Project Snow Leopard

The Project Snow Leopard is an initiative for strengthening wildlife conservation in the Himalayan high altitudes, covering Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. 

• It aims at promoting a knowledge-based and adaptive conservation framework that fully involves the local communities, who share the snow leopard’s range, in conservation efforts.
• The project will be operational in five Himalayan States viz. Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh with active support from wildlife institute of India and the Mysore based Nature Conservation Foundation. 
• The Project Snow Leopard is an Innovative project that would help to arrest species declines in the Indian high altitudes and would lead to conservation based on sound scientific plans and local support. 
• Species such as Snow Leopard, Asiatic Ibex, Tibetan Argali, Ladakh Urial, Chiru, Takin, Serow and Musk Deer will particularly benefit from this project. 

Predators such as the snow leopard — at the apex of ecological pyramid — suffered the most partly on account of their relatively smaller population and also because of man-animal conflict. 

This situation got aggravated by the hostile landscape forming its habitat.

• “Considering these facts, snow leopard has been included in the list of species under Recovery Programme to be funded through the umbrella scheme of Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats,”

With nearly 750 snow leopards in the country, the project will facilitate a landscape-level approach to wildlife conservation by developing scientific frameworks for comprehensive surveys, rationalising the existing protected area network and improving protected area management. 

It will develop a framework for wildlife conservation outside protected areas and promote ecologically responsible development.

The project will encourage focused conservation and recovery programmes for endangered species, promote stronger measures for wildlife protection and law enforcement and better understand and manage human-wildlife conflict. It will reduce existing anthropogenic pressures on natural resources and promote conservation education.

Snow Leopard is globally endangered species as well as the most important flagship species of the mountain region. 

• They are at the apex of ecological pyramid suffer the most on account of relatively smaller population size and also because of man-animal conflict. 
• This situation further gets aggravated by the hostile landscape forming its habitat. 

The biodiversity of the Himalayans includes at least 350 species of mammals, 1200 species of birds, species of amphibians and reptiles, and numerous plants including many with medicinal properties. 

Over 335 species of wild relatives of cultivated crops are also found in the region. There are numerous biologically important wetlands that form breeding grounds for waterfowl. 

These areas also provide vital ecosystem services that are important for the dense human populations downstream and in the Indo-Gengetic plans. 

• The project stresses on a landscape approach to conservation wherein smaller core zones with relatively conservation values will be identified and conserved with support and the larger landscape will be managed in such a way that it allows necessary development benefits to the local communities. 

The project thus places greater importance to careful and knowledge-based management planning of the landscapes. The adaptive management planning will involve participation of all key stakeholders so that action is taken by incorporating local wisdom and support. 

For facilitating effective planning and action, the project will set up enabling administrative mechanisms from the village duster level to the Central Government. 

• At the Central level, a Steering Committee chaired by Director General of Forests & Special Secretary to the Government of India will help guide the project. 

Each State will have a State Snow Leopard Conservation Society that will coordinate work by the Landscape-level Implementation Committees, which in turn will coordinate work by the village Wildlife Conservation Committees.