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The first official Red List of threatened species in Mongolia was presented at a Zoological Society of London lecture on Tuesday, 12 December. The list includes snow leopards as well bears, marmots, many wild ungulates, and even fish.

Populations of Mongolia’s threatened species have been declining since the breakup of the Soviet Union due to decreased law enforcement mechanisms and widespread financial hardship. Mining and logging also have a significant impact.

However, there is hope for the recovery of Mongolia’s wildlife. The Zoological Society of London meeting produced action plans for the conservation of all the species. Similar policies have been successful before, as in the case of the 250 member Przewakski’s horse population, which is thriving after being classified as extinct in 1996 and subsequently reintroduced into the wild.

For more information, see Unprecedented Loss of Mongolia’s Mammals on the Zoological Society of London web site.

November 2006- Snow Leopard Trust scientists are currently conducting a radio collaring study of Snow Leopards in the Chitral Gol National Park area in Pakistan.  Five radio collars will be placed on snow leopards over the next couple months, enabling their exact positions and patterns of movement to be monitored. This project is being carried out by Dr. Tom McCarthy, Executive Director of the Snow Leopard Network, Dr. Javed Khan, SLN member, and Dr. Jaffar, who is also a member of the SLN. This project is taking place in cooperation with several other conservation organizations including WWF Pakistan and Pakistan‘s Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) Wildlife Department.

This study is instrument in answering lingering questions about snow leopards’ habits and identifying new methods of easing the financial burden on local people whose livestock are at risk from snow leopard predation.

For more information, see the WWF Pakistan web site at http://www.wwfpak.org/16-11-06snowleopard_radio.php

 

This story was published in the Hanford Courant and called to our attention by

Professor Richard Benfield:

October 2006- Afghanistan has already seen some of its cultural treasures, such as the

Buddhas of Bamiyan, destroyed by the Taliban. And it has watched as

ancient artifacts have been looted from the country since the U.S.

invasion in 2001.

Now, it's in danger of seeing an endangered species -- the snow leopard

-- hunted into extinction.

High in the Pamir Mountains in northeastern Afghanistan, men like

Attaullah hunt down the animal. He'll not only sell off its valuable

pelt but also the cat's paws, bones and internal organs, which are

highly prized for use in traditional Chinese medicines.

While no one is exactly sure how many of the creatures remain in the

wild, organizations such as the Snow Leopard Conservancy estimate that

between 4,500 and 7,500 remain in 12 countries in Central Asia,

including Afghanistan.

Some of the cats are thought to have been killed by U.S. bombs during

the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. But it's hunters like Ataullah, who

like many Afghans uses only one name, who are the cat's main threat

today.

“Going after a snow leopard is the ultimate for any hunter,'' said

Ataullah, 44. “Sometimes we won't find one for three months. It depends

on the luck of the individual.''

A ban on hunting the animal imposed by President Hamed Karzai appears to

have had little effect so far.

“If the hunting of certain rare animals like the snow leopard ...

continues, they will rapidly be wiped out,'' warned Dost Mohammad Amin,

the deputy head of the Afghan Environment Protection Department.

It's easy to understand why hunters like Ataullah go after their prey.

He said he expects to get $100 for the cat's body parts and an

additional $900 for its pelt. For that kind of money, hunters are

prepared to invest time, money and effort in securing a kill.

“Sometimes we'll wait a month to go after a good specimen, because

valuable animals are scarce and it's very hard to hunt them,'' Attaullah

said. “We start out in July when the roads become clear of snow. We

have special hunting rifles that we've bought in Pakistan and we wait

for the animal we want.''

Attaullah contends that the amount of money he can earn with just one

catch makes it worth the wait. “I caught a snow leopard in the Pamirs

this summer and I'll earn $1,000,'' he said. “I'd never make that

amount by doing anything else.''

When not stalking snow leopards, Attaullah said he goes after Marco Polo

sheep, another endangered species, to put food on his table.

During the 1970s, Marco Polo sheep -- the largest in the world -- were a

favorite trophy of hunters who traveled from all around the world to bag

the animal and display its massive horns on their walls at home.

Today, Attaullah said the sheep will provide his family with several

delicious meals and $200 in cash for its hide.

Attaulah scoffs at the notion of a ban on hunting endangered species.

“This hunting has been going on for thousands of years. If the

population of these animals were in decline, there wouldn't be any

left,'' he insisted. ``It is just an excuse by powerful men who want to

stop us hunting so that they can keep the (game animals) for

themselves.''

Because both species live in largely unpopulated areas, far beyond the

reach of either the central or regional governments, there's not much

officials have been able to do so far to halt the poaching.

There is some hope, however, of protecting the endangered species. Amin

of the environmental ministry said that Afghanistan, Tajikistan and

China met over the summer to discuss the creation of a multinational

game reserve, called the Pamir International Peace Park, to help save

vulnerable species.

“A conference in Dushanbe held in mid-July decided that all mountain

regions where rare animals live in these three countries will be

declared a Peace Park, and no one will be allowed to enter it,'' Amin

said.

Attaullah doesn't think much of the plan.

“These animals are wild and free,'' he said. ``One day they're in one

place; the next day they're somewhere else. If they feel confined,

they'll become depressed and may leave the area altogether, or they may

pine and die, which is much worse than being hunted.''

October 2006- The Tibet Express, the railway that connects China and Tibet, is fostering illegal commerce and promoting the extinction of endangered species through providing smugglers with faster and safer access to rich clients in Beijing who are interested in buying poached animal products. The railroad was constructed for the purpose of making the transport of goods easier and thus creating closer economic links between China and Tibet; unfortunately, this benefit also applies to gray market activity.  

Smugglers are now able to transport poached snow leopard and tiger pelts from the mountains of Nepal to wealthy buyers on the streets of Beijing in a much more efficient manner. In an investigation conducted by the Sunday Telegraph in China, it was found that poachers can fill orders for tiger skins in only ten days. Before the advent of the railroad, the journey was much longer and more dangerous and therefore deterred smuggling. Authorities often turn a blind eye to these activities, making laws against smuggling largely ineffective.

To read more, see Tibet Express Puts Leopards on Fast Track to Extinction on the Carnivore Conservation Portal.

The Society for Conservation Biology is now offering access to publications for SCB 

members in developing countries to offset the high cost of subscribing to academic journals. 

Although access is free to those members, the membership fee is only 10 USD for those in 

developing countries, thus ensuring affordable access for those who would otherwise have to

 stand outrageous expenses to carry out research.

For more information, see the press release below.

1. Press Release: FREE Online Access to Publications for Developing 

Country SCB Members

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - http://www.conbio.org/media/benefits/

Contact: Alan Thornhill

(703) 276-2384

SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY TO PROVIDE FREE ACCESS TO 

PUBLICATIONS FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRY MEMBERS

The Society for Conservation Biology, in collaboration with 

Blackwell Publishing and Elsevier Publishing, announces that online 

access to Conservation Biology, Conservation In Practice, and 

Biological Conservation is now free to SCB members in developing 

countries. Elsevier has also added Ecological Indicators, Ecological 

Complexity, and Ecological Informatics to the free publications. SCB 

is also negotiating to acquire similar access to a suite of other 

conservation-related journals from a variety of publishers, 

including additional titles from Blackwell and Elsevier.

Providing free access to conservation publications will greatly 

benefit our conservation colleagues in developing countries 

worldwide. Conservationists in developing countries want to do 

effective conservation work, but many cannot afford scientific 

publications and do not have access via their institutions. "The 

destruction of biodiversity worldwide is so rapid that there is no 

time to waste. Information must get out to conservationists who 

otherwise would not have access. SCB is leading the way in making 

scientific information available to conservation professionals and 

students in developing countries," said SCB Executive Director, Dr. 

Alan Thornhill.

Thanks to a grant from The Nature Conservancy (TNC), SCB is able to 

offer free memberships to a large number of conservationists in 

developing countries and therefore provide access to the growing 

list of free conservation publications. Jonathan Adams, Program 

Director for Conservation Knowledge and Communities at TNC said, 

"It's extremely important that conservation professionals have 

access to current scientific information. Much of the Earth's 

biodiversity can be found in developing countries, and scientists 

there often cannot get the most current information either about the 

species themselves or about the tools that are available to conserve 

them."

For updates and more information on these great new benefits, check 

the upcoming SCB newsletter and the SCB website: http://conbio.org. 

For further information, contact Dr. Alan Thornhill, Society for 

Conservation Biology at athornhill@conbio.org or (703) 276-2384 or 

Jonathan Adams, The Nature Conservancy at jadams@tnc.org or (301) 

897-8570.

Human/big cat conflict is increasing at an alarming rate in much of Asia as a result of the growing human population and the resulting stress on the habitat areas of snow leopards, leopards, tigers, and other species of Asian wild cats. This article by Wendy Elliot and published in Pugmark Magazine explores several case studies regarding different methods of providing conservation incentives for residents of big cat areas. The article addresses livestock compensation schemes, livestock insurance schemes, improving the protection of livestock from predation, improving livestock husbandry, relocation, and alternative income generation schemes with specific links to Asian big cat human conflict mitigation.

A link to the full text of the article (PDF) is available on the WWF website.

We at the Snow Leopard Network offer our sincerest condolences as we mourn the loss of 24 conservationists who lost their lives in a helicopter accident in Nepal on 23 September, 2006. Each of the victims offered outstanding contributions to the field of snow leopard conservation, and they will undoubtedly inspire us to further their efforts for decades to come. On a personal level, this is a shocking and grievous loss to those who had the privilege of knowing and working with them. On a professional level, this is a terrible loss for snow leopard conservation, as most of Nepal’s top conservationists were aboard. They will be missed, and let us honor their legacy by always continuing to work toward implementing greater conservation efforts in Nepal and elsewhere.

For more information, see the WWF Nepal Website.

 

August 2006- “Nature is talking to us and we should listen and act now”. This was the warning made a few days ago by the “Earth greats”, united in Curtiba, Brasil. The Ev-K²-Cnr Committee seems to have taken them literally. The Italian association led by Agostino Da Polenza has just signed an important agreement with WWF Nepal to protect the endangered species of the Sagarmatha National Park.

The agreement was signed on March, 24th 2006 by the president of the Ev-K²-CNR Committee and Dr. Chandra Gurung, Country Representative of WWF Nepal at WWF’s Baluwatar office in Kathmandu. The two associations are going to undertake research, monitoring and protection initiatives for the conservation of snow leopards living in the area and their prey. The snow leopard is the most charming feline in the world.

“This is an excellent result – commented Agostino Da Polenza – the fruit of many years’ research done by Professor Sandro Lovari. This collaboration focuses on snow leopards, but does strengthen our classical stream of biological research on Himalayan ungulates, too. Once again the Ev-K²-Cnr research programs have demonstrated not only their high scientific value, but also their capacity to give rise to concrete projects for environment valorization, ecosystem conservation and sustainable development of the fragile mountain areas, like the Sagarmatha National Park.”

Professor Lovari will be in charge of the “Snow Leopard: Vanishing Tracks on the Roof of the World” project, within the next three years. The plan foresees scientific research aimed at indentifying the number, features, and the habits of the snow leopards and prey living in the area. It also includes several initiatives for protecting and promoting all these endangered species.

Sandro Lovari has been dealing with mountain wildlife for over thirty years. Since 1989, he has been working in the Himalayas with the Ev-K²-Cnr Committee, studying tahrs in particular. The Snow Leopard project begun to take shape in 2003, as Lovari extraordinarily met a specimen of the snow leopard during a research mission in Nepal. The feline was the first one seen in the area since the species disappeared from the Sagarmatha National Park in the sixties.

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has recently announced a plan to establish five wildlife reserves in Afghanistan. WCS is working in cooperation with the government of Afghanistan and receiving funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The project is being headed by George Schaller, a member of the Snow Leopard Network, and will include International Snow Leopard Trust (ISLT) staff.

In addition to creating the reserves, this three-year project will include monitoring the populations of snow leopards and several prey species, as well as working with communities toward establishing eco-friendly and sustainable practices. The team carrying out the surveys will include several International Snow Leopard Trust staff. WCS recognizes the need to include local residents in any conservation effort, because they have the most potential to impact wildlife populations.

The Snow Leopard Network applauds this project. We look forward to the increased conservation in snow leopard inhabited areas that will come about as a result of these efforts.

For more information, see the press release at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060628234217.htm or http://www.wcs.org/international/Asia/afghanistan for more information on this and other WCS projects in Afghanistan.

The Launch of India’s Project Snow Leopard

 

Snow Leopard Network

 

10-11 July 2006

Leh, Ladakh, India

 

The fragile high-altitude mountain ecosystems of northern India are of enormous ecological and cultural importance. In addition to maintaining snow leopards and their prey, these ecosystems support pastoral communities, watersheds that sustain vital agriculture, and several other endangered species. However, the over-grazing of livestock strains the resources available to wild ungulates, therefore decreasing the amount of prey available to snow leopards and causing attacks on domestic herd animals. In turn, snow leopards are often the target of retribution killings as pastoral communities struggle to maintain their herds. If local communities are to continue their traditional way of life, the conservation of these magnificent cats and fragile ecosystems must become a priority.  It is this need that prompted the Nature Conservation Foundation and ISLT to pursue the establishment of a national action plan to be known as Project Snow Leopard.

 

A very successful national conference took place on 10-11 July with the purpose of launching Project Snow Leopard (PSL), a conservation initiative modeled after Project Tiger and Project Elephant with the purpose of preserving the ecosystem to which snow leopards belong through cooperating with local residents, governments, scientists, and NGOs. The conference was organized by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India (MoEF) and the Department of Wildlife Protection, Jammu and Kashmir. Also involved were the Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF) and International Snow Leopard Trust (ISTL). It was well attended; guests included several prominent MoEF dignitaries, officials from the forest departments of the states of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, and many prominent scientists from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), NCF, and ISLT, several of whom are members of the Snow Leopard Network.

 

The workshop came as a culmination to a two-year series of state-level conferences organized by NCF and ISLT in cooperation with the governments of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttaranchal, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir with the purpose of identifying regions that need to be included in PSL. This series of conferences resulted in a concept paper calling for a scientifically sound and socially responsible high altitude wildlife conservation strategy involving the State and Central Governments, representatives of the local communities, and conservation and development NGOs. 

 

The workshop facilitated the exchange of information between the forest departments of the five states with high-altitude ecosystems and the MoEF, and a set of thirteen recommendations decided upon so as to guide the drafting and implementation of a PSL document.

 

Recommendations of the National Workshop on Project Snow Leopard:

 

1.          The high altitudes of India (> 3000 m, c. 250,000 km², including the Himalaya and Trans-Himalaya biogeographic zones) support a unique wildlife assemblage of global importance, which needs to be conserved through a focused strategy and action plan under the Project Snow Leopard (PSL).

2.          PSL will promote wildlife conservation through a participatory process by fully involving the local communities in conservation efforts, and seeking their active participation in conservation through appropriate incentives.

3.          As a significant proportion of Himalayan high altitude wildlife occurs outside Protected Areas, PSL will follow a landscape level approach that gives due importance to conservation both within and outside Protected Areas.

4.          PSL will strengthen and enhance the capacity of state forest and wildlife departments in effectively managing high altitude wildlife through provisioning of manpower, resources, incentives, and capacity building.

5.          PSL will be formulated in line with the National Wildlife Action Plan (2001-2016), and will incorporate the salient features articulated in the state-level PSL workshops and the Snow Leopard Survival Strategy, and in addition, draw lessons from the experiences of other flagship species programmes such as the Project Tiger and Project Elephant.

6.          PSL will support research on wildlife and human dimensions throughout the high altitude areas of the snow leopard range states of India.

7.          PSL will encourage an adaptive management framework which will provide for constant monitoring of wildlife populations and human socio-economy, and for periodic course-corrections in management actions.

8.          As the high altitudes also represent a vast rangeland system, PSL will assist the states in the development of grazing policies and management practices that will aim to harmonize the objectives of pastoral interests with those of wildlife conservation.

9.          PSL will promote research-based species recovery programmes.

10.      PSL will promote community-based management programmes for resolving human-wildlife conflicts.

11.      PSL will promote conservation education and awareness initiatives.

12.      Given that most of India’s high altitude wildlife habitats are along international boundaries, PSL recognizes the importance of co-opting the armed and para-military forces in conservation efforts, and exploring possibilities for trans-boundary conservation efforts.

13.     The MoEF will constitute a committee comprising of the participating states and other key stakeholders for the drafting of the PSL strategy and action plan.