Watch SLN’s final webinar of 2021. More information about our guests can be found HERE.
SLN Webinar: Women & Community Conservation – Jan 13th-new date!
We are pleased to announce that this webinar previously scheduled in September 2021, (Part 1 of the series) – will take place on January 13th 2022.
Across the range, snow leopards and people share space. Engaging with local communities is essential for snow leopard conservation. Community based programmes tend to engage with men largely due to social norms and existing power structures. This often results in excluding women, who are important stakeholders and form almost 50% of the adult population, from conservation action and decision making.
In this webinar, we explore how to better engage women in conservation programs across the snow leopard landscape. We hear examples from existing programs that specifically target women and discuss how conservation programs can themselves shift social norms around gender equality (positively or negatively). We also examine the key role of policy in transforming community based programs through incorporating gender sensitive approaches.
We will be hearing from conservationists across the snow leopard range – Bayara Agvantsaaren, Dr. LuZhi and Rashmi Singh – who are working at different levels to engage women in snow leopard conservation. Each of them will highlight a particular aspect of their work that highlights the opportunities and challenges in promoting women’s role in community based conservation. Dr. Charudutt Mishra, the Executive Director of the Snow Leopard Trust, will facilitate the panel discussion. Charu has been a pioneer in community based conservation and brings a special perspective around how to make a difference at the ground level.
We hope to see you, all members both men and women, at this very special webinar and look forward to drawing on your experiences and insights during the discussion. This webinar is Part 1 of a Webinar Series focussing on the role of women in snow leopard conservation and science (watch the Part 2 recording which took place in September 2021).
About the Webinar
Opening the webinar we first hear from the panelists, each with a five-minute presentation, where they set the context of their work and highlight key issues. This will be followed by the panel discussion facilitated by Dr. Charudutt Mishra for twenty minutes focusing on opportunities and identifying strategies and priorities for engaging women in conservation programmes. This will be followed by an open interaction with the audience.
About our Guests
Bayara Agvantsaaren is the Executive Director of Snow Leopard Conservation Foundation and Mongolia Program Director, at the Snow Leopard Trust. “I have been working as a snow leopard conservationist since 1998 when I co-found Snow Leopard Enterprises Program which offers income generation to women rural herders who share mountain with these elusive cats. It has been amazing 20+ years career journey to work with different aspects of conservation. I am privileged to be able to help both snow leopards and local people.” shares Bayara.
Professor Lu Zhi is a conservation biologist in China whose work covers multiple-disciplinary researches and bridging academic research and practices, in order to seek solutions for conservation and sustainable development in China and to promote China’s positive role in the world. She has studied ecology and conservation of endangered species in southwest China and on the Tibetan Plateau, such as the giant panda, the snow leopard, the blue sheep, the Tibetan brown bear and the Przewalski gazelle, as well as their interactions with human activities. In recent years, she focuses on mechanisms of coexistence between human and nature. She leads conservation initiatives on community-led conservation and citizen sciences in both rural and urban contexts based on economic incentives, cultural values and policy improvements. She involved in conservation policy making at regional and national levels, and is an active member of international conservation discussions.
Rashmi Singh is a PhD Scholar at the School of Human Ecology, Ambedkar University and Associate Editor for Pastoralism– research, policy and practice Journal. Her PhD work explores the politics of rangeland conservation in the Himalaya using an interdisciplinary approach. Her primary research interest includes disciplines of pastoral studies, rangeland conservation and animal geography. In the last nine years, she has worked extensively on the social dimensions of wildlife conservation across India. Her ongoing research has highlighted the importance of including pastoralists in the policy formulation, wildlife conservation, and management of rangelands. She is intrigued by the pastoral indigenous knowledge system and believes that long term regional studies are crucial for reconciling pastoral livelihood and rangeland conservation goals.
Date/Time
Thursday, 13th January at 1500 Beijing/Shanghai time (13:00 Bishkek time)
Location
Zoom – Register here
Please note
-
- If you have never used Zoom before, we recommend that you try the link 10 minutes before the start of the lecture.
- Please feel free to write questions in the comment area and there will be time for questions/discussion at the end of the talk.
- Please note that the session will be recorded and later featured on the SLN website. If you have concerns about this please let us know before the session.
SLN Webinar: 50 years Eurasian lynx in Switzerland – Experience with the reintroduction of a large carnivore
The Eurasian lynx co-exists with the snow leopard in parts of its range. Conservation of the two species are interconnected and collaborative efforts have the potential to strengthen each other. A large body of knowledge about the lynx has been gathered in Europe over the last half century. SLN’s coming webinar will introduce us to the lessons drawn from Eurasian lynx conservation efforts in Switzerland.
SLN is pleased to invite Christine Breitenmoser-Würsten and Urs Breitenmoser to lead this webinar on Monday, 6th December, 2021 at 10 am CET. Sandro Lovari, SLN’s Steering Committee Chair will facilitate the discussion around this exchange of learnings. We look forward to this session which goes broader than the snow leopard, as requested by many members.
About the Webinar
The Eurasian lynx is one of the most widespread cats of the world, but in its western range, in Europe, it was almost eradicated in the 19th century. Today, the autochthonous populations in northern and eastern Europe have recovered, and in west and central Europe, several populations were reintroduced.
The first successful reintroduction was in the Swiss Alps in 1971. The reintroduction was possible because in the first half of the 20th century, the forests – habitat of the lynx – and wild ungulates such as roe deer or chamois have recovered, reconstituting the ecological framework for the return of the lynx. However, people had lost their ancient knowledge of cohabitation with large carnivores, and the return of an efficient predator and competitor was a big challenge for the human community.
Nowadays, the lynx is broadly accepted. However, the reintroduction was an extreme population bottleneck, and 50 years after the first releases, the genetic situation of the population is a major concern. The fall and raise of the megafauna – both herbivores and carnivores – were tightly connected to long-term societal and economic development and the transition from a more agricultural society to an urban industrial and service society. Such experience – both negative and positive – can help to better foresee and mitigate human-carnivore conflicts in the fast changing world of Asia.
About our Guests
Christine Breitenmoser-Würsten and Urs Breitenmoser both have a PhD in zoology from the University of Bern. They are ecologists who have mainly worked on the challenges of large carnivores making a comeback in Switzerland, especially the Eurasian lynx, which was reintroduced in the Swiss Alps and in the Jura Mountains in the early 1970s. Christine and Urs have directed the Swiss Foundation KORA – carnivore ecology and wildlife management. Since 2001, they are the co-chairs of the IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group.
Date/Time
Monday, 6th December, 2021 at 10 am CET
Register today
Please note
- If you have never used Zoom before, we recommend that you try the link 10 minutes before the start of the lecture.
- Please feel free to write questions in the comment area and there will be time for questions/discussion at the end of the talk.
- Please note that the session will be recorded and later featured on the SLN website. If you have concerns about this please let us know before the session.
SLN Webinar: Snow leopards in the land of mountain deities
We invite you to our next SLN webinar which continues our series on different Science & Conservation perspectives around snow leopards. This webinar will take us to the Tibetan Plateau in China where we will hear from Awang, the founder of the Plateau Nature Conservancy. We will learn about how he and his team are bridging science and traditional knowledge for snow leopard conservation. LingYun, SLN’s Committee Member, will also join us as facilitator, adding insights from her work on the plateau.
As usual our format will be a talk of 20-30 minutes followed by an interactive discussion. Awang has some remarkable images and stories to share. Please register through the link below and help us spread the word and share the news with your colleagues and those who would be interested in attending.
About the Webinar
Awang will share how the Plateau Nature Conservancy (PNC) is supporting Tibetan herders from the sacred mountain range Amney Machin at the Source of the Yellow River to carry out snow leopard camera trap surveys. He will discuss how his team is working with local herders to combine traditional ways of biodiversity conservation with the concepts of contemporary conservation and regional conservation policy. All of their work is conducted around mountains that are considered sacred in Tibetan Buddhism and around the sacred lakes at the source of the Yellow River. These sacred features of the area provide an opportunity to strengthen and protect these snow leopard landscapes. Awang’s talk will share how such traditional forms of protecting mountain areas are still playing an important role in conservation of alpine ecosystem and wildlife within it.
About our Guests
Awang is founder and director of Plateau Nature Conservancy (PNC) in China. He is a wildlife conservationist and researcher who has worked in the Tibetan Plateau for 10 years. In 2007, he joined Fauna and Flora International (FFI) and worked on several conservation initiatives including rangeland management, community-based conservation and public environmental education. In 2013, he completed his MSc at DICE, University of Kent, and majored in Biodiversity Conservation and Tourism. He is currently a member of ICCA (Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas) China and China Federation of Youth Committee.
Date/Time
Tuesday, November 16th, 2021 at 16:00-17:00 Beijing time
Location
Zoom: Register through the following link.
Please note
-
- If you have never used Zoom before, we recommend that you try the link 10 minutes before the start of the lecture.
- Please feel free to write questions in the comment area and there will be time for questions/discussion at the end of the talk.
- Please note that the session will be recorded and later featured on the SLN website. If you have concerns about this please let us know before the session.
Women & Science
The challenges presented by the current environmental crisis require a diversity of perspectives and capacities to achieve human well-being and biodiversity outcomes that are equitable and just. However, the scientific community is still missing essential perspectives from women scientists.
There is evidence of a large and persistent gender gap across a number of levels. For example, as an indicator of representation, a 2021 study showed that women represented only 11% of the top-publishing authors in over a 1000 leading journals in ecology, evolution, and conservation between 1945 to 2019. In the most recent period (2005-2019) there is progress but slow (18% vs 13% in the 1990-2004 period). Within those figures there remains further underrepresentation of women and scientists from the Global South. The research publication gap in the snow leopard conservation community has not yet been assessed in detail. It may however be facing a similar trend. Women’s contribution to snow leopard science is broader and individuals and organizations are making efforts to empower women scientists across the snow leopard range and world.
In this webinar we hear from women scientists who have been working on snow leopard science – Dr. Bermet Tursunkulova, Imogene Cancellare & Dr. Manvi Sharma – and involved in work that supports women in participation and decision making. They will highlight gaps and challenges they see for women in science and discuss strategies for building scientific capacity and creating a supportive community for snow leopard researchers. Dr. Justine Shanti Alexander, the Executive Director of the Snow Leopard Network, will facilitate the panel discussion. She has been actively involved in snow leopard research and conservation for a number of years and brings further perspectives from the SLN network.
More information about the speakers can be found here.
SLN Webinar: Women & Community Conservation
Across the range, snow leopards and people share space. Engaging with local communities is essential for snow leopard conservation. Community based programmes tend to engage with men largely due to social norms and existing power structures. This often results in excluding women, who are important stakeholders and form almost 50% of the adult population, from conservation action and decision making.
In this webinar, we explore how to better engage women in conservation programs across the snow leopard landscape. We hear examples from existing programs that specifically target women and discuss how conservation programs can themselves shift social norms around gender equality (positively or negatively). We also examine the key role of policy in transforming community based programs through incorporating gender sensitive approaches.
We will be hearing from conservationists across the snow leopard range- Bayara Agvantsaaren, Dr. LuZhi and Rashmi Singh– who are working at different levels to engage women in snow leopard conservation. Each of them will highlight a particular aspect of their work that highlights the opportunities and challenges in promoting women’s role in community based conservation. Dr. Charudutt Mishra, the Executive Director of the Snow Leopard Trust, will facilitate the panel discussion. Charu has been a pioneer in community based conservation and brings a special perspective around how to make a difference at the ground level.
We hope to see you, all members both men and women, at this very special webinar and look forward to drawing on your experiences and insights during the discussion. This webinar is Part 1 of a Webinar Series focussing on the role of women in snow leopard conservation and science.
About the Webinar
Opening the webinar we first hear from the panelists, each with a five-minute presentation, where they set the context of their work and highlight key issues. This will be followed by the panel discussion facilitated by Dr. Charudutt Mishra for twenty minutes focusing on opportunities and identifying strategies and priorities for engaging women in conservation programmes. This will be followed by an open interaction with the audience.
About our Guests
Bayara Agvantsaaren is the Executive Director of Snow Leopard Conservation Foundation and Mongolia Program Director, at the Snow Leopard Trust. “I have been working as a snow leopard conservationist since 1998 when I co-found Snow Leopard Enterprises Program which offers income generation to women rural herders who share mountain with these elusive cats. It has been amazing 20+ years career journey to work with different aspects of conservation. I am privileged to be able to help both snow leopards and local people.” shares Bayara.
Professor Lu Zhi is a conservation biologist in China whose work covers multiple-disciplinary researches and bridging academic research and practices, in order to seek solutions for conservation and sustainable development in China and to promote China’s positive role in the world. She has studied ecology and conservation of endangered species in southwest China and on the Tibetan Plateau, such as the giant panda, the snow leopard, the blue sheep, the Tibetan brown bear and the Przewalski gazelle, as well as their interactions with human activities. In recent years, she focuses on mechanisms of coexistence between human and nature. She leads conservation initiatives on community-led conservation and citizen sciences in both rural and urban contexts based on economic incentives, cultural values and policy improvements. She involved in conservation policy making at regional and national levels, and is an active member of international conservation discussions.
Rashmi Singh is a PhD Scholar at the School of Human Ecology, Ambedkar University and Associate Editor for Pastoralism– research, policy and practice Journal. Her PhD work explores the politics of rangeland conservation in the Himalaya using an interdisciplinary approach. Her primary research interest includes disciplines of pastoral studies, rangeland conservation and animal geography. In the last nine years, she has worked extensively on the social dimensions of wildlife conservation across India. Her ongoing research has highlighted the importance of including pastoralists in the policy formulation, wildlife conservation, and management of rangelands. She is intrigued by the pastoral indigenous knowledge system and believes that long term regional studies are crucial for reconciling pastoral livelihood and rangeland conservation goals.
Date/Time
Tuesday, September 21st, at 17:00-18:15 Bishkek time
Location
We regret to inform you that this Webinar has been postponed until further notice
Please note
-
- If you have never used Zoom before, we recommend that you try the link 10 minutes before the start of the lecture.
- Please feel free to write questions in the comment area and there will be time for questions/discussion at the end of the talk.
- Please note that the session will be recorded and later featured on the SLN website. If you have concerns about this please let us know before the session.
Birds in snow leopard habitats
This Webinar describes the remarkable diversity of bird life in snow leopard habitats and highlight how conserving the unique high elevation habitat of the snow leopard will benefit a range of other species. We welcome John MacKinnon, distinguished author of A Field Guide to the Birds of China (published in 2000), and Terry Townshend, well known in Beijing as a leading expert on ornithology, to lead the webinar- they will take us to the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and give us more than a birds eye view on this interesting look at snow leopard conservation.
Find out more about the talk and the speakers HERE. Enjoy the webinar!
Snow Leopard Conservation in the Kyrgyz Republic
The Snow Leopard Network is pleased to invite you to the next episode in the Country Update Series. This webinar will focus on Kyrgyz Republic and the work of the Ilbirs Foundation in tackling some of the most pressing and challenging threats the species face.
The Kyrgyz Republic continues to play an important role in snow leopard conservation. More than half of the territory of the country is potential snow leopard habitat. The Kyrgyz Republic has been a leader in taking forward the global snow leopard conservation initiative the Global Snow Leopard & Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP) hosting the first ever Global Snow Leopard Forum in the capital, Bishkek, in 2013 and subsequent important gatherings. A number of civil society and academic institutions in the country are working to build a better understanding of the cats status and engaging with communities to address key threats.
SLN welcomes four guest speakers working with the Ilbirs Foundation for this webinar, Zairbek, Rahim, Kenje and Tanya. They will be sharing updates from a range of new conservation initiatives that are taking shape in the country – addressing critical threats.
Find out more about the Webinar and the Speakers HERE.
SLN Webinar: Birds in snow leopard habitats
Do join us for our next special SLN Webinar: “Birds in snow leopard habitats”. Many SLN members may recall that over the last year we have featured and explored the world of species co-existing with the snow leopard, including the grey wolf and the brown bear. When we think of other species co-existing with the snow leopard; we often don’t focus on birds. Yet a number of bird species have evolved at high elevations in snow leopard habitats and many more migratory species use snow leopard landscapes in summer.
This Webinar will describe the remarkable diversity of bird life in snow leopard habitats and highlight how conserving the unique high elevation habitat of the snow leopard will benefit a range of other species. We welcome John MacKinnon, distinguished author of A Field Guide to the Birds of China (published in 2000), and Terry Townshend, well known in Beijing as a leading expert on ornithology, to lead the webinar- they will take us to the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and give us more than a birds eye view on this interesting look at snow leopard conservation.
About the Webinar
John and Terry will set the scene by describing a set of resident bird families (from small to very large) that have evolved in snow leopard landscapes at high altitudes. They will then move on to describing seasonal migrant birds and trace the routes they use into snow leopard mountain regions such as the river valleys of the Mekong. Some of these are short distance migrants, others longer and some remain unconfirmed in terms of routes and ultimate destinations. Finally they will explore the conservation implications for birds and snow leopards together. Throughout their presentations our speakers will draw on observations and learnings from the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.
About our Guests
John MacKinnon is a well-known ecologist and conservationist who has worked for for 45 years in Asia and over 30 years in China. He has written Bird Field Guides for several parts of Asia including China and has made several trips into snow leopards ranges including Bhutan, Nepal, the Tianshan and Qinghai, China. He has also produced a number of films on the wildlife of the Tibetan Plateau and Xinjiang.
Terry Townshend is a Beijing-based wildlife conservationist. Since 2016 he has worked with ShanShui Conservation Center to set up a community-based wildlife-watching tourism project on the Tibetan Plateau focusing on snow leopards and other apex predators. During more than 20 visits, he has documented the birds that share the mountain habitat with these magnificent cats, including their interactions.
Date/Time
Tuesday, July 27th, 2021; 19:00- 20:00 Beijing, China time
Location
ZOOM, to join this talk, REGISTER HERE
Please note
- If you have never used Zoom before, we recommend that you try the link 10 minutes before the start of the lecture.
- Please feel free to write questions in the comment area and there will be time for questions/discussion at the end of the talk.
- Please note that the session will be recorded and later featured on the SLN website. If you have concerns about this please let us know before the session.
SLN Webinar: Snow Leopard Conservation in the Kyrgyz Republic
The Snow Leopard Network is pleased to invite you to the next episode in the Country Update Series. This webinar will focus on Kyrgyz Republic and the work of the Ilbirs Foundation in tackling some of the most pressing and challenging threats the species face.
The Kyrgyz Republic continues to play an important role in snow leopard conservation. More than half of the territory of the country is potential snow leopard habitat. The Kyrgyz Republic has been a leader in taking forward the global snow leopard conservation initiative the Global Snow Leopard & Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP) hosting the first ever Global Snow Leopard Forum in the capital, Bishkek, in 2013 and subsequent important gatherings. A number of civil society and academic institutions in the country are working to build a better understanding of the cats status and engaging with communities to address key threats.
SLN welcomes four guest speakers working with the Ilbirs Foundation for this webinar, Zairbek, Rahim, Kenje and Tanya. They will be sharing updates from a range of new conservation initiatives that are taking shape in the country – addressing critical threats.
About the Webinar
Climate Change: The team will first present the latest research and monitoring work being carried out under the UNEP Vanishing Treasures program. This work aims to investigate how pastoral communities are being impacted by climate change and find strategies to build community resilience.
Poaching: They will also discuss how Ilbirs Foundation supports the Kyrgyz Customs Service in tackling illegal wildlife trade. Dogs have been deployed at checkpoints for wildlife detection in collaboration with the Department of Environmental Protection
Covid-19 Pandemic: The pandemic is affecting community conservation efforts. The team will share their experience and discuss strategies to keep community conservation efforts underway and effective in this period of uncertainty.
About our Guests
Zairbek Kubanychbekov is the Director of Ilbirs Foundation. Prior to that he worked with Kaiberen Project and Panthera in Kyrgyzstan. Zair has been active in supporting the establishment of the very first community-based conservancies in Kyrgyzstan as well as working with the Kyrgyz Customs Service to train wildlife detection dogs.
Rahim Kulenbekov is a wildlife biologist with Ilbirs Foundation and prior to that with Panthera. Rahim has been a key member of the team that led the first snow leopard telemetry project in Kyrgyzstan. He is the lead for the snow leopard and prey surveys under the UNEP Vanishing Treasures project in Kyrgyzstan.
Kenje Sultanbaeva is program manager for Ilbirs Foundation. Formerly an English teacher she leads and supports all the communication for Ilbirs Foundation as well as environmental outreach programs.
Tanya Rosen is technical adviser for the UNEP Vanishing Treasures project in Kyrgyzstan and Conservation Adviser with the Caucasus Nature Fund. She has worked in Central Asia and on snow leopard conservation for 13 years, as Director of snow leopards programs in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan for Panthera until 2018 and adviser to BWCDO Project Snow Leopard in Pakistan. She is also co-founder of Ilbirs Foundation, member of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group and CMS CAMI Snow leopard focal point.
Date/Time
Tuesday, July 13th, 2021; 17:00- 18:00 Bishkek Kyrgyzstan time
Location
ZOOM, to join this talk, REGISTER HERE
Please note
- If you have never used Zoom before, we recommend that you try the link 10 minutes before the start of the lecture.
- Please feel free to write questions in the comment area and there will be time for questions/discussion at the end of the talk.
- Please note that the session will be recorded and later featured on the SLN website. If you have concerns about this please let us know before the session.