Good Science

The Snow Leopard Conservancy recognizes that a combination of traditional knowledge and a scientific, “threats-based” analysis are key to designing site-specific initiatives that address the root causes of people-wildlife conflict. Much of the snow leopard’s range is located outside national parks or protected areas, yet these areas are critical habitat for linking the different sub-populations and thereby minimizing potentially harmful genetic inbreeding. Community-based conservation can significantly expand their functional role into a much larger and more regional framework by creating predator-friendly corridors between adjacent parks or reserves.

Interestingly, there is increasing evidence that forest management and other natural resource institutions of some Himalayan communities date back many hundreds of years. In Mongolia, for instance, community-based wildlife management goes back to the days of Gengis Khan. These institutions probably evolved to ensure more equitable access to scarce resources and to minimize internal conflict within the community through well-imbedded resource ownership access rules and land tenure rights. With the advent of modern government, many of these institutions were eliminated or essentially disenfranchised. In acknowledging the role for community-based conservation, governments and non-governmental organizations are working to resolve longstanding land tenure disputes and to strengthen collaborative management with locally-based resource user groups.

For details about about Snow Leopard Conservancy’s project policies and standards, read “ Design Criteria.”

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