In ancient times, big cats on every continent were sacred and central to the cultures of communities who shared their habitat. Today, while human density in snow leopard habitat is among the lowest in the world, our impacts are pervasive.
As climate change, infrastructure development, poaching, and conflict between herders and snow leopards all continue to contribute to the vulnerability of a species that is both an ecological indicator and a sacred totem, we must renew our commitment to community-based conservation of snow leopards and their habitat.
RUSSIA
BHUTAN
NEPAL
AFGHANISTAN
CHINA
INDIA
MONGOLIA
KAZAKHSTAN
TAJIKISTAN
UZBEKISTAN
KYRGYZSTAN
PAKISTAN
LAND OF THE SNOW LEOPARD NETWORK
Since 2010, the Snow Leopard Conservancy has worked with its partners to build a coalition of Indigenous Cultural Practitioners (ICPs) who live and work in snow leopard habitat. The term ICP includes shamans, tribal medicine people, sacred site guardians, and revered elders. The conservation community increasingly recognizes that cultural and biological diversity are deeply linked and programs should take into account the ethical, cultural and spiritual values of nature. The framework for this creative merger is provided for in the United Nations’ Brundtland Report and Agenda 21 of the World Summit on Sustainable Development.
THE BISHEK DECLARATION
Leaders in the governments of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Kingdom of Bhutan, the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of India, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan, the custodians of the world’s snow leopards and the valuable high-mountain ecosystems they inhabit, having gathered at a Global Snow Leopard Conservation Forum in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic, from 22-23 October 2013, with the shared goal of conserving snow leopards and their fragile habitats.
New Developments
Human development, agricultural practices, mining, and climate change have all contributed to human encroachment of the traditional habitat of the snow leopard. But through education and monitoring techniques, we can learn to live in harmony. With your support, we have been able to implement several critical advances in conservation techniques:
