WWF report on snow leopard
- World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) has released a report titled "Over 100 Years of Snow Leopard Research — A spatially explicit review of the state of knowledge in the snow leopard range".
- Snow leopards are categorized as ‘Vulnerable’ by IUCN and in the Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972.
Key findings of Report:
- More than 70% habitat of the snow leopard, over 12 Asian countries, remains unresearched.
- Nepal, India, and China had conducted the most snow leopard research, followed by Mongolia and Pakistan.
- Globally, there could be as few as 4,000 snow leopards left in Asia’s high mountains and this remaining population faces continued and emerging threats.
Threats include:
- Increased habitat loss and degradation, poaching, and conflict with communities.
Snow Leopard conservation in India:
- Project Snow Leopard (PSL) was launched in 2009 to promote an inclusive and participatory approach to conserve snow leopards and their habitat.
- India is also party to the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection (GSLEP) Programme since 2013.
- For conservation, India has identified three large landscapes, namely, Hemis-Spiti across Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh; Nanda Devi – Gangotri in Uttarakhand; and Khangchendzonga – Tawang across Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
- Snow Leopard is on the list of 21 critically endangered species for the recovery program of the Ministry of Environment Forest & Climate Change.