towards project snow leopard - Nature Conservation Foundation

72 • Appendix 1
for effective management planning. Most of the project area is near the international
border areas and the department often does not have access to the recent updated
topomaps from the Survey of India.
1.3.4. Lack of basic presence-absence data for wildlife: In most high altitude areas, even
basic surveys have not been conducted. There is a lack of information on even the
presence-absence of species, the threats they face, wildlife hotspots; information
essential to guide developmental activities that are not in conflict with conservation
goals. Further, there is a lack of information on natural resource use of the people
who live in these sparse-resource areas, their livelihoods and socio-economic changes.
Information on species ecology and aspects such as predator-prey relationships are
also lacking.
1.4. Constraints: others
1.4.1. No control on tourism-related activities: The entire region has major potential for
tourism. Some areas already receive excessive tourism while others are completely
ignored. Tourism benefits do not usually reach local communities in a substantial
way. There is a need for developing conservation-linked tourism that is beneficial to
local communities, and generates their support for conservation efforts.
1.4.2. Lack of awareness at policy and executive levels: There is lack of awareness among some
policy makers (politicians and senior bureaucrats) about biodiversity values, ecosystem
services, local dependencies, wildlife populations and conflicts. While information
on these aspects is beginning to be collected and compiled, there remains a gap in its
availability in the right format to the policy makers.
2. Better Strategy: Conservation and Management Philosophy
2.1. Participatory management in buffer zones: Given the widespread occurrence of wildlife on
common land, and the continued traditional land use within some PAs, it is imperative
that wildlife conservation efforts be made participatory both within and outside protected
areas. Such a participatory approach will be facilitated by the relatively intact and
functional traditional administrative bodies such as the village councils in most of the high
altitude areas. The success of recent experiments in participatory conservation underscores
the desirability and feasibility of participatory wildlife management in the Indian high
altitudes.
2.2. Second line of protection: Mechanisms such as a Standby Protection Force can be effective
in strengthening local management as also providing some local employment.
2.3. Facilitating a robust intelligence network: A robust intelligence network needs to be evolved
with suitable resources available for hiring key informants regarding illegal activities related
to wildlife management.