Impacts and Assessment of the Endangered Snow Leopard: A Conservational Approach

Abstract

Overcoming the threats of the snow leopard with immediate action may be what will save this species from extinction. This report provides a brief overview both of the challenges faced by the snow leopard and the roles local people have taken in the decline and subsequent recovery of this apex predator. Panthera uncia lives across the high-alpine regions of Central Asia, with China containing most of their habitat. It is estimated that only 550,000 km² of this territory is good quality habitat.These predators will adjust their territory size and range in accordance with their ungulate prey. Under the Conservation Monitoring Centre of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), they have been listed as endangered since 1996. Since 1975, all international trade has been prohibited after being listed with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES). The International Snow Leopard Trust and the Snow Leopard Survival Strategy are promoting conservation through scientifically based research. Numerous threats have been identified: decline in prey populations, habitat degradation, trophy and black market hunting, ineffective law enforcement, a lack of knowledge about conservation efforts, and climate change. It is estimated that 30% of their habitat will be subject to change along the Himalayas. The Snow Leopard Survival Strategy is promoting livestock and grazing practices that will reduce vulnerability to predation, such as the use of herding dogs to ward off predators. An underlying problem that ties the numerous issues together is the poverty in most of the countries that are part of snow leopard range, and this draws a link between biodiversity conservation and the well-being of those people. Regional conservation programs depend not only on the effective enforcement of protection laws, but also on the proof that wildlife conservation can provide new opportunities to the local people who are impacted by this species. To save this species, these areas need to be conserved and managed, and the rural communities need to be educated and supported.