In the remote Kuju Valley of Chitral, a young woman with a passion for education and social impact is transforming her community through her leadership and commitment to conservation. This success story comes from our partner organization in Pakistan, Snow Leopard Foundation.
At Snow Leopard Trust, we’re privileged to work alongside brilliant researchers and students from around the world, each bringing unique perspectives to critical conservation challenges. Today’s post comes from Cecilia Di Bernardi, a postdoctoral researcher who joined our scientists in Mongolia for the spring field expedition.
Our team recently conducted a training workshop in Mongolia focused on gender inclusivity in conservation. Promoting gender equality is crucial for ensuring ethical and effective practices in conservation efforts.
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.
