towards project snow leopard - Nature Conservation Foundation

Towards Project Snow Leopard • 81
need to rationalize the boundaries of some PAs to make conservation more effective.
3.2.3. Resource creation within existing habitations: There is a need to minimize people’s
dependence on the larger landscape. Attempts need to be made to provide for resource
generation in and around settlements.
3.2.4. Alternative livelihoods for communities: The region is resource-scarce and has pervasive
human use, including inside the existing PAs. It is difficult, if not, impossible, to
find alternative pastures for people evicted from PAs of the region. In any case it is
desirable that local people have a larger variety of alternative livelihoods, more than
the existing ones dealing primarily with raw wool, tourism and some cultivation.
This will help reduce pressures from the larger landscape. Such an approach will be
particularly important for the desired smaller cores suggested here. Working towards
making the local community stronger monetarily will be important for the project.
3.2.5. Medicinal plant cultivation through communities: One clear approach that may work
for alternative livelihoods is medicinal plant cultivation. Most of the region occurs
within the area of rich medicinal plant diversity and this can be an important source
of income.
3.2.6. Providing incentives to communities to reduce/ curtail resource use within PAs: Related
with alternative sources of income, programmes need to be devised that clearly
provide economic incentives to local community to conserve biodiversity.
3.3. Financial support
3.3.1. Financial incentives for all high altitude staff & better infrastructure: As explained in
1.2.1 above, financial incentives to the staff are needed such that they willingly stay
under harsh conditions and perform their duties properly. Proper accommodation,
equipment and modes of transport need to be available to the staff.
3.3.2. Economic and other incentives to local communities- let conservation pay: Refer to 3.2.4
& 3.2.6, above. Optimal Government support should be available to enable local
people to manage their resources and devise programmes that generate revenue.
3.3.3. Profit sharing by communities coupled with responsibility sharing for conservation
– through micro-plans: Mechanisms should exist such that the community shares
responsibility of an area along with the benefits they are deriving from conservation.
3.3.4. Uniform protection/level of conservation efforts in the entire landscape: The entire
landscape has wildlife values, and thus more or less uniform levels of efforts for
conservation are needed. This is a challenging task as the area is vast, however, if such
an effort is not made, some endangered and vulnerable populations will be lost.
4. Expectations of the State Forest Department From Project Snow Leopard