ISLAMABAD: Speakers at an event on Tuesday called for reforms in wildlife and environmental laws and the involvement of indigenous people in conservation initiatives for wildlife and their habitats.

They also stressed on securing the livelihoods and social and cultural identities of mountain communities while implementing conservation initiatives, as they share the snow leopard habitat.

However, they expressed concerns about the gap in knowledge about the snow leopard’s status and called for scientific initiatives for population assessment of the species.

International Snow Leopard Day marked

The event was held to celebrate International Snow Leopard Day, hundreds of miles away from the elusive animal’s habitat and mountain communities.

“Such programmes need to be held in the mountain habitats where the real custodians of nature and stakeholders live,” commented a senior environmental expert who had been involved in conservation efforts in Gilgit-Baltistan in the early 90s.

Young people from GB, Chitral and Azad Kashmir should be involved and facilitated in doing research and conservation initiatives, he added.

This was echoed by Inspector General of Forests Syed Nasir Mahmood from the Ministry of Climate Change, who said that the snow leopard has acquired top ecological niche for itself owing to global conservation efforts.

“Focus should be laid on promotion of the unique lifestyle and culture of nomad people, encouraging them to participate in international events,” he said.

“Forest departments always get into disputes with the bakarwals (nomad herders) when they start travelling all the way from the Deosai plains down to Punjab in the winter,” Mr Mehmood said.

Since they are now concentrated in the Potohar region with their livestock, a drive should be launched to vaccinate their livestock as well as the herders against various infectious diseases, he added.

Malik Amin Aslam, adviser to the prime minister on climate change, said the government was framing new policy for the protection of wildlife that will be announced next month.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) country head Ignacio Artaza also emphasized the wellbeing of marginalised communities in snow leopard conservation.

He said the UNDP has teamed up with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and Snow Leopard Foundation to support the five-year $4.5 million Pakistan Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection (PSLEP) programme launched this year.

He also stressed on the involvement of local people in conservation strategies, and discussed UNDP support for other projects aimed at helping both the snow leopard and local people, for better resource management and to protect wildlife.

Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan Erik Beishembiev spoke about the leading role his country is playing in the snow leopard conservation.

The Kyrgyz government hosted two major events in 2013 and 2017, and was instrumental in adopting the Bishkek Declaration with a renewed commitment to intensify efforts for the protection of the endangered animal and their ecosystems.

As of 2017, the population of the snow leopard was estimated to be between 7,000 and 8,000.

However, this estimate has been disputed because snow leopards live in inaccessible and difficult environments traversing the landscape hunting for ibex and markhor goats and blue sheep.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature on Sept 14, 2017 called for the reclassification of the snow leopard from the endangered list to the vulnerable category.

Others, however, argue that there has been no robust scientific study to prove either that the population has stabilised.

Pakistan is home to the world’s third largest snow leopard population.

Yet in real terms there are only about 200 snow leopards said to living in the country’s mountainous regions across the 80,000sq km that stretch from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to GB, Azad Kashmir and India-held Kashmir and Afghanistan; 60pc of these can be found in GB.

Students from Quaidian Dramatic Club ‘Sanjh’ presented an impressive skit about destruction of snow leopard habitat and human intervention in ecosystem, and two documentaries on the Kyrgyz Republic and the snow leopard were also screened. Winners of a poster contest were also given prizes.

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2018

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