauna. Human-wildlife conflict reduction strategies and wildlife conservation education programs must be devised and implemented in order to halt the retaliatory killing of wildlife by nomadic herders in the Chang Tang.