SLC Annual Report 2015
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.FROM . .THE . DIRECTOR. & . BOARD. CHAI . .R . Over the past fifteen years, the Snow Leopard We’re also making solar-powered Foxlights Conservancy has worked according to the deep available, so herders will have a portable and conviction that mountain communities—too easily-installed predator deterrent. These flashing often ignored by policymakers—need to have a lights scare away snow leopards; with their flocks key role in snow leopard conservation. Your safe, herders will have no reason to hunt down support and investment is allowing us to serve and kill the magnificent cats. as the facilitators in a holistic approach that In Mongolia, communities celebrated our addresses livelihood improvement and nominee, Tungalagtuya Khuukhenduu, for conservation education as necessary elements receiving a Disney Conservation Fund Hero in community-based protection of these iconic Award for her innovative Nomadic Nature Trunk cats. program, bringing conservation education to Together with our local partners, our sights children in Mongolia’s remotest corners. remain set on alleviating livestock depredation, Your support for our Sacred Sites–Sacred addressing poaching, and expanding locally- Species program made progress possible in driven wildlife monitoring, while honoring building our snow leopard range-wide community traditional practices and ways of knowing. of Indigenous Cultural Practitioners (ICPs). We’re Several events occurred this past year that excited to continue developing our program for have led us to reconfirm our commitment to monitoring of snow leopards and data-recording communities. by ICPs in a way that supports the goals of the In April an earthquake devastated Nepal, as Global Snow Leopard Ecosystem Protection Plan. detailed on page 7 of our report. This catas- At the same time, we’re coordinating a ground- trophe has renewed our commitment to breaking collaboration to develop measures of promoting economic prosperity in Nepalese success from the indigenous point of view. communities while simultaneously protecting Please continue reading this report to learn the snow leopard. In response to the quake, we more about how your gifts are protecting snow are forming partnerships to expand our leopards. successful Savings and Credit network to put We are looking forward to a productive 2016, money in the pockets of those villagers who were and are ever grateful to you for continuing on this hardest hit by the natural disaster. journey with us. Rodney Jackson Caroline Gabel Founder-Director Chair 2 . Annual Report 2015 . COMMUNITY. -.BASED . CONSERVATION. ACTION. BHUTAN Partners: Bhutan Foundation; Nature Recreation and Ecotourism Department; Jigme Dorji National Park Staff of Jigme Dorji National Park and seven members of the Yutoed and Nubri communities visited Ladakh, India, to learn about SLC-India’s highly successful Himalayan Homestay program. A similar program is being developed in Bhutan, operated by local women, as a culturally appropriate and wildlife friendly alternative livelihood. Following the model of Mongolia's Nomadic Nature Trunks program, Bhutan Foundation began developing an educational “Snow Leopard Chest” for distribution to schools and teachers in the National Park. The Chest includes lessons, posters, games, and other materials for conducting interactive educational exercises aimed at increasing community awareness of the importance of protecting the snow leopard, its natural prey (blue sheep, below right), and its high-mountain ecosystem. Photos: Bhutan Foundation Veterinarians continued treating domestic dogs, carriers of a form of mad-cow disease, a major cause of mortality among yaks (above) in Bhutan. Regular treatment of domestic and feral dogs is the most cost-effective means of controlling this serious disease, and for fostering long-term community support for protecting large predators like the snow leopard. Concluding three years of collaboration and mentoring, we are happy to announce that the Bhutan Foundation and Jigme Dorje National Park will assume responsibility for program administration. Snow Leopard Conservancy’s Mission Ensuring snow leopard survival and conserving mountain landscapes by expanding environmental awareness and sharing innovative practices through community stewardship and partnerships The GuideStar Exchange Seal demonstrates the Conservancy’s commitment to transparency Annual Report 2015 . 3 . COMMUNITY. -.BASED . CONSERVATION. ACTION. INDIA Partner: Snow Leopard Conservancy-India Trust The Conservancy secured funding from the Australian Himalayan Foundation for Snow Leopard Conservancy-India to carry out corral predator-proofing in the remote district of Zanskar. Community consultations and assessments of livestock depredation were carried out, and four corrals were completed with four still under construction. Delays were mostly due to uncommonly heavy rains in the region, which resulted in flooding that washed out trails and bridges. In turn, communications and transportation were severely affected. People who had planned to work on the corrals were instead engaged in road and bridge repair. It took a month for wire mesh to reach Zanskar, where the order would normally have been delivered within a week. Given the changing weather patterns across the region, corral improvements will now be undertaken in spring as soon as the snow melts. IndiaTrust - Photos:Snow Leopard Conservancy For every corral secured, up to five snow leopards are prevented from preying on the livestock within. Cats like the one above, photographed via trail camera by SLC-India, are thus safe from retaliation by herders. 4 . Annual Report 2015 . COMMUNITY. -.BASED . CONSERVATION. ACTION. MONGOLIA Partner: Nomadic Nature Conservation Congratulations to the Conservancy’s partner and nominee Tunga Khuukhenduu on receiving a 2015 Disney Conservation Hero Award! The Disney Conservation Fund’s Conservation Heroes program celebrates individuals around the world for their passion to conserve nature and create a brighter tomorrow. As a researcher, Tunga recognized that rural Mongolians had no access to environmental education. Working with conservation organizations like the Conservancy, she created “Nomadic Nature Trunks,” which are travelling classrooms for school students, with interactive lesson plans on conservation of Mongolia’s ecosystems. Nomadic Nature Conservation Tunga’s dynamic and playful teacher training style (seen above) has made this program extremely popular with remote communities in Mongolia’s Altai Mountains. The Conservancy facilitated adaptation of the model Tunga created, for use in Bhutan in 2015. Tunga shows her Conservation Hero medal to a friend. Annual Report 2015 . 5 . COMMUNITY. -.BASED . CONSERVATION. ACTION. MONGOLIA, Continued Tunga undertook evaluation and monitoring in six snow leopard protected areas to assess the effectiveness of the Nature Trunk program. These sites are a two-day drive from the capital, Ulaanbaatar, where half of Mongolians live. Nomadic Nature Conservation Evaluation methods included key informant interviews, focus group meetings, and questionnaires, such as are being completed by this herder couple. Survey questions included whether the community gained new knowledge about biodiversity conservation, wildlife, and mountain predators; whether the teaching skills of park staff, community leaders, and teachers has been improved; what challenges if any were encountered in using the trunks; whether the community’s negative attitudes towards snow leopards are changing; and whether best management practices are being implemented in the pilot areas. Results of the evaluation revealed that the trunk program is thriving in far western Mongolia’s Altai Mountain region, where eco-clubs have been initiated by particularly motivated teachers. In the southern Gobi desert areas, further training and encouragement are needed for the program to gain widespread acceptance. *Park staff in the protected areas rated the trunks as *In Uvs Province, >50% of eco-club graduates go on the most important tool for public awareness work. to major in environmental studies. One respondent has a son studying biology, another who’s a bird- *Many teachers asked for their own trunk to keep at watcher and researcher, a daughter with a Forestry the school. They also asked for a refresher training. degree, and another working as a geologist. *One biology teacher developed her own lesson plan *Uvs Province has participated with Russia’s Tuva based on the trunk contents and training she region in a trans-boundary summer eco-club; the received; Nomadic Nature Conservation staff were Tuva protected area administration has asked for invited to sit in on the class. their own trunk. 6 . Annual Report 2015 . COMMUNITY. -.BASED . CONSERVATION. ACTION. NEPAL Partners: Department of National Parks & Wildlife Conservation; National Trust for Nature Conservation-Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP), Lo Manthang Unit Office Students from four schools in Upper Mustang celebrated Environment Day with a snow leopard awareness rally and inter-school art competition. The next day, a group of five boys and nine girls—all Snow Leopard Scouts—hiked with their teachers and a local herder to the site of the Environmental Awareness Camp. Scouts learned about ways to reduce conflict between humans and wildlife, such as predator proofing corrals and installing Foxlights. They also were taught to use binoculars, GPS, and camera traps. They found fresh signs of snow leopards and classified a herd