Our team in Pakistan, based at the Snow Leopard Foundation (SLF), produces a monthly newsletter with the vision of inspiring the people of Pakistan to live in harmony with wildlife. They advocate for a world where nature is valued and conserved and ecosystem services are sustained to deliver benefits essential for all people. This month, we’re excited to share one of their many uplifting stories.
During the ongoing Women’s History Month, we’re featuring a paper by snow leopard researchers that explores the role of women in snow leopard conservation in the high mountains of Asia.
Snow Leopard Trust’s conservation partner in Pakistan, the Snow Leopard Foundation, recently piloted an apiculture project in one of the remote settings of the Upper Chitral District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The following story, told by one of the women who participated in this livelihood improvement project, illustrates how this initiative enhances household income and fosters positive attitudes toward wildlife conservation.
Hear how one woman’s transformation into a snow leopard advocate is influencing her entire community. This is Chuluuntsetseg (Chuka) Dashzeveg’s inspiring story, shared in a recent conversation with two of our team members, Dr. Justine Shanti Alexander and Pujii Lkhagvajav. Chuka lives in western Mongolia’s Khovd Province.
One hundred fifty honey bee hives were successfully delivered to their new homes in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan. Relocating the bees was a challenge, as Benazir, our Project Assistant, shares, “The delivery process was so nerve-wracking because we were transporting live creatures over a long distance. The delivery kept getting postponed due to rainy weather. To add to the complexity, honey bee families are supposed to be delivered at night so they can orient themselves once they are settled. Due to the specific challenges and risks involved, we did not sleep for two nights, constantly checking on the location of the truck with the bee families.”
To conserve snow leopards and natural resources better, we must understand and identify the important roles that women can – and do – play in local societies. In a recently published paper, Snow Leopard Trust researchers examine the role of women and the nuanced intersection between gender and social divisions in the governance of irrigation water in the Spiti Valley – a critical area for snow leopard conservation.
On celebrating 40 years of snow leopard conservation and sustaining motivation for protecting the ghosts of the mountain.
The Snow Leopard Network (SLN), in collaboration with the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP), Snow Leopard Trust and other partner organizations, brought together over 100 snow leopard researchers and practitioners from across the world in a new interactive training forum for snow leopard conservation.
A better understanding of semi-nomadic herders’ perceptions towards climate change can lead to more successful mitigation efforts.
Women play a vital role in all aspects of snow leopard conservation, from being the matriarchs of herding communities, to participating in our Snow Leopard Enterprises handicraft program, to advocacy and research. The impact women have on the protection of this species is immeasurable. We have gathered first hand accounts from the field to share their experiences working in snow leopard conservation.
