Imagine traveling internationally from a country with one of the “least powerful” passports.
Imagine traveling to a foreign country without a guarantee that you’ll receive a visa or be able to return home easily. Such was the journey undertaken by participants.
Despite the barriers and borders, these passionate conservation champions prevailed, much like the wildlife they are working to conserve. Their attendance at the workshop will strengthen conservation efforts across the world.
Eight participants arrived in Mongolia from across snow leopard range countries and beyond, representing Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, Nepal and Afghanistan. All currently work with communities to conserve wildlife in their home countries, including snow leopards, Persian leopards, brown bears and ungulates such as the Bukhara deer and the markhor.
The workshop addresses the lack of formal training programs for conservation practitioners working with Indigenous peoples and local communities. Although conservation discussions usually focus on wildlife, most conservation practitioners must work directly with communities, respectfully and ethically.
“The word conservation doesn’t exist in our local language. So we have to build from the ground up wherever we go.” -Tazarf Shamirova, Tajikistan Nature Foundation.
The training location is symbolically important for conservation, as it is a refuge for the last truly wild horses in the world. In 1996, the IUCN Red List listed Takhi, or Przewalski’s horse, as Extinct in the Wild. In 2008, their status was updated to Endangered and there is now a stable wild population in Hustai National Park and other locations in Mongolia.
British Ambassador to Mongolia Fiona Blyth, who attended the training, remarked on the occasion: “We are passing the baton to you guys. Just as snow leopards have no borders, it is amazing that we have representatives from so many different and important countries in this conservation effort.” The ambassador awarded certificates to the participants upon completion of the training.
Even though the training is over, the participants are already planning their next steps. For example, Saeed Abbas from Pakistan, who is a faculty member at Karakoram International University, is planning to develop a credit course on community-centric conservation. Hana Raza, Director and Founder of Leopards Beyond Borders is planning to bring the workshop to government partners, conservation organizations and communities in Iraq and Kurdistan. This is significant for them, as they are working to establish Iraq’s first Community Conserved Area (CCA).
Fueled by a passion to make a difference for snow leopards and the people who share their habitat, these workshops are important steps in our larger vision of a world where ethical, fair and inclusive nature conservation efforts are led and supported by Indigenous peoples and local communities.
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Photo credits: SLCF-Mongolia, Snow Leopard Trust
Acknowledgments: This training was funded by the UK Government through the Darwin Initiative.
Special thanks to these organizations for their support of the Ethical Conservation Alliance: Whitley Fund for Nature, Melkus Family Foundation, Acacia Conservation Fund, Kenmour M. & Marjorie Spencer Wild Animal Fund at Bainbridge Community Foundation and Snow Leopard Trust.