Snow Leopard Survival Strategy - Panthera

1. Snow Leopard: Review of Current Knowledge
and Status
Rationale for a Snow Leopard Survival
Strategy
This Snow Leopard Survival Strategy (SLSS) was
undertaken to provide comprehensive conservation and
research guidelines to ensure a range-wide coordinated
effort in the fight to save the endangered snow leopard.
The Strategy would be arrived at after a thorough analysis
of the threats facing the species, the potential conservation
actions to address those threats, and determination of
the information needs. The SLSS will then be taken back
to the range-countries for further review and input at the
local level after which area specific action plans can be
developed based on the guidelines of this Strategy. The
target users of the SLSS are range-country policy makers
and natural resource managers, conservation biologists,
development specialists, researchers, and students, any
of who are engaged in, or contemplating, snow leopard
studies and conservation programs.
Specific Goals
• Assess and prioritize threats to snow leopard survival
on a geographic basis.
• Define and prioritize conservation, education, and
policy measures appropriate to alleviate threats.
• Prioritize subjects for snow leopard research and
identify viable or preferred research methods.
• Build a network of concerned scientists and conservationists
to facilitate open dialogue and cross-border
cooperation.
• Gain consensus on a fundamental Snow Leopard
Survival Strategy document that will be made available
to the range states to aid conservation planning
at national and local levels.
History of the Process
In February 2001 the International Snow Leopard
Trust initiated the development of a Snow Leopard Survival
Strategy by inviting 40 knowledgeable individuals
to participate in the process. Over the ensuing year the
number of participants grew to more than 60. The participant
list included 32 representatives from 12 snow
leopard range countries (all of snow leopard range except
Myanmar where snow leopard occurrence remains
unconfirmed). The remaining participants came from the
USA and Europe. The specialists involved represented
national and international conservation NGOs, rangecountry
governments, academies of science, universities,
zoos and independent conservationists. Most individuals
had a strong familiarity with snow leopards or issues related
to snow leopard conservation. Specialities of participants
covered conservation, community development,
protected area management, policy and law, research,
conservation education, and captive management.
The highly participatory process started with a survey
of specialists designed to gather information on
perceived threats to snow leopards, appropriate actions
to address threats, knowledge gaps, protected area status,
policy and law issues, impediments to achieving
conservation of snow leopards, and cultural relevance of
snow leopards. The results of the survey were provided
to participants through an internet website and served as
the basis for initiating open discussion among the group.
Dialogue was via an email-based discussion group.
The plan of bringing the group together for a Workshop
to refine the SLSS document in November of 2001
was put on hold due to the tragic events of September
11 that year. In lieu of that meeting, further email-based
discussion was continued and the Workshop was rescheduled
for May 2002. In the interim, a second survey
was designed to gain additional input from government
level policy makers and resource managers. This survey
was undertaken to ensure the SLSS would meet the needs
of governments using the Strategy as a guide to develop
national action plans.
The Snow Leopard Survival Summit was convened
in Seattle, USA from 21-26 May 2002 and was attended
by 58 of the specialists to debate issues and refine the
Strategy. This SLSS document is the end product of that
process.
Brief background on the snow
leopard
Portions of this section are reprinted directly from
Wild Cats - Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan
(Nowell and Jackson 1996), Snow Leopard Survey and
Conservation Handbook (Jackson and Hunter 1996),
Ecology of the Snow Leopard (Fox 1994), Status and
Ecology of the Snow Leopard in Mongolia (McCarthy
2000), Snow Leopard Status, Distribution and Protected
Area Coverage (Jackson 2002) and Trade in Snow Leopards
(Theile 2003).
12 | SNOW LEOPARD SURVIVAL STRATEGY