25years

Empowered lives. Resilient nations.

Silent Roar UNDP AND GEF IN THE SNOW LEOPARD LANDSCAPE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS CONTENTS

Managing Editors: Midori Paxton, Tim Scott, Yoko Watanabe Compilation and Editing: Erin Charles INTRODUCTION 2 CO-MANAGEMENT ON THE ROOF 21 CONCLUSION 44 OF THE WORLD—CHINA Core Writing Team: Erin Charles, Midori Paxton, Tim Scott, Doley Tshering, Inela Weeks SNOW LEOPARD RANGE MAP 4 PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: 23 We wish to acknowledge the UNDP and GEF staff, consultants, and partners who contributed to this publication: GOVERNMENTS AND GOVERNANCE Tehmina Akhtar, Ana Maria Currea, Adriana Dinu, Lisa Farroway, Gustavo Fonseca, Uyanga Gankhuyag, Christian LESSONS LEARNED: RUSSIA, 23 ART AND CULTURE Hofer, Daniar Ibragimov, Kyle Kaufman, Khurshed Kholov, Fan Longqing, Cathy Maize, Ruchi Pant, Pakamon MONGOLIA, AND KAZAKHSTAN Pinprayoon, Evgeniia Postnova, Ajiniyaz Reimov, Olga Romanova, Nadisha Sidhu, Nargizakhon Usmanova, SNOW LEOPARDS IN LITERATURE 19 SECTION 1: WHY SNOW LEOPARDS? 6 STRENGTHENING AND EXPANDING 24 Maxim Vergeichik, Katerina Yushenko, Yuqiong Zhou, with special thanks to Marc Foggin and John MacKinnon WHY PROTECT THE HIGH 8 PROTECTED AREAS—KAZAKHSTAN SNOW LEOPARDS AND 21 for generously permitting the extensive use of their photographs. TIBETAN BUDDHISM MOUNTAIN LANDSCAPES? PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: TRAINING 25 We wish to acknowledge the central role of the GSLEP Secretariat: Hamid Zahid (Chair), Abdykalyk Rustamov CULTURAL-POLITICAL SYMBOLS 37 UNIQUE BIODIVERSITY 8 OF TRAINERS (Co-chair), Kyial Alygulova, Yash Veer Bhatnagar, Chyngyz Kochorov, Andrey Kushlin, Keshav Varma, with special LAND USE PLANNING & BIOLOGICAL 26 SACRED BELIEFS, MYTHS 40 ASIA'S WATER TOWER 9 thanks to Koustubh Sharma and Matthias Fiechter for their technical review of this document, contributions CORRIDORS— KYRGYZSTAN AND LEGENDS of text, photographs, maps and invaluable feedback on all aspects of the publication; and the Permanent CULTURAL HERITAGE 9 LESSONS LEARNED: BHUTAN 27 Mission of the Kyrgyz Republic to the UN in New York: Madina Karabaeva. WHY ARE SNOW LEOPARDS 10 CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION 28 We would like to extend our sincere thanks to the following GSLEP partners for their contributions to the AND THE PEOPLE OF THE AND RESILIENCE—PAKISTAN text, photographs and review of this publication: CITES: Yuan Liu; Convention on Migratory Species: MOUNTAIN REGIONS AT RISK? PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: 29 Polina Orlinskiy, Yelizaveta Protas; Everest Snow Leopard Conservation Center: Gao Yufang; INTERPOL: CLIMATE-ADAPTIVE Jayeeta Kar; Panthera: Tanya Rosen, George Schaller; Snow Leopard Conservancy: Darla Hillard, MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES Rodney Jackson; Snow Leopard Trust: Matthias Fiechter; Wildlife Conservation Society: Elizabeth Bennett, POACHING AND ILLEGAL WILDLIFE 30 Maddie Thompson, Peter Zahler; Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF): Nikhil Advani, John Farrington. TRADE— AFGHANISTAN SECTION 2: INTERVENTIONS 12 Cover Art & Layout Design: Camilo Salomon, www.cjsalomon.com PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: SNIFFER 32 SECURING SUSTAINABLE 14 Published by: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) DOGS FIGHT ILLEGAL WILDLIFE LIVELIHOODS—INDIA TRAFFICKING and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: 16 PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: PROJECT 32 Copyright © 2016, UNDP and GEF HEALTHY HERDING PREDATOR LESSONS LEARNED: KAZAKHSTAN 16 SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH— TAJIKISTAN 33 MINIMIZING HUMAN-WILDLIFE 17 PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: 35 CONFLICT—UZBEKISTAN CITIZEN SCIENTISTS IN NEPAL PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: 19 TRANSBOUNDARY 36 PUT A ROOF ON IT COOPERATION—GLOBAL PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: FREEING 20 PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: BRIDGING 37 A MONGOLIAN MOUNTAINSIDE BOUNDARIES PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: WHEN 20 PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: SACRED 40 PREVENTION ISN'T ENOUGH SPECIES, SACRED SITES GEF SMALL GRANTS PROGRAMME 42 (GEF SGP)

1 In October 2013, officials from the 12 snow leopard range countries gathered in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan for the first Global Snow Leopard Conservation Forum. Following two years of intense preparations, all 12 governments signed the historic Bishkek Declaration on the Conservation of Snow Leopards and unanimously endorsed the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP). The core of the GSLEP are the National Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Priorities (NSLEP) documents, one for each range country, as well as a series of Global Support Components (GSCs), outlining how international organizations may best assist the countries' efforts, particularly in transboundary and ADRIANA DINU range-wide contexts. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) are two such international organizations committed to contributing to the GSLEP through financial and technical support.

GEF has a long history of supporting conservation of the snow leopard (Panthera uncia) and its habitat, having approved 24 total projects and invested nearly USD $100 million toward UNDP-implemented projects in all 12 range countries since 1991. This publication highlights nine current GEF-financed, UNDP-implemented projects that have emerged since the Global Forum in 2013, representing an investment of about $45 million to support snow leopard range countries GUSTAVO FONSECA in meeting their national targets toward achieving GSLEP objectives. These nine projects alone have leveraged over $200 million in co-financing from national and international partners. "Partner Spotlights" spread throughout this publication share examples of the innovative work done by several of these key GSLEP partners.

GSLEP countries identified 23 international landscapes as conservation priorities, each hosting an abundance of plant and animal species. A large part of these landscapes have been occupied and managed by indigenous peoples and local communities for generations, often experiencing poverty as they strive to make a living in one of the most remote and ABDYKALYK extreme environments on Earth. For UNDP, GEF and GSLEP partners, advancing the cause of snow leopard conservation RUSTAMOV represents the opportunity to protect globally significant biodiversity and work toward the improved well-being of humans—both women and men—as well as safeguarding essential ecosystem functions benefitting all life on Earth. Reviving and incorporating the traditional knowledge of the indigenous peoples, ethnic minorities and pastoralists who have lived on these lands in harmony with nature for centuries is essential to further promote conservation and sustainable development initiatives.

To achieve these overlapping and interconnected goals, our projects employ a comprehensive strategy aimed at addressing direct environmental threats as well as the underlying conditions that allow these threats to arise. Projects also target the issues at multiple levels, from local, on-the-ground interventions to regional and national government policy reform, to efforts that require international cooperation. Each project is designed with a suite of interventions aimed at INTRODUCTION achieving direct conservation results as well as creating a political and social environment that facilitates sustainable change and enables countries to accelerate achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through holistic A half century after Rachel Carson brought us Silent Spring, a lot of voices in the project design and partnership with governments and other GSLEP organizations committed to conservation, the health natural world are still falling silent. But in the world’s high places, there remains and vitality of snow leopards and the people who rely on the high mountain ecosystems will extend long into the future. an animal rarely seen and almost never heard. This is the story of one of the world’s great cats, noteworthy for the fact that it does not roar. But its conservation story, intricately linked with the landscapes and people, needs to be heard. Adriana Dinu Gustavo Fonseca Abdykalyk Rustamov Photo by Steve Winter/National Geographic Creative UNDP-GEF Executive Coordinator GEF Director of Programs Director, State agency on environment protection and forestry, Kyrgyz Republic

2 3 Snow Leopard Range CURRENT ESTIMATED GEF-FINANCED, Kyrgyzstan SNOW LEOPARD UNDP-IMPLEMENTED POPULATION PROJECTS IN THE BY COUNTRY SNOW LEOPARD Afghanistan: 100-200 LANDSCAPE 5 Bhutan: 100-200 China: 2,000-2,500 1. India Kazakhstan Securing Livelihoods, Conservation, Sustainable India: 200-600 Use and Restoration of High Range Himalayan 4 Kazakhstan: 180-200 Ecosystems (SECURE-Himalayas), USD $11.5m Uzbekistan Kyrgyzstan: 150-500 2. Uzbekistan Mongolia: 500-1,000 Sustainable Natural Resource Use and Forest Management in Key Mountainous Areas Nepal: 300-500 Important for Globally Significant Biodiversity, 2 Pakistan: 200-420 $6.2m Russia: 150-200 3. China Tajikistan: 180-220 CBPF - Strengthening the Effectiveness of the Uzbekistan: 20-50 Protected Area System in Qinghai Province, China to Conserve Globally Important Biodiversity, $5.3m Source: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Panthera uncia – published in 2008. 4. Kazakhstan Tajikistan Conservation and Sustainable Management 8 of Key Globally Important Ecosystems for Multiple Benefits, $8m 3 China Expected Results 5. Kyrgyzstan • Sustainable Land Management (SLM) and Sustainable Conservation of Globally Important Biodiversity Forest Management (SFM) Plans developed and and Associated Land and Forest Resources implemented on over 17 million hectares of Western Tian Shan Mountain Ecosystems • Protected Area (PA) expansion or new PAs to Support Sustainable Livelihoods, $3.9m establishment covering at least 2.4 million ha • 420,000 ha of degraded rangeland restored 6. Pakistan 7 Pakistan Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Afghanistan • 957,900 ha of High Conservation Value Forests Protection Programme, $4.6m designated and managed 7. Afghanistan Supported in Conservation of Snow Leopards and their Critical Ecosystem in Afghanistan, $2.6m All Project Countries 6 1 • Sustainable livelihoods development and 8. Tajikistan Pakistan India human-wildlife conflict prevention Conservation and Sustainable Use of Pamir Alay and Tien Shan Ecosystems for • Community-based conservation and co-management Snow Leopard Protection and Sustainable • Standardized wildlife and habitat monitoring Community Livelihoods, $4.1m • Institutional capacity building and policy development 9. Global—Focus on Central Asia • Anti-poaching and anti-trafficking initiatives Transboundary Cooperation for Snow Leopard • Fostering transboundary cooperation and Ecosystem Conservation, $1.4m • Education and awareness raising activities

Maps provided by Koustubh Sharma/GSLEP Secretariat. 4 5 Shadow-like, snow leopards silently stalk the remote steppes and steep, rocky slopes of Central and South Asia. Rarely glimpsed, the mysterious presence of these reclusive cats casts an almost mythical aura, earning them a prominent place in local legend and contributing significantly to the cultural identity of the diverse ethnic groups and nations that call the high mountain regions their home. The snow leopards' ghostly allure extends far beyond Asia, fascinating people from around the globe.

This widespread appeal combined with the severe threats contributing to the snow leopards' status as an endangered species makes them ideal 'ambassadors' or FLAGSHIP SPECIES for the cause of conservation. As such, snow leopards draw attention to the issues surrounding the decline of the species' population as well as garnering support for projects and initiatives to protect the animals and their habitat.

Promoting snow leopard conservation serves a broader purpose than simply saving one endangered species. Snow leopards act as an INDICATOR of the health of the entire ecosystem in which they live, due to their position as the top (apex) predator in the food web. A diverse and abundant community of species—from insects and birds to mammals, reptiles and plants—must be sustained within the habitat for an apex predator to thrive. SECTION 1 Monitoring snow leopard populations alerts conservationists to conditions that disrupt the health of the ecosystem, allowing them to take action to mitigate threats for the benefit of all species that live within it.

Why Snow Leopards? Furthermore, preserving snow leopards throughout their range directly enhances habitat vitality by maintaining balance in the food web. Snow leopards function as a KEYSTONE SPECIES—although they occur in relatively low abundance, snow leopards play a critical role in regulating the populations of other species, preventing any one species from dominating the habitat. Photo by Steve Winter/National Geographic Creative

6 7 HIGH MOUNTAIN HABITAT ASIA'S WATER TOWER Protecting snow leopards goes hand in hand The glaciers and plateaus of Asia's high mountain landscapes with protecting the landscape in which they live. serve as the birthplace for 13 major rivers, supplying fresh water to nearly 60% of the human population. The availability Snow leopards specialize in one of the harshest and most of clean, abundant water is foundational for all aspects of remote habitats on Planet Earth. Well-adapted to the cold, dry human life and activity from the high mountains down to the conditions, snow leopards roam the high mountains of Central sea, from raising livestock and growing crops to generating and South Asia up to elevations of 5,000m or more. Steep slopes, hydro-electricity, maintaining industrial operations, and, of rocky crags and rugged terrain provide ideal hunting grounds for course, supporting life itself. Additionally, these landscapes the stealthy cats, on the prowl for ibex, blue sheep and other wild serve a climate regulating function, as low pressure builds ungulates (hoofed mammals) grazing far and wide on the sparse up on the plateaus during summer, drawing winds from the mountain vegetation. distant oceans that carry monsoon rains to the agricultural The vastness of the landscape deceives the eye, appearing lands of Asia. Climate change is already disrupting this reliable to harbor few animals and even fewer people. To an outsider annual cycle as rapidly increasing temperatures on the accustomed to life in the bustling cities or green, fertile valleys plateaus spark an increase in the frequency and intensity of lower elevations, the high mountains may resemble an of cyclones, droughts and floods across the region. inhospitable wasteland. But this difficult terrain conceals indispensable resources, not only for snow leopards and their prey, but for humanity. Photo by Marc Foggin Photo by Marc Foggin

Photo by Marc Foggin UNIQUE WHY PROTECT THE HIGH MOUNTAIN LANDSCAPES? CULTURAL HERITAGE BIODIVERSITY Although sparsely populated, the high mountain landscapes are rich in In addition to the snow leopard, cultural diversity. The indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities in these high mountain landscapes support remote landscapes each boast a unique way of life, with distinctive skills, hundreds of species of plants languages, knowledge systems and art forms that have been handed down and animals, many of which live through generations. Predominantly pastoralists, many families still follow nowhere else on the planet. Aside nomadic traditions, moving with their herds of yaks, goats and sheep as from the intrinsic value of this the seasons change. Maintaining the productivity of this rangeland is globally significant biodiversity, fundamental for sustainable development to take place in these societies, these unique species provide improving household well-being and preserving their way of life. The opportunities for scientific and mountains themselves hold deep spiritual significance not only for the educational advancement, medicinal local inhabitants, but for pilgrims from all religions that journey to the breakthroughs and agricultural sacred sites that abound throughout the region. improvements. Additionally, the accumulation of vegetation across Safeguarding a healthy, functioning snow leopard habitat helps to secure the the immense landscape serves as a essential resources provided by Asia's high mountain regions, from food, clean water, substantial carbon sink, essential for and medicines, to regulation of climate conditions, and educational, cultural and spiritual value. These ecosystem services yield benefits experienced by people locally, slowing global climate change. regionally and around the world. Background photo: Pakistan/Snow Leopard Trust. Species photos by John MacKinnon, Midori Paxton, and Everest 8 Snow Leopard Conservation Center. 9 Why are snow leopards and the people of the mountain regions at risk? Snow leopard populations have declined by 20% in the past two decades, leaving only an estimated 4,000-6,500 individuals in the wild, with an effective breeding population of approximately 2,500. Numerous threats face this irreplaceable cat, ranging from local to global in scale. Significantly, these same threats negatively impact humans, imperiling the health, quality of life, and even survival of those who share the snow leopards' remote high mountains habitat, the billions in downstream regions and those suffering the compounding effects of climate variation around the globe.

HABITAT DEGRADATION FROM OVERGRAZING HABITAT LOSS AND FRAGMENTATION LACK OF LANDSCAPE-SCALE PLANNING CLIMATE CHANGE Intensification of grazing due to rising human population As solitary hunters, snow leopards claim vast territories in AND TRANSBOUNDARY COOPERATION The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and growing livestock numbers increases competition with order to pursue the widely dispersed prey of the high mountains. Officially protected natural areas encompass only a small fraction reports that at high elevations, warming is occurring wildlife for the sparse vegetation of the high mountains. When poorly planned, large-scale infrastructure development, (about 6%) of potential snow leopard habitat in the high mountain at approximately three times the global average. Rising Overgrazing weakens a plant's ability to regenerate and such as hydropower dams or mining operations, encroach on ranges. Maintaining area suitable for wildlife, traditional pastoralism temperatures and increasingly erratic weather patterns have continue serving as a food source, leading to a decline in these territories, decreasing the land's ability to support viable and the ongoing function of vital ecosystem services requires spurred the rapid retreat of Asia's high mountain glaciers, the wild prey and insufficient nutrition for livestock. Overgrazing populations of snow leopards. Construction of highways and coordination and planning over enormous landscapes which often span thawing of permafrost and a shift in treelines and associated also negatively affects soil and water quality through railways cut across previously unbroken landscapes, encouraging the borders of neighboring nations. Lack of joint planning by agriculture, habitats to higher elevations. The changing landscape compaction of fragile alpine soils, preventing infiltration further development in previously inaccessible areas and infrastructure, energy and other sectors at a landscape-scale, as well produces less rain and snow locally, drying up the grasslands of rainfall and snow melt, leading to runoff and soil erosion, introducing barriers to safe wildlife migration. as lack of cooperation between adjoining countries contributes to the depended on by snow leopard prey and domestic herds alike. with negative effects all downstream. degradation of habitat and hinders efforts to curb illegal wildlife trade. Furthermore, reduced river levels and decreased rate of flow endangers the water supplies used by nearly 60% of the world's population. Loss of the high mountain ecosystem's LOCAL REGIONAL GLOBAL climate regulating functions compounds the changes occurring at a global level, with effects felt around the world.

POACHING AND ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE The beauty and cultural significance of snow leopard skins, bones, teeth and other derivatives drives an opportunistic trade in illegally HUMAN-WILDLIFE CONFLICT poached and trafficked animals. The remoteness of snow leopard Decline in the snow leopards' wild prey coupled with the expanding territory and the many international borders that run through it herds of local pastoralists results in increased predation on domesticated facilitate these activities and make it difficult to patrol and enforce livestock. For herding women and men scraping a living in the remote anti-poaching and anti-trafficking laws. Possible involvement by high mountains, losing even one animal can be a devastating financial organized crime syndicates, known to be heavily involved in the loss. This conflict leads herders to kill snow leopards and other predators lucrative global wildlife trade, would further undermine quality in retaliation or as a means to prevent further harm to their livelihoods. of life in the region.

Underlying problems, such as poverty, weak natural resource governance and policies, insufficient scientific knowledge and an eroded affinity for nature, create conditions where these threats can arise. Poverty drives overuse of natural resources as families rely on the resources at hand in the struggle to survive day to day. Weak governance and policies facilitate unsustainable land and resource use, low institutional capacity, corruption and illegal trade in wildlife, as well as contributing to the ongoing poverty and marginalization of remote mountain inhabitants. Rapid urbanization detaches the human population from nature, leading to a loss of traditional knowledge and cultural diversity, as well as a lack of collective will to support biodiversity and conservation in the marketplace and policy arenas. Finally, inadequate scientific study and knowledge of snow leopards and their ecosystems due to low government priority and funding prevents the most effective use of scarce resources for conservation. 10 11 To effectively conserve the high mountain ecosystems for the benefit of snow leopards and humans, our projects employ a comprehensive strategy to address threats across the spectrum, from local to international. Each project is designed with a suite of interventions aimed at achieving direct conservation results as well as creating a political and social environment that facilitates sustainable change and enables countries to accelerate achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This includes a range of social, economic and environmental benefits for local women, men and the society at large for both the short- and longer-term. The following stories highlight one aspect of each multi-faceted project as an example of how these strategies may be operationalized. Additional "Partner Spotlights" show a sample of complementary activities by other GSLEP partners as we work in tandem toward achieving the GSLEP countries' goals.

GLOBAL SNOW LEOPARD AND ECOSYSTEM PROTECTION PROGRAM (GSLEP) FRAMEWORK As signatories of the Bishkek Declaration and parties to GSLEP, the 12 snow leopard range countries have agreed to work together toward an overarching goal of securing 25% of the global snow leopard range in 23 distinct landscapes by 2020, covering critical habitat areas in all 12 countries. All but one cross or adjoin international borders. The GSLEP framework integrates snow leopard conservation with the local and global economy, ensures landscape-level transboundary EACH COUNTRY-SPECIFIC conservation, and builds capacity for a cross-sectoral response to threats SNOW LEOPARD PROJECT IN and barriers. Management plans developed by the range countries will THE UNDP-GEF PORTFOLIO direct conservation efforts within each landscape, based on a number HAS BEEN FORMULATED of key objectives. First among them is engaging local communities in WITH COMPONENTS TO the conservation process. A second priority is effective management of ALIGN WITH ALL EIGHT both snow leopard habitat and prey species. Other key objectives include KEY OBJECTIVES OF THE combatting poaching and illegal trade, transboundary management GSLEP FRAMEWORK. and enforcement, engaging industry, institutional capacity building and policy enhancement, scientific research, and building awareness about the importance of, and threats to, snow leopards and the high mountain ecosystems. Efforts to achieve GSLEP objectives are being led by range country governments with both technical and financial support from a host of international and national organizations. SECTION 2 MAJOR INTERNATIONAL GSLEP PARTNERS

25 Interventions years

Photo by Steve Winter/National Geographic Creative

12 13 INDIA SECURING SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS The Changpas people are high-altitude pastoralists of Ladakh and the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Some among them are still nomadic, moving with their yaks and goats from the wintering grounds of Hanley Valley up to the summer pastures near the village of Lato, high in the Indian Himalayas. This territory—known as the Changthang landscape—is characterized by extensive plateau, lake and river basins, and rolling hills. Pastoralism dominates this and the three other high altitude landscapes targeted by this project—Lahul-Pangi (Himachal Pradesh), 3 Gangothri-Govind (Uttarakhand) and Kanchenjunga-Upper Teesta-Tso Lhamu (Sikkim).

PROJECT TITLE Demand for livestock and competition of wild herbivores that feed on them, Securing Livelihoods, Conservation, for pasture has grown with an upsurge increasing the chances that snow 1 2 Sustainable Use and Restoration of in human population. In the absence leopards and other predators will High Range Himalayan Ecosystems of other livelihood options, local hunt domestic livestock in order to (SECURE-Himalayas) agro-biodiversity management, dominate the trade. Finally, the project communities have steadily increased survive. Retaliatory killing of predators 4 COUNTRY the number of domestic livestock to protect livestock disrupts the integrated pest management and will promote skill development for India grazing on the fragile soils and sparse balance of the food web, intensifying improved seed, as well as encouraging non-farm employment in tourism and EXECUTING PARTNER vegetation of the alpine landscape, ecosystem degradation and the losses the revival of traditional pastoral related sectors. Capacity building in Indian Ministry of Environment, leading to loss of productivity and experienced by families working practices, such as rotational grazing. natural resources management will Forests and Climate Change severe degradation of the very to make a living in this challenging Diversification of the agricultural also create employment opportunities PROJECT PERIOD ecosystems on which their environment. economy provides new livelihood through community-based snow 2017-2023 livelihoods depend. options, such as fruit and jam leopard landscape management To address this negative cycle, in production and bee-keeping. programmes in partnership with GEF FUNDING 5 The native wildlife of the region addition to larger landscape mapping $11,544,192 Innovative technologies further the government. depends on these same natural and management initiatives at the improve commodity prices, such as CO-FINANCING resources. As plant productivity regional level, the local-level aspect green energy (micro-hydro, solar) for In addition to many female-headed enterprise development initiatives $40,343,000 dwindles, so does the population of this project focuses heavily on community-based processing, drying households, in herding societies, that align with the micro-plans then securing local livelihoods for men and and cooking, or improved storage, all women play a large role in becomes central to the project’s women that reduce dependence on packing, and transport methods to livestock rearing and management, implementation. In this way, across the the delicately-balanced snow leopard reduce product damage. Along with making gender-sensitive planning four landscapes around 37,000-40,000 ecosystems. The project will achieve training in sustainable harvesting and inclusive interventions critical farmers and pastoralists will directly this through a three-pronged strategy practices, these technologies also to project success. Following a benefit from project efforts to secure of enhancing existing livelihoods, enable communities to benefit from participatory planning process, a diverse range of livelihood options providing alternate and new livelihood their rich traditional knowledge of the women and men of project that decrease dependence on limited options and supporting skill-based wild medicinal and aromatic plants, communities will develop micro-plans natural resources, offset losses and employment opportunities. enabling them to directly process for livelihood diversification. reduce opportunity costs, making and sell their products rather than Connecting these communities effective snow leopard conservation The project will boost access to accepting a meager share of the with appropriate government- and beneficial for local communities like technical services and improved plants’ value from middlemen who partner-funded livelihood and the Changpas. technology and practices that can deliver significant enhancements to PHOTO CREDITS: 1) A Changpa woman spins wool into thread. Photo by UNDP India. 2) Processing wool from the Changthang landscape. Photo by UNDP India. 3) A Changpa herder. Photo by UNDP India. 4) Beekeeping provides an alternative source of income for herding families. Photo by Marc Foggin. 5) Wild aromatic current livelihoods, such as on-farm and medicinal plants may be harvested sustainably for income. Photo by Marc Foggin. A Changpa man prepares a sheep for shearing. Photo by UNDP India. 14 15 UZBEKISTAN MINIMIZING HUMAN-WILDLIFE CONFLICT Though the slopes of the Chatkal, Pskem and Ugam Ranges in the Western Tien Shan and the Gissar ridge in the Pamir Alai mountains are home to both humans and wildlife, co-existence is not always easy. Increasingly, snow leopards and people are coming into direct conflict as this endangered cat kills domestic livestock in rural household (dekhan) farms.

One of the key issues fueling a multifaceted approach in two PROJECT TITLE human-snow leopard conflict is the landscapes: Ugam-Chatkal National Sustainable Natural Resource Use and Forest Management in Key 1 decline of the snow leopard’s wild Park and Gissar Special Nature Mountainous Areas Important prey, such as blue sheep, Asiatic Reserve (also an identified GSLEP for Globally Significant Biodiversity. PARTNER SPOTLIGHT herds from preventable diseases such programme. Securing a stronger financial ibex, and argali. The numbers of landscape) and their buffer zones. COUNTRY Healthy Herding as plague, anthrax and rabies, herders footing through healthier herds makes these prey species have significantly The project will work closely with Uzbekistan resort to wiping out predators as the it more feasible for families to support declined due to habitat degradation local communities to prevent conflict Subsistence herders in the remote only means to protect themselves from conservation, rather than eradication, and competition for forage with by renewing the snow leopards’ EXECUTING PARTNER mountains of northern Pakistan lose more financial disaster. of snow leopards. Additionally, increasingly large domestic livestock primary food base—wild ungulate State Committee livestock to disease than to depredation. on Nature Protection vaccinations limit the spread of disease herds that graze in Uzbekistan’s populations—though restoration of So why is retaliatory killing of snow The Snow Leopard Trust and Snow from domesticated sheep and goats montane forests, steppes and the degraded high-altitude pastures PROJECT PERIOD leopards so prevalent? The all-too-frequent Leopard Foundation Pakistan actively to their wild relatives, preventing sub-alpine meadows. Livestock and forests in the snow leopard range. 2016-2021 occurrence of losing quantities of livestock work to help pastoral communities in outbreaks that could devastate the grazing is intense and unsustainably It will encourage a more collaborative GEF FUNDING to disease undermines a herder’s financial Pakistan gain access to livestock vaccines. wild prey populations that snow managed, resulting in severe land approach to sustainable pasture and $6,209,863 stability, causing even one loss due to An independent review conducted in leopards depend upon for food. degradation, including reduced forest management practices as well a snow leopard attack to result in severe CO-FINANCING 2014 has shown that livestock mortality productivity, soil erosion and as provide incentives to pastoralists to economic hardship. With little or no $25,000,000 could be reduced by 50% under the desertification. shift to alternative income-generating access to vaccines that would protect their enterprises, including opportunities With their key food source declining, for women. Additionally, the project snow leopards are increasingly turning to another food source—domestic LESSONS LEARNED (KAZAKHSTAN) livestock, the loss of which brings Although in some cases strict non-use of a natural resource may be necessary, such as for an endangered species, projects significant economic hardship to the emphasizing sustainable use prove more effective for achieving conservation objectives. The SECURE-Himalayas project applies local herders. As a result, herders resort this lesson to local livelihoods, learning from the successful outcomes of the UNDP-GEF “In situ Conservation in Kazakhstan’s to retaliatory killing of snow leopards, Mountain Agrobiodiversity” project which took place from 2006-2012, conducted in part within snow leopard habitat and GSLEP both directly and opportunistically, as landscape of Alatau National Park. SECURE-Himalayas promotes ‘sustainable’ livelihood options, such as raising livestock under snow leopards unwittingly get caught sustainably-managed grazing routines, as well as ‘alternative’ livelihoods that require no consumption of natural resources, such in traps or ingest poison set out for as tourism. Alternative livelihoods may remove the sense of value that a community member feels toward a previously relied upon other predators, such as wolves. resource, thus losing the incentive to safeguard it. Sustainable use, on the other hand, retains resource value and promotes stewardship. The government and partners are An appropriate balance of sustainable use and non-use options must be found for each local situation. determined to address, among other issues, the human-snow leopard conflict in Uzbekistan through

PHOTO CREDITS: 1) Photo by John MacKinnon. Guard dogs can help keep livestock safe from predators in the wide open grasslands. Photo by Marc Foggin. 16 17 will encourage the adoption of more predator-proof enclosures and procure by native wildlife. Community liaison PARTNER SPOTLIGHT bones for a few hundred dollars and resells efficient energy technologies to technologies such as electric fencing, officers and an independent wildlife Put a Roof on it it for a few thousand dollars. Weak law reduce the extent of tree clearing in predator-proof collars and livestock specialist will process and evaluate enforcement and corruption compound Five rolls of mesh wire, five wood boards, alpine forest habitat for household guard dogs. these claims. the problem, making it easy to move snow and a bag full of nails and hooks can All too often, a snow leopard climbs heating and cooking needs. into the corral, kills the livestock—often leopard parts out of the country. Another important component of the Given the impact that livestock go a long way to conserve snow leopards. tens of sheep and goats at a time—and Keeping snow leopards physically project is to adequately address the depredation has on local communities, This is approximately the amount Since 2013, Panthera has fortified or built then is unable to escape. The herder then separated from the livestock is another damage incurred when prevention it is understandable that snow of materials required to fortify an 127 predator-proof corrals, providing the enters the corral, surprises the snow leopard, conflict prevention strategy that the measures fail. Reducing preventable leopards are commonly viewed as existing medium-sized corral by design and guidance while communities grabs a shovel and kills it. Or the cat escapes project will deploy. Most dekhan livestock mortality through improved a threat. To foster tolerance towards building a new snow leopard-proof provide the manpower. Since then, none through the door while the herder enters, farmers typically send their herds to access to veterinary services and snow leopards, the project will roof structure. of the livestock using these corrals have but then the herder sets a steel-jawed been harmed by a snow leopard or graze in the open, unsupervised or vaccinations is one project strategy conduct education and outreach On the eastern Pamir plateau in leg trap for the cat when it returns any other predator. Herders across the guarded by children. Even when they to help families better withstand the programmes to improve awareness Tajikistan, local herders keep their the following night. Pamirs who once killed snow leopards for exist, many of the corrals for livestock financial shock of losing an animal to a about the value and importance of domestic livestock in a mix of private retaliation and to eventually sell their skins, are poorly constructed and easy for predator. The project will also establish conserving snow leopards, their prey corrals and larger communal corrals. The herder next sells the pelt and the bones are now our key intelligence gatherers, predators to penetrate. The project local insurance schemes to provide and their habitats. All these structures either lack a roof of the snow leopard to recoup some of the alerting authorities to confiscate traps will support pastoralists to construct compensation for depredation events entirely or have a roof with a square money lost due to the killed livestock. An and pelts. opening for ventilation purposes. intermediary generally buys the pelt and the

SNOW LEOPARDS IN LITERATURE The elusive and majestic nature of snow leopards has been a source of intrigue for millennia. References to the snow leopard are found in ancient and modern literature across Asia and the western world. Before written language, humans expressed the importance of snow leopards and their ungulate prey through rock carvings that persist to this day. One of the earliest written 2 references to snow leopards can be found in the 1,000-year-old oral epic, “Manas”, which chronicles the journeys of ancient Kyrgyz heroes. In the acclaimed novel, “The Snow Leopard”, contemporary author Peter Matthiessen tells of his travel through Nepal in search of seeing a snow leopard in the wild. Chingiz Aitmatov, one of Kyrgyzstan's most famous contemporary authors, captures the powerful symbolic value of snow leopards to Kyrgyz culture in his 2006 novel, "When Mountains Fall". In a 2007 interview, Aitmatov spoke eloquently on the need for coexistence:

“Man's relations with nature are also becoming a problem in Kyrgyzstan . . . We used to breed our animals, roamed on horseback through the mountains, and hunted with bows 1 3 4 and arrows for our essentials. Today, tourists . . . fly through our mountains on helicopter and hunt down the last of the snow leopards with high tech rifles and precision sighting telescopes. Man is encroaching on nature with increasing brutality. We have to learn Photos by Snow Leopard Conservancy instead to cooperate with nature.” (top) and Matthias Fiechter/Snow Leopard Trust (bottom). PHOTO CREDITS: 1) Open corrals offer little protection from snow leopards or other hungry predators. Photo by Marc Foggin. 2 and 3) Solid walls and a predator-proof roof structure keep livestock safer from snow leopards, and snow leopards safer from herders. Photo by Snow Leopard Trust. 4) Photo by Kachel/Panthera/Academy of Sciences Tajikistan/U. Delaware. 18 19 CHINA CO-MANAGEMENT ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD Green pasture surrounds craggy ridges and snowy peaks rising high above deep meandering valleys. This is where three great rivers—the Yellow, Yangtze and Mekong—wind away from one another in the centre of the Tibetan Plateau. The area also serves as a significant controller of the Asian monsoon system that affects the climate of 3 billion people.

1 2 The Sanjiangyuan (Three Rivers) photographs of the village are posted PROJECT TITLE PARTNER SPOTLIGHT from predators. The children of herders National Nature Reserve (SNNR) in on the wall of the community centre Strengthening the Effectiveness of Freeing a Mongolian Mountainside bravely spoke out at local community China’s Qinghai Province is nearly showing the boundary of the zoning the Protected Area System in Qinghai Province, China to Conserve Globally meetings and initiated an innovative four times as large as Switzerland. It area and wildlife icons depicting WWF Mongolia sprang into action when Important Biodiversity. trap exchange programme, visiting After meeting a group of these children camera traps on Jargalant Khairkhan is home to the snow leopard, Tibetan frequency of sightings. There is also households around the herding landscape, in April 2016, Mongolia's Minister of COUNTRY Mountain caught footage of a snow antelope, wild yak and black-necked an organization chart indicating offering useful items, such as milk cans, the Environment issued a directive for China leopard with a steel jaw trap around crane; all threatened with extinction. the members and structure of the in exchange for traps. Through their trap-elimination programmes to be his leg and two others missing a leg It is also home to 200,000 people— co-management committee. The EXECUTING PARTNER efforts, 250 traps were removed from the initiated throughout the country. entirely. They enlisted the help of local mainly Tibetan herders. These community signed a co-management Qinghai Forestry Department mountain, greatly reducing the potential children to campaign against the harmful people, and billions of people living agreement with the SNNR authority PROJECT PERIOD for further harm to snow leopards. practice of setting traps to protect livestock downstream, rely on this fragile and the Qinghai Forestry Department 2012-2017 environment to meet their basic needs (QFD). This agreement provides GEF FUNDING and generate local livelihoods. the community full autonomy in $5,354,545 PARTNER SPOTLIGHT contributes a premium that maintains As part of the insurance programme, conserving wildlife and protecting the CO-FINANCING the account. Over time, the programme communities also agree to leave more food Cuochi Village, with its three hamlets environment on their 240,000-hectare When Prevention Isn’t Enough $18,349,000 becomes financially self-sustaining. for the snow leopard’s wild prey and 230 households, is in the heart of grassland area. If the agreed To help herders cope with predation losses by setting aside graze-free areas. In some snow leopard habitat in SNNR. Aerial conservation targets are achieved, when prevention measures fail, the Snow In order to participate, each herder must cases, the lost ability to use this land can Leopard Trust has started community-run sign a conservation agreement in which cause a hardship on the community, livestock insurance programmes in India they pledge to protect the snow leopards so conservationists work together with and Mongolia. In these programmes, the SNOW LEOPARDS AND and wild prey species in their area from community leaders to determine a fair price local community manages a pool of money poaching. If any community member for compensation, which is paid TIBETAN BUDDHISM specifically designated to reimburse families Prevalent throughout approximately 80% of global snow leopard range, Tibetan Buddhist violates this contract, they are no longer for separately from the insurance fund. who lose domestic animals to snow leopard able to participate in the insurance monasteries teach compassion and respect for all living beings, exerting quiet but predation. A herder may submit a claim programme. Additionally, a small annual profound influence on the attitudes and behaviors of nearby inhabitants. Often situated to a committee made up of local residents bonus is paid out from the insurance fund near sacred mountains or other remote holy sites, these institutions have advocated and receive reimbursement for the loss. to the participating herder who loses the for the protection of the high mountain landscapes and their wildlife for centuries. The Snow Leopard Trust provides the fewest animals to predation. This creates funding required to build a strong financial a financial incentive to prevent snow The Everest Snow Leopard Conservation Center in the central Himalayas honors this “The Snow Leopard and the Hermit,” illustration foundation, and each participating herder by Cicheng Nima. Photo by Everest Snow Leopard leopard access to herds by increasing rich history while raising awareness about snow leopard conservation through a booklet, Conservation Center. herd safety and herder vigilance. 3 “Snow Leopard and Hermit”, which it distributes among local residents. The story, collected and written by Tashi Sange, a well-known Tibetan monk and conservationist, PHOTO CREDITS: 1) Traps collected on Jargalant Khairkhan Mountain by Mongolian students. Photo by Selenge Gantumur/WWF Mongolia. 2) Student leaders recounts the experience of Samdain Lama, a monk who retreats to a solitary mountain pose in front of a sculpture created from the collected traps, celebrating the wildlife of western Mongolia. Photo by Selenge Gantumur/WWF Mongolia. 3) Photo by Marc Foggin. cave for meditation, living in peaceful coexistence with a snow leopard and her cub. 20 21 the community receives a small In the past the government’s policy china is critically important PARTNER SPOTLIGHT financial contribution which can be was to relocate the herders to for snow leopard conservation Governments and Governance disbursed at its own discretion—for urban areas in the name of habitat containing 60% of the world’s The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) health and education primarily. protection. Now families—mainly snow leopard habitats. More has dedicated 20 years to a programme indigenous and ethnic minorities—are than half of snow leopards spend part to protect the high mountain landscape to strengthen the governance capacity Cuochi village was provided with given a choice to remain on their land. or all of their lives in China. This is no 1 of Gilgit-Baltistan Province in Pakistan, of local community organizations wildlife monitoring equipment and “We are determined to continue our surprise given that ten out of the other home to the snow leopard and key in snow leopard territory. WCS aided in engages in patrolling and monitoring co-management operation after the 11 snow leopard range countries share prey species, the Siberian ibex and the creation of an overarching community activities for snow leopards and project closure,” said the Cuochi village their borders with China—over the the flare-horned markhor. WCS has now institution, the Wakhan Pamir Association other species. Based on the lessons leader. “We plan to register ourselves towering mountain ranges of Altai, helped institute over 65 community (WPA), consisting of democratically learned from preceding community as a community based organization—a Tian Shan, Kunlun, Pamirs, Hindu institutions and trained them to protect elected representatives from all of the conservation projects supported legal entity.” Kush, Karakoram Tibetan Plateau and and sustainably manage wildlife and by various NGOs including Plateau Himalayas. GEF and UNDP currently communities across the Wakhan District, Perspectives, two complementary In the remote mountain regions where support strengthening of PAs in the other resources. Based on lessons learned with over 50 community rangers. In 2014, 2 approaches are employed: 1) people snow leopards live, local herders Chinese side of the Altai Mountains and best practices developed through this this work resulted in the establishment Government to implement a UNDP-GEF with good knowledge about wildlife are the eyes and ears for the species through the projects CBPF-MSL: ongoing work, WCS initiated a scaled-up of Wakhan National Park, covering over 2 project entitled "Establishing integrated (such as former hunters) serve as protection. Co-management and Strengthening the management version of this programme in Afghanistan, 10,000 km and protecting roughly 70% models for protected areas and their wildlife monitors (park wardens), co-existence are the only ways to effectiveness of the protected area landscape focusing on the snow leopard landscape of snow leopard habitat in the country. co-management in Afghanistan.” undertaking transect surveys four ensure survival of the magnificent in Altai Mountains and Wetlands and of the Wakhan Corridor. The park is designed as a co-managed Beginning in 2014, this project provides times a year, noting both direct animal species and sustainable development Strengthening the PA system in the Qilian protected area, with management One major focus of this multi-sectoral targeted capacity building for effective sightings and signs such as claw of the mountain regions. Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape. responsibilities shared between the local programme in Afghanistan has been co-management of Wakhan National Park scrapes and scat; and 2) automatic communities and government. to build the capacity of government and promotes community conservation camera traps are placed in the same officials to draft environmental laws To further support Afghanistan's of snow leopards through ranger surveys areas to allow individual identification. and conservation policy. At the fledgling Protected Area system, WCS and patrols, predator-proofing corrals, same time, the programme works is currently working with the Afghanistan and outreach and education. The project has so far facilitated finalisation of protected area co-management agreements with 17 pilot villages, including establishment (RUSSIA, MONGOLIA, AND KAZAKHSTAN) of co-management committees and LESSONS LEARNED Shifting protected area (PA) management from exclusive government operation to inclusive community co-management requires plans. The project has also facilitated 1 2 synergy among three things: community members, government agencies, and national legal and policy framework. Mobilizing development of a community natural resources management plan and and building the capacity of people living in and around PAs to practice sustainable natural resources management is not enough. produced a range of manuals covering Government agencies, tasked for years with excluding people from encroaching on PA land, must likewise experience a shift in monitoring and patrolling, community mindset toward sustainable use of natural resources. Finally, the legal and policy framework of the nation must then accommodate traditional knowledge, and a these activities in order for lasting, widespread change to occur. The integration of these three components is a lesson learned from co-management operational manual. three 'sister' projects concluded in 2011, to improve conservation of the Altai-Sayan Ecoregion spanning the borders of Russia, Mongolia and Kazakhstan. The current UNDP-GEF projects in China's snow leopard landscape put this lesson into action, staging interventions at all three levels to ensure effective and sustainable co-management of the Sanjiangyuan (Three Rivers) National Nature 3 4 Reserve in Qinghai Province.

PHOTO CREDITS: 1) Training session of one of the very first community-based wildlife monitoring teams in the heart of the Tibetan Plateau, Qinghai Province, China, PHOTO CREDITS: 1) Mawristan area, Shikargah Valley of Big Pamir, Wakhan Corridor, Afghanistan. Photo by WCS Afghanistan. 2) WCS works to strengthen the governance co-organized by the Upper Yangtze Organization and Plateau Perspectives. Photo by Marc Foggin. 2) Tent homes dot the grasslands of Qinghai Province. Photo by capacity of local community organizations in snow leopard territory. Photo by WCS Afghanistan. Marc Foggin. 3) Photo by Marc Foggin. 4) Wild Yak (Bos mutus). Photo by John MacKinnon. 22 23 KAZAKHSTAN STRENGTHENING AND EXPANDING PROTECTED AREAS Snow leopards require large areas of land to survive and thrive, depending on vast mountain and forest corridors as natural ‘bridges’ for their genetic mixing and interactions. Although Kazakhstan has protected approximately 8% of its total land area, only an estimated 30-35% of the nation's snow leopard range lies within this protected area (PA) network, resulting in habitat fragmentation and disconnectivity as human activity encroaches on unprotected parcels. Moreover, critical wildlife habitat both within and outside of the PA network are facing severe degradation due to inadequate land management, unsustainable exploitation of natural resources, unregulated expansion of tourism, overgrazing by livestock, and climate change. 1 2

PROJECT TITLE To address gaps in bio-geographical As part of this process, the project Conservation and Sustainable coverage, this project will focus on will develop the legal articles for the Management of Key Globally Important expanding the existing PA estate gazettement of the proposed PAs, Ecosystems for Multiple Benefits in accordance with a national plan including their zoning arrangements, COUNTRY prepared by the Government of management regimes, operational and 3 4 5 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan. It will focus on creating business plans. These plans will contain EXECUTING PARTNER new PAs through increasing the clearly defined ecosystem management Forestry and Wildlife Committee total share of several critical, yet goals and actions for each new PA. of the Ministry of Agriculture underrepresented ecosystems within PARTNER SPOTLIGHT This collaborative project uses a law An additional component of the Crucially, this project will also focus PROJECT PERIOD the Kazakhstan PA estate by around Training of Trainers enforcement training programme project is the Citizen Ranger Wildlife on modernizing and strengthening 2017-2022 1,890,763 ha. Importantly, some designed and led by INTERPOL to train Rewards programme which offers public the management effectiveness Rangers and local communities in 882,028 ha of this expansion will rangers in Kyrgyzstan’s PAs on a range of recognition and financial rewards to GEF FUNDING and financial sustainability of PAs. protected areas (PAs) are the first and $8,069,178 include mountain grasslands and forest standard enforcement skills, operational rangers and citizens who successfully Particular focus will be placed on forest best line of defense for wildlife. They ecosystems—important habitat for planning and crime scene investigation apprehend poachers in PAs and help bring CO-FINANCING management planning that meets work under difficult circumstances to snow leopards, including northern skills. The first trainings were held in them to justice. A total of 12 rangers and $24,000,000 the standards for High Conservation protect the natural heritage of their corridor habitats that will enable Bishkek and Ala Archa National Park in citizens have already received rewards in Value Forests. Forest zoning, inventory country. The Snow Leopard Trust, Snow population mixing and viability 2015 and 2016, and were attended by a public ceremony in Bishkek under the principles, timber and non-timber Leopard Foundation Kyrgyzstan, and in a transboundary context. 36 trainees. Following the establishment programme so far. forest product harvesting regimes, INTERPOL have partnered with the of an INTERPOL-supported capacity will be modified to ensure maximum Kyrgyz government to help these rangers building centre, trained rangers will be protection of biodiversity and soil and citizens in their efforts. responsible for carrying out the training integrity. International cooperation A lack of institutionalized training of current and future rangers throughout for law enforcement, monitoring for rangers reduces their enforcement the country. and knowledge sharing will also be capacity and puts their lives at risk. supported by this project to promote an integrated, landscape-scale approach to management of habitat for globally PHOTO CREDITS: 1) Local community members in Chichim, India participate in wildlife monitoring activities. Photo by Snow Leopard Trust. 2) Blue Sheep (Pseudois significant wildlife in Kazakhstan's high nayaur). Photo by Marc Foggin. 3) Protecting the region's natural heritage can be a source of pride for local communities in and around PAs, such as this example in northern Pakistan. Photo by Snow Leopard Trust. 4) Wolves, lynx and other predators also prowl high mountain Protected Areas in addition to snow leopards. Shandur, Pakistan landscape. Photo by Snow Leopard Trust. mountain ecosystems. Photo by Everest Snow Leopard Conservation Center. 5) Asia's protected areas harbour diverse plant life, including these alpine wildflowers. Photo by Marc Foggin. 24 25 KYRGYZSTAN LAND USE PLANNING AND BIOLOGICAL CORRIDORS Ten formal protected areas (PAs) safeguard the ridges, glaciers, valleys and rocky terrain of the Western Tian Shan mountain ranges in Kyrgyzstan, prime habitat for snow leopards. Nevertheless, these conservation zones cover 2 less than 50% of the endangered cat's range within the country. Improving conservation efforts in areas outside of PAs thus becomes a vitally important strategy to preserve viable snow leopard populations.

PROJECT TITLE A new project recognizes that buffer socio-economic data. Geographic Conservation of Globally Important zones around PAs, biological corridors Information System (GIS) technology Biodiversity and Associated Land and that connect otherwise-isolated PAs, will be used to create maps accurately 1 3 Forest Resources of Western Tian Shan and sustainable forest and pasture representing natural and cultural Mountain Ecosystems to Support management in the wider landscape landscapes, soil profiles, wildlife Sustainable Livelihoods companies, will yield agreements the traditional knowledge of the surrounding the strictly protected are key not only to the survival of distribution and biomes. Participatory COUNTRY regarding conservation-friendly people groups who have co-existed zones can accommodate biodiversity snow leopards and their prey, but planning methods that incorporate Kyrgyzstan economic activities that allow for within these habitats for generations conservation as well as sustain also to sustainable local community all stakeholders, including women, continued livelihood activities in a way will improve conservation success communities. Through this project, EXECUTING PARTNER development. The project will focus indigenous peoples, ethnic minorities that minimizes disturbance to wildlife, and help preserve the region's rich the government will not only State Agency for Environment on improving land-use planning and and other marginalized groups, will Protection and Forestry; particularly during the migration and cultural heritage. expand the national PA network, but management and strengthening be used to ensure that the land-use GSLEP Secretariat reproductive seasons. Such activities ensure that biodiversity and wildlife the system of PA buffer zones and planning documents balance social will include managed hunting areas, In highly fragmented areas, where conservation needs, including those PROJECT PERIOD wildlife migration corridors in two and economic development priorities regulated grazing, ecotourism and land is heavily used, it is critically of snow leopards, are effectively 2017-2022 administrative districts, Toktogul and with conservation objectives while harvesting of timber and non-timber important to work collaboratively considered and integrated in the wider, GEF FUNDING Togustorous. Currently, their forest and fully accounting for the current status forest products according to with all stakeholders and sectors to productive landscapes that surround $3,988,575 land-use plans do not take into account of habitat and species conditions, sustainability principles. Incorporating ensure that the wider landscape matrix these PAs. CO-FINANCING the ecological requirements of species ecological sensitivity and ecosystem $16,500,000 such as snow leopards and their prey services function. which utilize the same land and natural resources as human stakeholders. The Improved land use as supported LESSONS LEARNED (BHUTAN) by this project also includes the project will establish landscape-scale The Kingdom of Bhutan has been a leader in advancing the concept of biological corridors that connect core habitat areas in establishment of two new PAs, Alatai land use planning that takes into a fragmented landscape. Supporting the operationalization of Bhutan's planned system of corridors, the UNDP-GEF project and Kanattuu, covering 102,485 ha of account the multiple sectors that utilize "Linking and Enhancing Protected Areas (LINKPA)" in collaboration with WWF, concluding in 2008, yielded valuable lessons now the land, from agriculture and forestry snow leopard habitat. Using the maps incorporated into current projects in other snow leopard range countries. One such lesson is to demarcate and establish bio-corridors to wildlife conservation, tourism, and data from the new joint land-use concurrently with the gazettement of new protected areas (PAs). New PAs are likely to be established in core habitat areas surrounded energy and industry sectors. plans, the project will support the delineation and operationalization by relatively intact natural landscapes. Over time, the unprotected landscape may become fragmented and converted for human use. The project will support the of buffer zones and wildlife corridors However, pre-established corridors will remain high quality habitat, a great advantage for governments that would otherwise need development of a cross-sectoral surrounding these areas. Extensive to conduct costly restoration to establish corridors in a degraded landscape. The current Kyrgyzstan project embodies this lesson land-use plan incorporating consultation with the stakeholders that by including biological corridors and buffer zones together with plans for two new PAs to protect snow leopard habitat. information describing ecosystem use these lands, including male- and Agriculture and other relevant sectors will characteristics, natural and female-headed pastoral households, PHOTO CREDITS: 1) Community participatory mapping. Photo by Everest Snow Leopard Conservation Center. 2) Few landscapes remain untouched by human land be included in joint land-use planning of high use activities. Here, an infrastructure project is about to start on the Tibetan Plateau. Photo by John MacKinnon. 3) Fragile high mountain soils, such as this loess mountain landscapes. Photo by UNDP India. anthropogenic processes and trophy hunters, tourists and mining in Qinghai Province, China, erode easily without the protective cover of vegetation. Photo credit by Marc Foggin. 26 27 PAKISTAN implement and benefit from plan RECOMMENDED CLIMATE-ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION AND RESILIENCE activities. The focus will be restoration STRATEGIES FOR SNOW LEOPARDS of degraded rangelands and native For subsistence farmers and herders in the dry, rugged mountains of northern Pakistan, every drop of rain is precious, 1. Ensure that snow leopards have continued access to their natural prey base, particularly as giving life to the crops and pasture vegetation on which their livelihoods depend. Likewise, snow leopards rely on juniper forests through improved human-driven activities may begin shifting to higher elevations and encroaching on snow pasture management (such as leopard habitat. the dependable productivity of these rangelands which provide forage for its preferred prey—wild ungulates, rotational grazing regimes), sustainable 2. Increase research efforts on snow leopard ecology and behavior to fill information gaps on such as markhor, wild sheep and ibex. Although water is scarce and the available land is arid and difficult to cultivate, fuelwood collection and fuel efficient questions such as susceptibility to disease and genetic makeup. Under a changing climate, a predictable climate has provided sufficient conditions to support both people and wildlife for many generations. stoves. Introduction of silvopastoral exposure to disease may increase. Increased knowledge of snow leopard genetics will give practices, community forestry and us a better understanding of their adaptive capacity and how best to manage populations. sustainable cultivation of livestock 3. Increase monitoring of population range shifts, changes in phenology, changes in population abundance, changes in behavior and the correlation of any of these with PROJECT TITLE fodder will also contribute to these Now, global climate change threatens livestock or snow leopard prey. The changes in weather and climate. Pakistan Snow Leopard and Ecosystem to make life in this difficult landscape absence of infiltration and groundwater objectives. Livelihood diversification Protection Programme even more challenging. The effects recharge disrupts the water regulating will be incorporated to further reduce 4. Increase the extent of protected areas to include stepping stones, movement corridors dependence on natural resources. In and climate refugia; improve management and restoration of existing protected areas COUNTRY are already being felt, with irregular functions of the ecosystem, causing to facilitate resilience. Ensure appropriate policy/enforcement/collaboration for protected Pakistan weather patterns resulting in erratic intermittently heavy stream flow and total, activities in these ten valleys will area management. These principles should also be applied, to the extent possible, outside improve the climate resilience and protected areas. EXECUTING PARTNER precipitation, drought, thawing flooding with potentially devastating well-being of the people and wildlife Pakistan Ministry of Climate permafrost and rapidly receding results for communities downstream. 5. Reduce pressures from other threats, many of which are likely to be exacerbated by climate Change, Snow Leopard Foundation glaciers, impacting not only this region The loss of carbon storage capacity in inhabiting 250,000 ha. change, through increasing the capacity of humans to manage the effects of climate change. but all of South and Southeast Asia. degraded forests and grasslands further PROJECT PERIOD The project will also strengthen the EXAMPLES INCLUDE contributes to the root cause of global 2017-2021 resilience of the protected area (PA) • Prevent the encroachment of livestock grazing on snow leopard habitat. The snow leopard project in Pakistan climate change. GEF FUNDING incorporates climate change adaptation system in the face of a changing climate. • Prevent persecution of snow leopards for livestock predation. $4,644,521 into sustainable development and To address these issues, this project 20,000 ha of priority snow leopard • Mitigate the effects of hydroelectricity development, mining, etc. CO-FINANCING conservation initiatives to build will support the formulation of habitat will be added to the national • Minimize habitat loss and fragmentation caused by poor land use, development, etc., $12,951,000 resilience, while at the same time Sustainable Land Management (SLM) PA system, taking into account the on unprotected land. working to mitigate the local drivers and Sustainable Forest Management conditions that will likely exist as climate • Monitor trends (such as an increase in poaching) that might indicate that communities facing increased hardships are turning to methods of earning income that adversely affect that contribute to this global disaster. (SFM) plans for the three target change progresses. Biological corridors snow leopards and other wildlife. The project focuses heavily on landscapes, covering 4,100,000 ha. The will likewise be established with future conditions in mind, connecting • Help people adapt to the changing climate by promoting alternative livelihoods that unsustainable land usage, including plans will be based on data collected conserve ecosystem services and do not negatively impact snow leopards. current areas of core habitat, as well as overgrazing and deforestation, within about the region's social, economic and three target landscapes: Gilgit-Baltistan, environmental conditions in order to providing safe passage for mountain Source: Advani, N.K. 2014. WWF Wildlife and Climate Change Series: Snow leopard. World Wildlife Fund, Washington, DC. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Jammu balance human development needs wildlife to migrate to new areas as and Kashmir. with the imperative to conserve snow ecosystems shift. leopards and their prey. Land degradation compounds the negative effects of climate change. Within these landscapes, communities Degraded soils—compacted, cleared from ten separate valleys will write of vegetation and subjected to sub-plans through an inclusive drought—cannot adequately absorb participatory process focused on precipitation. Excessive runoff and local needs and priorities. Training 2 soil erosion lead to desertification, and extension support will enable 1 3 Central Tien Shan glacier, Kyrgyzstan. Photo by WWF Russia/ Nikolay Kuznetsov. leaving the land unable to support community women and men to PHOTO CREDITS: 1) Land degradation intensifies as permafrost thaws due to climate change-induced warming of the high mountain regions. Photo by John Farrington/WWF. 2) Innovative technologies like solar cookers and fuel efficient stoves reduce dependence on wood, preserving the carbon storage capacity of forest and shrublands. Photo by John MacKinnon. 3) Children from herding families in Pakistan's snow leopard landscape will have a brighter future with efforts to build resilience through 28 climate change adaptation. Photo by Bill Hogue/Snow Leopard Trust. 29 AFGHANISTAN POACHING AND ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE The majestic, enigmatic beauty of snow leopards has long captured the human imagination. It is tragic that these exact traits are now endangering snow leopards’ very existence. They are ruthlessly hunted for the splendor of their skins, and the traditional medicinal value of their bones and teeth. These, and other body parts and derivatives, are traded in illegal and legal markets around the world. The high demand and value of these wildlife products, when combined with other threats, have dealt a devastating blow to snow leopard populations, which, in Afghanistan, are currently estimated at between 100 and 200 animals. 1 2

The project applies a multidimensional enforce them in the field is very limited. the novel aspect of this project PROJECT TITLE Poaching and illegal wildlife trade are consumers, as well as dismantling the strategy to systematically address, A range of targeted interventions is its commitment to embrace and deploy emerging technologies. Conservation of Snow Leopards and problems that confront every country networks that facilitate illegal trade. among other issues, illegal poaching will be implemented including Community rangers will be provided their Critical Ecosystem in Afghanistan where the snow leopard is found. These and wildlife trade by: 1) enhancing outreach to Wakhan communities an understanding of wildlife trade and promoting educational initiatives with SMART (Spatial Monitoring and COUNTRY issues persist despite the fact that the Snow leopards inhabit the most Reporting Tool), pioneered by WCS, Afghanistan Convention on International Trade in remote part of northeast Afghanistan, and trafficking in Afghanistan; 2) in the schools. The overall aim is to as a data collection and management Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora known as the Wakhan Corridor. implementing activities to reduce the increase the understanding of the EXECUTING PARTNER programme. This easy- to-use software (CITES) prohibits most international Nestled between some of Asia’s great supply of snow leopard products; and need to protect snow leopards and to Wildlife Conservation Society will enable rangers to collect, analyze, trade in this globally endangered mountains, bordering Tajikistan, 3) improving the national government enlist local support for coordinating PROJECT PERIOD display and communicate patrol-based species. In Afghanistan, this project Pakistan and China, this narrow valley capacities and enforcement. and co-managing anti-poaching and 2016-2019 monitoring data on wildlife. supports the government and partners is immense at around one million anti-trafficking activities. The project Much about snow leopards remains will train community rangers to patrol GEF FUNDING to fight this criminal trade, working hectares, and is a globally important The project will also roll out and promote $2,692,370 a mystery due to a dearth of available and report poaching activities. to reduce supply (i.e. poaching) and corridor that connects several snow a mobile application for phones that scientific information and limited CO-FINANCING demand for wildlife products among leopard landscapes. contains information on some 75 species research. This project will carry out a full As a complement to the $9,035,000 traded in the region. This application assessment of wildlife harvest patterns, community-level initiatives, the will allow enforcement personnel, who trade markets and market forces that project will strengthen the capacities generally do not have formal training influence the trade in the country. The of Afghan police, judiciary and in natural sciences, to accurately identify results of the assessment will be used customs to increase knowledge illegally traded wildlife species and to establish a system for monitoring and promote better enforcement. products on-site—a critically important trends in wildlife trade, including the Appropriate training materials on the step in the detection and suppression activities of harvesters, markets and illegal wildlife trade will be developed of wildlife crimes. consumers and to evaluate the effects and incorporated in basic training of education and enforcement efforts. programmes. The project will also work with the responsible ministries Community support and participation to address gaps related to wildlife will be especially important given protection in the existing legislation, the remoteness and inaccessibility of by providing technical guidance, this area. Although Afghanistan has best-practice information and enacted laws to protect wildlife and legislative recommendations. 3 1 2 3 control illegal trade, its capacity to

PHOTO CREDITS: 1) The immensity of the landscape and its extreme remoteness pose a challenge for effective patrolling for poachers and traffickers. Photo PHOTO CREDITS: 1) Community volunteers attend trainings before embarking on patrols of local conservation areas. Photo by Midori Paxton. by Marc Foggin. 2) Distributing posters that can be hung in homes and community centers provides education that promotes snow leopard and prey conservation 2) Photo by Piotr Zaporowski/UNODC. 3) A confiscated snow leopard pelt. Photo by WWF. for the benefit of the whole community. Photo by WWF. 3) Ecological theatre programmes, such as this WWF project in Kyrgyzstan, involve community members of all ages in raising awareness about the importance of snow leopards to the high mountain ecosystems. Photo by WWF. 30 31 TAJIKISTAN PARTNER SPOTLIGHT Sniffer Dogs Fight Illegal SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH Wildlife Trafficking For the most part, snow leopards prefer to be alone. They choose solitude over companionship to such an extent A gleeful “tchouuuu” fills the air as N, a that there is currently no term for a group of snow leopards. The physical features of these notoriously elusive dog handler, cheers on her subject. Vesta animals are finely adapted to their surrounding environment. This enables these apex predators to seamlessly is one of four dogs chosen to become Kyrgyzstan’s first wildlife detection dogs, blend into rocky ravines and stealthily hunt their prey. These behavioral and physical attributes, combined with and she has just successfully identified the vast expanses, remoteness and inaccessibility of the mountain ranges that they inhabit, make studying and snow leopard parts in two randomly 1 understanding these animals extremely challenging. As a result, much about snow leopards remains unknown. placed bags. This is one of many exercises Vesta and the other dogs have performed and Tajikistan where Panthera built bones, organs and other parts of these in order to learn and master new scents. kennels for the dogs. The other two three species can be easily smuggled across The paucity of scientific data on snow Shan; Hissar-Alai; Vakhsh-Darvaz; PROJECT TITLE Conservation and Sustainable Use of A split second after N’s encouraging dogs will be deployed soon at the borders – until now. As demonstrated in leopard ecology presents a significant Badakhshan; and Pamir, simultaneously Pamir Alay and Tien Shan Ecosystems shout, a tennis ball bounces off one impediment to designing and implementing several strategic Torugart border post between the sites in Africa and Southeast Asia, trained for Snow Leopard Protection and implementing effective conservation interventions. One of these will be to of the bags, and Vesta, wagging happily, Kyrgyzstan and China. dogs can skillfully identify the parts of Sustainable Community Livelihoods. leaps in the air to grab it. a particular species. strategies. Many of the 12 snow focus on strengthening snow leopard Snow leopard, argali and ibex are the leopard range countries face significant research, monitoring and planning, COUNTRY Tajikistan In partnership with the Kyrgyz primary illegally-traded species in The illegal wildlife trade poses a significant research, financial and technical and building institutional capacities, Customs Service and Working Dogs Kyrgyzstan and in the Central Asia region threat to snow leopards and their prey: capacity constraints. In one of those resources and partnerships. EXECUTING PARTNER for Conservation, Panthera trained four in general. Yet this trade goes largely with the four dogs deployed at border range countries, Tajikistan, snow National Biodiversity and dogs (Vikki, Venta, Vesta and Orion), undetected because customs and border sites identified as hotspots for wildlife leopards inhabit some 85,700 km² of Several organizations currently Biosafety Centre to detect narcotics and snow leopard, control personnel are not equipped to smuggling, it will be harder to traffic the land, yet only rough estimates of undertake monitoring activities PROJECT PERIOD argali and ibex parts. Two of the dogs find and identify wildlife parts that are in illegal wildlife. their population numbers are available. in Tajikistan. But these are usually 2016-2021 have already been deployed at the often expertly concealed or passed off as localized, ad hoc efforts that generate GEF FUNDING Bordobo post between the Kyrgyzstan To address some of these issues, a highly fragmented data, stored in legally hunted species. As a result, the skin, $4,181,370 new project will work in five key snow multiple, at times incompatible, leopard habitats: Kuraminsky-West-Tien formats. This information is not collated CO-FINANCING $19,610,000 PARTNER SPOTLIGHT South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network Project Predator (SAWEN). Activities include intelligence sharing, joint law enforcement operations, INTERPOL's Project Predator focuses improved forensic technology for wildlife on enhancing enforcement capacity crime investigations and training of officers to address crimes against Asian big cats, on the front lines. INTERPOL also including snow leopards. Project Predator supports the development of National supports the ongoing development of Environment Security Taskforces within INTERPOL's Snow Leopard and Wildlife Central Asian countries to help improve Enforcement Network (SLAWEN), the detection and conviction rates for which will coordinate with other wildlife wildlife crimes. enforcement networks, such as 2 1 2

PHOTO CREDITS: 1) Sniffer dog Venta searches a vehicle at the Bordobo post. Photo by J. Caldwell/Panthera. 2) Rangers put their lives at risk to protect snow leopards PHOTO CREDITS: 1) Learning more about the interconnected web of life in high mountain ecosystems helps conservationists develop effective management plans that benefit and other Central Asian wildlife. Photo by Midori Paxton. all wildlife. Photo by Wildlife Institute of India. 2) Chitral, Pakistan. Photo by Ahmad Said/Snow Leopard Trust.

32 33 or actively maintained in a centralized To improve data collection, this project for collecting and submitting PARTNER SPOTLIGHT and helps WWF, the Government of database. To remedy these weaknesses, will increase the coverage of camera information, and relevant Citizen Scientists in Nepal Nepal and partner organizations develop the government, in close consultation traps, establish a linked database statistical tools and methods. successful conservation strategies. To better understand the behavior and with the National Biodiversity and for individual cat identification, and migration patterns of snow leopards Biosafety Centre, the Academy of conduct aerial surveys of snow leopards Relevant, high-quality and on Kangchenjunga, the world's third Sciences, the Forestry Agency and and their prey across their entire science-based information is required highest mountain, WWF uses GPS Panthera, will develop, implement range in Tajikistan. The use of radio to guide snow leopard management tracking collars to gather information and maintain a consolidated national collars and GPS satellite technology efforts, effectively allocate scarce and track their movements. One cat snow leopard monitoring and will improve knowledge of movement conservation resources and measure collared there has repeatedly walked reporting system and an information patterns, habitat use, home range progress. Through this project, the from Nepal to the Indian state of management system based on size and dispersal. As a final step, the government and its partners hope Sikkim and back! All WWF collaring standardized collection procedures cost-effectiveness of monitoring snow to establish reliable baseline data expeditions in Nepal have been carried and criteria. Both systems will leopard populations using fecal DNA to track the effectiveness of snow out with the assistance of local villagers be integrated into Tajikistan’s analysis will be evaluated in a pilot leopard conservation programmes, trained as citizen scientists who use broader Environmental Information study area. identify priority areas for intervention, 1 camera traps to monitor active snow Management and Monitoring System and facilitate strategic planning, leopard routes, set snares for snow currently under development by To build institutional capacity, the decision-making and adaptive leopards, and take turns monitoring another UNDP-GEF project. project will host a series of specialist management for the future of training sessions for researchers, Tajikistan's snow leopards and snare alarms, as well as conducting local scientists, academics, volunteers, high mountain ecosystems. monitoring of collared snow leopards using VHF antennas and receivers. the world's most comprehensive students, NGO staff and government field staff. Trainings will focus on the The information collected advances long-term ecological study 5 of snow leopards launched monitoring and reporting system, knowledge of snow leopard ecology in 2008 in the Tost Mountains of South information management system, 2 Gobi, Mongolia. This ongoing study led monitoring tools and techniques, by the Snow Leopard Trust and Snow procedures and standards Leopard Conservation Foundation of Mongolia partnering with Panthera (until 2012) and the Mongolian Academy of Science, has assembled over eight years of systematic camera trap data, as well 2 as collaring and tracking 20 cats to date. In the rarest of opportunities, the team has also managed to locate three active den sites and examine wild cubs. The study has led to significant insights into snow leopard ecology, including the first-ever scientific papers describing snow leopard population dynamics (rates of growth, survival, mortality, and migration) and 1 3 3 4 home ranges based on GPS data.

PHOTO CREDITS: 1) A Panthera team member sets a camera trap in the Alai-Altyn Mazar landscape of Kyrgyzstan. Photo by Panthera. 2) The community-based wildlife PHOTO CREDITS: 1) A juvenile snow leopard. Photo by Adriana Dinu. 2) Photo by Marc Foggin. 3 & 4) Tracking snow leopards in the Himalayas. Photo by Everest Snow monitoring team from Alichur village, Gorno-Badakhshan province, Tajikistan take a break from surveying ibex, Marco Polo sheep and other wild ungulates to pause for Leopard Conservation Center. 5) Putting a GPS tracking collar on a snow leopard in the Kangchenjunga Conservaton Area, Nepal. Photo by WWF Nepal. a group photo. Photo by Marc Foggin. 3) Camera traps are the most reliable way to capture data on snow leopard populations. Photo by Panthera/NAS/SAEPF/UW. 34 35 GLOBAL TRANSBOUNDARY COOPERATION SNOW LEOPARD AS CULTURAL-POLITICAL SYMBOL Just as wildlife does not stay neatly inside the boundaries of formally protected conservation areas, neither does Across Asia, the snow leopard serves as a symbol of strength and represents a human connection to nature. Both realistic and mythical a species confine itself to one side of an international border. Populations range freely across entire landscapes imagery of the snow leopard are featured on seals of cities and coats of arms in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. In Mongolia, of suitable habitat, unaware of the social, political or cultural boundaries imposed by humans. This fact is particularly the snow leopard serves as a symbol of the government’s vow to preserve wildlife. In Russia, the snow leopard has great cultural relevant to those concerned with the conservation of snow leopards, given that as much as one-third of all snow significance; historically a snow leopard award was given to climbers who sumitted the Soviet Union’s five 7,000 meter peaks. The Russian people selected the snow leopard as the official mascot of the 2014 Winter Olympic games in Sochi. In Afghanistan, the snow leopard range is located on or less than 100 km from an international border. leopard has been featured on coins and postage stamps and is designated as the country’s national animal. Similarly, the snow leopard is the National Heritage Animal of Pakistan and the state animal of Himachal Pradesh in India. The snow leopard has been depicted PROJECT TITLE Efforts to protect snow leopards and GSLEP partners. The project, on various currencies, including the Kazakh Tenge 10,000 note. The snow leopard also has been a source of inspiration to artists; Transboundary Cooperation for Snow their habitats must respond to unique launched in 2016, includes a focus sculptures of snow leopards can be found in parks of major cities in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, as well as in rest stops along major Leopard and Ecosystem Conservation challenges of snow leopard habitats on strengthening transboundary roads, always accompanied by a drinking fountain and a view of the mountains. COUNTRY that physically transverse two or more conservation of snow leopard Source: Snow Leopards: Biodiversity of the World: Conservation from Genes to Landscapes. Editors: Tom McCarthy, David Mallon, and Philip J. Nyhus. Global (with focus on Central Asia) countries’ borders, including the Altai, ecosystems by addressing drivers of Academic Press, 2016. EXECUTING PARTNER Tian Shan, and Himalayan mountain existing and emerging threats with a Snow Leopard Trust ranges. The countries, cultures and focus on Central Asia. Its two-pronged supporting international cooperation By supporting knowledge exchange languages may be different, but approach involves: 1) generating and PARTNER SPOTLIGHT PROJECT PERIOD in combating illegal trade in snow and collaboration, CMS facilitates the threats facing snow leopards, sharing knowledge for transboundary Bridging Boundaries 2016-2019 leopards and their prey. landscape-scale habitat protection. high mountain people groups and landscapes; and 2) establishing global Conservationists face complications when GEF FUNDING those in downstream regions are the and national monitoring frameworks. sections of contiguous snow leopard $1,400,000 The project will also develop a global Additionally, through the Central Asian same. Knowledge sharing is a core monitoring framework for snow habitat are used and managed differently Mammals Initiative (CAMI) and the CO-FINANCING The project will help ensure that component of the transboundary leopard ecosystems using standard because they lie in separate nations. Argali Single Species Action Plan, CMS $3,796,000 key stakeholders have sufficient approach, communicating successes, indicators to ensure harmonized The UNEP-administered Convention specifically targets the conservation knowledge and tools to protect failures, and scientific data so that monitoring mechanisms for snow on the Conservation of Migratory Species of snow leopards and their prey through stable snow leopard populations countries can learn from each others' leopards, their prey and their (CMS) is an important contributor a set of measures developed by experts in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan experiences. Joint planning and mountain ecosystems. A spatial to the efforts to achieve transboundary and adopted by governments. For and Uzbekistan, while supporting the implementation of conservation GIS database will be established to cooperation for the protection of the example, CMS helps reduce Sarychat/Central Tien Shan mountain initiatives across ecological rather than hold information from the common snow leopard, its prey and habitat. threats to Central Asian wildlife range that includes two snow leopard political landscapes are also essential. monitoring framework, and develop CMS in partnership with Fauna and by supporting modifications landscapes that share boundaries Countries involved in cross-border sustainable land management Flora International organized the to infrastructure projects that between Kyrgyz Republic and projects collaborate to determine an measures for the Sarychat / Central "Aspects of Trans-boundary Snow minimize habitat fragmentation Kazakhstan. equitable division of financial and Tien Shan pilot landscape. Leopard Conservation in Central Asia" and disruption of migratory routes. management responsibilities. workshop where experts from five A major component of the project By strengthening the capacity of range countries and their international is to develop a Global Toolkit for A regional initiative to advance national and local stakeholders for colleagues examined the state of transboundary cooperation of transboundary cooperation in transboundary cooperation the connectivity between transboundary snow leopard ecosystems. The snow leopard range countries is project will aid in the conservation habitats, reported on any new or project will also train wildlife, PA, implemented by the Snow Leopard of snow leopards and their habitats, existing barriers to free movement and border and customs agencies in Trust and the GSLEP Secretariat in delivering the many benefits that identified knowledge gaps. Together the the targeted countries and the pilot close collaboration with a consortium those ecosystems provide—locally, participants identified eight high priority transboundary landscape, as well as of national and international nationally and globally. transboundary landscapes for targeted Snow leopard habitat stretches across the border between Tajikistan (foreground) and Afghanistan protection and sustainable management. Roads, railways, pipelines and other infrastructure (background). Photo by Marc Foggin. fragment the landscape and pose a danger to 36 wildlife. Photo by John MacKinnon. 37 CITIZENS FROM 12 COUNTRIES AND MYRIAD ETHNIC GROUPS INHABIT THE SNOW LEOPARD LANDSCAPE OF CENTRAL ASIA. COOPERATION AMONG THESE SOCIETIES AND THEIR GOVERNMENTS IS CRITICAL FOR EFFECTIVE HIGH MOUNTAIN CONSERVATION.

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PHOTO CREDITS (left to right): TOP: UNDP India; John MacKinnon; Matthias Fiechter/Snow Leopard Trust; Bill Hogue/Snow Leopard Trust. CENTER: Marc Foggin; Wildlife Institute of India; WWF; Wildlife Institute of India; Midori Paxton. BOTTOM: Sandeep Tambe/CCF 38 Sikkim; Snow Leopard Trust; Marc Foggin; Midori Paxton. 39 PARTNER SPOTLIGHT A Snow Leopard Conservancy (SLC) technologies and community gatherings, Sacred Species, Sacred Sites programme, Sacred Species, Sacred Sites, as well as through establishment of works to revitalize ancestral knowledge interpretive centers at sacred sites to The indigenous groups of Central Asia and traditions about the snow leopard, educate visitors about the ecology and carry a wealth of practical knowledge its habitat and humanity's connection to cultural significance of snow leopards. about plant and animal species and their nature. In partnership with the Worldwide physical environment, informing their Indigenous Science Network, SLC has everyday activities, their cultural practices built a coalition of Indigenous Cultural and their spiritual beliefs. Their very ways Practitioners—shamans, tribal medicine of perceiving and knowing have been people, sacred site guardians, and revered shaped by generations of life within this elders—living within snow leopard range. specific environment. Embracing these The programme’s Land of the Snow knowledge systems and incorporating Leopard Network facilitates knowledge traditional practices that encourage sharing through communications stewardship of natural resources can yield conservation innovations that 4 could not otherwise be achieved.

Photo by Midori Paxton.

SACRED BELIEFS, MYTHS AND LEGENDS Often called “The Ghost of the Mountains” because of their rare sightings, snow leopards are prominently featured in the folklore and beliefs of mountain communities across Asia. In the Buddhist tradition, the snow lion is a mythical creature who resides in the Glaciers of the Himalaya and can symbolize power, fearlessness, or joy. The snow lion is also present in Tibetan folklore and songs and some believe that holy people can transform into snow leopards. The ethnic Wakhi population located in regions across Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, A snow leopard as depicted by a contemporary Tibetan artist. Photo by WWF. and Tajikistan believe that mergichan or mountain spirits can appear as snow leopards and share their power and knowledge of the natural environment. To ensure that the mountain spirits grant success for their herding activities, communities believe they must demonstrate respect for all aspects of the high mountain ecosystems. In place of the tiger, the Turko-Mongol 12-year zodiac calendar includes the year of the Snow Leopard, considered a year of good luck and wealth. In Nepal, snow leopards accrue a lifetime of sins from killing their prey. If a human kills a snow leopard, these sins are transferred from the animal to its hunter.

Source: www.snowleopardconservancy.org 40 Photo by Julie Larsen Maher/WCS. 41 GEF SMALL GRANTS PROGRAMME (GEF SGP) Small projects can have big impact, particularly when designed, implemented and owned by the communities in which they take place. The GEF Small Grants Programme (GEF SGP) implemented by UNDP provides financial and technical support to local and national community-based and non-governmental organizations to address environmental and sustainable development challenges at a grassroots level. Emphasizing local ecological and cultural knowledge and direct participation of beneficiaries, GEF SGP projects empower communities to improve their own well-being while generating global environmental benefits. GEF SGP interventions often feature innovative or experimental activities that, once proven effective on the ground, can be readily scaled-up and replicated through larger initiatives, such as a full-size GEF project. 1 2

The GEF SGP portfolio actively KAZAKHSTAN GEF SGP project implemented by an exciting turn of events, one camera sales. Local community members in part through intense awareness supports snow leopard and high In Kazakhstan, GEF SGP helped local NGO Snow Leopard Fund, GPS captured the IUCN Red-listed Pallas's were also installed as rangers, carrying raising campaigns. A suite of GEF SGP mountain ecosystem conservation strengthen Specially Protected and GIS equipment were procured Cat (Otocolobus manul). Never before out anti-poaching and monitoring projects from 2014-2016 covering through numerous projects in Areas (SPA) in East-Kazakhstan Oblas and 54 camera traps were installed spotted in the area, the Pallas's Cat activities in nearby PAs. These GEF a broad range of complementary Central Asia. Past and ongoing to provide better protection for in West-Altay and Markakol Nature was not on Katon-Karagai's list of SGP activities served as a pilot activities are taking place throughout projects directly complement the snow leopards through improved Reserves, Katon-Karagai National animal species before the photo project, establishing baseline data in the country. A particular focus is the other UNDP-GEF supported projects monitoring, anti-poaching activities Park and surrounding buffer zones. In was captured. four PAs and laying a foundation of use of various media to educate about featured in this book by testing and and community awareness campaigns. Katon-Karagai the cameras confirmed activities that will now be scaled-up snow leopards, including books, generating best practices, establishing The 2013-2015 project set about the signs, capturing five shots of TAJIKISTAN and enhanced through the full-size websites, board games, posters, baseline data or conducting snow leopards to date. Prey species, increasing the state of knowledge In Tajikistan, a 2012-2013 GEF SGP UNDP-GEF project featured in videos, museum exhibits, school preliminary capacity building, or by including Siberian ibex, Musk deer, about local wildlife populations. project combined awareness raising this publication. presentations, press conferences, providing direct implementation Red deer, and Roe deer were captured, Despite occasional signs, such as about the importance of snow a photo exhibition, and even a support for project partners, as the as well as competing predators: footprints and scat, SPA staff had leopards with incentives for active KYRGYZSTAN flash mob! Just as important are following examples describe. East Siberian brown bear, wolf, fox, no visual proof that snow leopards support of snow leopard conservation Following the momentum that components that provide the means wolverine, lynx, sable, and weasel. In still occupied the parks. Through a by local communities. These efforts was built at the highest levels of for people to act. GEF SGP projects focused on reducing human-snow government, Kyrgyzstan spearheaded established a public information leopard conflict and diversifying the movement that would become resource center stocked with livelihood options for both women GSLEP. GEF SGP contributed to these equipment, literature and manuals and men. The project conducted early efforts through support for the on species protection, conducted trainings and provided materials to development and adoption of key a youth conference, developed a build reinforced shelters (koshaar) to GSLEP documents and promoting training module and held workshops protect livestock from depredation, as international cooperation. Now to organize and train volunteer rangers well as constructed two yurts (nomad GEF SGP is helping the government for two snow leopard landscapes. tents) to promote tourism-related mobilise the Kyrgyz people to act on income generation from handicraft behalf of snow leopard conservation,

PHOTO CREDITS: 1) Carpet weaving. Snow Leopard Enterprises, a livelihood-building programme of the Snow Leopard Trust, works with women in Kyrgyzstan Newly installed camera traps in Kazakhstan's Katon-Karagai National Park captured a variety of snow leopard prey, including the Altai snowcock (Tetraogallus altaicus) and and Mongolia to develop skills needed to market and sell traditional handicrafts. GEF SGP supported similar activities in Tajikistan. Photo by Snow Leopard Trust. Siberian ibex (Capra sibirica), as well as the first ever sighting of a Pallas's cat (Otocolobus manul) in the area. Photo by Katon-Karagai National Park. 2) Educational posters raise awareness about the importance of snow leopards to the environment and cultural identity of Kyrgyzstan. Photo by GEF SGP Kyrgyzstan. 42 43 Steeped in mystique, the solitary snow leopard prowls the high mountain meadows and rocky plateaus of Asia like a ghostly presence. Seldom encountering a human, and even more rarely seen by one, snow leopards nevertheless feel the impact of sharing a planet with the human race. By acknowledging humans as an integrated part of even the most remote ecosystems, projects such as those featured in these pages can begin to address not only the effects of unsustainable human behavior leading to the snow leopard's decline, but the underlying drivers, as well.

Working to alleviate poverty, to build government and institutional capacity, to protect land and water resources, to promote sustainable consumption and to improve the future well-being of people and our planet through adaptive strategies and mitigation of climate change... these and other project objectives go hand-in-hand with an even greater goal—to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. These 17 global goals—known Conclusion as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—have united the nations of the world in an effort to reduce human “With our rapidly growing human population and its ever-increasing development deprivation and secure the planet's life-support systems for a sustainable and prosperous future for all. and destruction of habitats, research alone is not enough. Programmes must lead to conservation and management of habitats, ecosystems, and landscapes with all With the fate of the snow leopard intricately linked to that of the high mountain ecosystems and the women and their diversity of life, including the human communities. The snow leopard is the men who rely on them, conservation success depends on finding a balance between human need and nature's icon of the mountain realm in Central Asia, and by its presence is a symbol of local requirements—a concept that underpins the formulation of the SDGs. It is fitting, then, that Panthera uncia serves environmental health.” as an icon for preservation and progress, and as a focal point for this suite of UNDP-GEF projects that support — George Schaller, PhD, Vice President of Panthera and Senior Conservationist for WCS. Central, South and East Asian governments in their commitment to achieving the SDGs for the benefit of their people and the planet. Photo by Steve Winter/National Geographic Creative

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