Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Fostering Community-Based Stewardship of Wildlife in Central Asia: Transforming Snow Leopards from Pests into Valued Assets

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Rangeland Stewardship in Central Asia

Abstract

Addressing human–wildlife conflict is an important requisite to managing rangelands for livestock and wildlife. Despite high altitudes, aridity, and relatively low primary productivity, the rangelands of Central Asia support a rich and diverse biodiversity—including the endangered snow leopard that many herders perceive as a predator to be eliminated. Conserving this and other wildlife species requires carefully crafted interventions aimed at curbing depredation losses and/or reducing competition for forage, along with offering locally sustainable, environmentally friendly income-generating activities for supplementing pastoral household livelihoods. This is best achieved through a combination of incentives designed to foster sound rangeland and wildlife stewardship, along penalties or disincentives targeting herders who violate mutually agreed rules and regulations (including grazing norms and wildlife disturbance or poaching).

When working toward the harmonious coexistence of people and wildlife, conservationists and rangeland practitioners need to seek the cooperation and build goodwill among herders and other stakeholders, including local government and private industry (especially the livestock production, mining, and tourism sectors).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References and Further Reading

  • Anwar MB, Jackson RM, Sajid NM, Janečka JE, Hussain S, Beg MA, Muhammad G, Qayyum M (2011) Food habits of the snow leopard, Panthera uncia (Schreber, 1775) in Baltistan, Northern Pakistan. Eur J Wildlife Res 57:1077–1083

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bagchi S, Mishra C, Bhatnagar YV (2004) Conflicts between traditional pastoralism and conservation of Himalayan ibex (Capra sibirica) in the Trans-Himalayan mountains. Anim Conserv 7:121–128

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bagchi S and Mishra C (2006) Living with large carnivores: predation by snow leopard Uncia uncia Conservation Biology 17 1q512–1523

    Google Scholar 

  • Bagchi S and Mishra C (2006). Living with large carnivores: predation on livestock by the snow leopard (Uncia uncia). J Zoo 268:217–224.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bedunah DJ, Schmidt SM (2004) Pastoralism and protected area management in Mongolia’s Gobi Gurvan Saikhan National Park. Dev Chang 35(1):167–191

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Behnke R (2006) The socio-economic causes and consequences of desertification in Central Asia. Springer, Bishkek

    Google Scholar 

  • Berkes F, Colding J and Folke C (2000) Rediscovery of traditional knowledge as adaptive management. Ecol App 10:1251–1262

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhatnagar YV, Wangchuk R and Jackson R (1999) A survey of depredation and the related human-wildlife conflicts in Hemis National Park, Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir. International Snow Leopard Trust, WA, USA (Project Report)

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhatnagar YV, Wangchuk R, Prins HHT, van Wieren SE, Mishra C (2006) Perceived conflicts between pastoralism and conservation of the kiang Equus kiang in the Ladakh Trans-Himalaya, India. Environ Manage 38:934–941

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bliss F (2006) Social and economic change in the Pamirs (Gorno-Badakhshan, Tajikistan). Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group, London, 378 pages

    Google Scholar 

  • Dickman AJ, Macdonald EA, Macdonald DW (2011) A review of financial instruments to pay for predator conservation and encourage human–carnivore coexistence. PNAS 2011 108(34):13937–13944

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • du Toit J, Kock R, Deutsch JC (eds) (2009) Wild rangelands: conserving wildlife while maintaining livestock in semi-arid ecosystems. Wiley, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Fernández-Giménez ME (2000) The role of Mongolian nomadic pastoralists’ ecological knowledge in rangeland management. Ecol Appl 10:1318–1326

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fernández-Giménez ME, Batbuyan B (2004) Law and disorder: local implementation of Mongolia’s land law. Dev Chang 35:141–165

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fox JL, Dhondup K, Dorji T (2009) Tibetan antelope Pantholops hodgsonii conservation and new rangeland management policies in the western Chang Tang Nature Reserve, Tibet: is fencing creating an impasse? Oryx 43:183–190

    Google Scholar 

  • Green MJB, Zhimbiev B (1997) Transboundary protected areas and snow leopard conservation. In: Jackson R, Ahmad A (eds) Proceedings of the eighth international snow leopard symposium. WWF Pakistan and International Snow Leopard Trust, Seattle, pp 194–203

    Google Scholar 

  • Gurung GS, Thapa K, Kunkel K, Thapa GJ, Kollmar M, Mueller Boeker U (2011) Enhancing herders’ livelihood and conserving the snow leopard in Nepal. Cat News 55:17–21

    Google Scholar 

  • Halimova N (2012) Land tenure reform in Tajikistan: implications for land stewardship and social sustainability: a case study. In: Squires V (ed) Rangeland stewardship in Central Asia. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 305–332 (Chapter 13, this volume)

    Google Scholar 

  • Hua L and Zhang D (2012) Engaging with land users; the first steps on a long road. In: Squires V (ed) Rangeland stewardship in Central Asia. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 333–356 (Chapter 14, this volume)

    Google Scholar 

  • Hussain S (2000) Protecting snow leopards and enhancing the farmer’s livelihoods: a pilot insurance scheme in Baltistan. Mt Res Dev 20:224–229

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hussain S (2003) The status of the snow leopard in Pakistan and its conflict with local farmer livelihoods. Oryx 37(1):26–33

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ikeda N (2004) Economic impacts of livestock depredation by snow leopard Uncia uncia in the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area Nepal Himalaya. Environ Conserv 31:322–330

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson R (1998) People-wildlife conflict management in the Qomolangma Nature Preserve, Tibet. In: Ning W, Miller D, Lhu Zhu J (eds) Tibet’s biodiversity: conservation and management. Springer, WWF, Washington, DC, pp 40–46

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson R (2000) Managing people-wildlife conflict on alpine pastures in the Himalaya. In: Richard C, Basnet K, Shah JP, Raut Y (eds) Proceedings of regional grasslands workshop, volume 3. Technical and status papers on grasslands of protected areas. ICIMOD (International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development), Kathmandu

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson R (2001) Managing people-wildlife conflict in Tibet’s Qomolangma National Nature Preserve. In: Field R, Warren RJ, Okarma H, Sievert PR (eds) Wildlife, land and people: priorities for the 21st century. Proceedings of the second international wildlife management congress. The Wildlife Society, Bethesda, pp 188–191, 399 pages

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson R, Ahlborn G (1989) Snow leopards (Panthera uncia) in Nepal: home range and movements. Nat Geogr Res 5(2):161–175

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson R, Ahlborn G (1990) The role of protected areas in Nepal in maintaining viable populations of snow leopards. In: Blomqvist L (ed) International pedigree book of snow leopards, volume 6. Helsinki, Finland, pp 51–69

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson R, Fox JL (1997) Snow leopard conservation: accomplishments and research priorities. In: Jackson R, Ahmad A (eds) Proceedings of the 8th international snow leopard symposium Islamabad, November 1995. International Snow Leopard Trust, Seattle and WWF-Pakistan, Lahore, pp 128–145

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson P, Nowell K (1996) Problems and possible solutions in management of felid predators. J Wildlife Res 1(3):304–314

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson R, Wangchuk R (2001) Linking snow leopard conservation and people-wildlife conflict resolution: grassroots measures to protect the endangered snow leopard from herder retribution. Endangered Species UPDATE 18(4):138–141

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson RM, Wangchuk R (2004) A community-based approach to mitigating livestock depredation by snow leopards. Hum Dimens Wildl 9:307–315

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson R, Ahlborn GA, Gurung M, Ale S (1996) Reducing livestock depredation losses in the Nepalese Himalaya. In: Timm RM, Crab AC (eds) Proceedings of the 17th vertebrate pest conference. University of California, Davis, pp 241–247

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson RM, Mishra C, McCarthy TM, Ale SB (2010) Snow leopards: conflict and conservation, Chapter 18. In: Macdonald DW, Loveridge AJ (eds) Biology and conservation of wild felids. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 417–430, 762 pages

    Google Scholar 

  • Janečka JE, Jackson R, Yuguang Z, Diqiang L, Munkhtsog B, Buckley-Beason V, Murphy WJ (2008) Population monitoring of snow leopards using noninvasive collection of scat samples: a pilot study. Anim Conserv 11(5):401–411

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koshkarev EP, Vyrypaev V (2000) The snow leopard after the break-up of the Soviet Union. Cat News 32:9–11

    Google Scholar 

  • Kreutzmann H (2012) Pastoral practices in High Asia: Agency of ‘development’ effected by modernisation, resettlement and transformation. Springer, Dordrecht

    Google Scholar 

  • Kurbanov B (2012) Constraints and barriers to better land stewardship: analysis of PRAs in Tajikistan, pp 129–164 (Chapter 7, this volume)

    Google Scholar 

  • Leake JE (2012) Conclusions and a way forward. In: Squires V (ed) Rangeland stewardship in Central Asia. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 431–442 (Chapter 18, this volume)

    Google Scholar 

  • Lovari S, Boesi R, Minder I, Mucci N, Randi E, Dematteis A, Ale SB (2009) Restoring a keystone predator may endanger a prey species in a human-altered ecosystem: the return of the snow leopard to Sagarmatha National Park. Anim Conserv 12:559–570

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mallon DP, Jiang Z (2009) Grazers on the plains: challenges and prospects for large herbivores in Central Asia. J Appl Ecol 46:516–519

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maselli D, Inam-ur-Rahim (2012) Setting the stage: key features of the present-day Central Asian region. In: Squires V (ed) Rangeland stewardship in Central Asia. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 3–30 (Chapter 1, this volume)

    Google Scholar 

  • McCarthy TM, Fuller TK, Munkhtsog B (2005) Movements and activities of snow leopards in Southwestern Mongolia. Biol Conserv 124:527–537

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mishra C (1997) Livestock depredation by large carnivores in the Indian trans-Himalaya: conflict perceptions and conservation prospects. Environ Conserv 24:338–343

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mishra C (2001) High altitude survival: conflicts between pastoralism and wildlife in the Trans-Himalaya. PhD thesis, Wageningen University, The Netherlands, 131 pages

    Google Scholar 

  • Mishra C, Prins HHT, van Wieren SE (2001) Overstocking in the Trans-Himalayan rangelands of India. Environ Conserv 28:279–283

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mishra C, Allen P, McCarthy T, Madhusudan MD, Bayarjargal A, Prins HHT (2003) The role of incentive programs in conserving the snow leopard. Conserv Biol 17:1512–1523

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mishra C, van Wieren SE, Ketner P, Heitkonig IMA, Prins HHT (2004) Competition between livestock and bharal, Pseudois nayaur in the Indian Trans-Himalaya. J Appl Ecol 41:344–354

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mishra C, Bagchi S, Namgail T, Bhatnagar YV (2009) Multiple use of Trans-Himalayan rangelands: reconciling human livelihoods with wildlife conservation. In: du Toit J, Kock R, Deutsch J (eds) Wild rangelands: conserving wildlife while maintaining livestock in semi-arid ecosystems. Blackwell Publishing, London, pp 291–311

    Google Scholar 

  • Namgail T, Fox JL, Bhatnagar YV (2007) Carnivore-caused livestock mortality in Trans-Himalaya. Environ Manage 39:490–496

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nowell K, Jackson P (1996) Wild cats: a status survey and conservation action plan. IUCN, Gland

    Google Scholar 

  • Oli MK (1994) Snow leopards and blue sheep in Nepal: densities and predator: prey ratio. J Mammal 75:998–1004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oli MK, Taylor IR, Rogers ME (1994) Snow leopard Panthera uncia predation of livestock: an assessment of local perceptions in the Annapurna Conservation Area Nepal. Biol Conserv 68:63–68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olson KO, Mueller T, Kerby J, Bolortsetseg S, Leimgruber P, Nicholson C, Fuller T (2011) Death by a thousand huts: effects of household presence on density and distribution of Mongolian gazelles. Conserv Lett 4(4):304–312

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pagiola S, Platais G (2007) Payments for environmental services: from theory to practice. The World Bank, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Retzer V (2006) Forage competition between livestock and Mongolian Pika (Ochotona pallasi) in Southern Mongolian mountain steppes. Basic Appl Ecol 8:147–157

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richard C, Zhaoli Y, Guozhen D (2006) The paradox of the individual household responsibility system in the grasslands of the Tibetan Plateau, China. In: Bedunah DJ, McArthur ED, Fernandez-Gimenez M (eds) Rangelands of Central Asia: Proceedings of the conference on transformations, issues, and future challenges. 2004 January 27; Salt Lake City, UT. Proceeding RMRS-P-39. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, pp 83–92

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson et al. (2012) Pastoral Tenure in Central Asia: theme and variation in the five former Soviet republics In: Squires V (ed) Rangeland Stewardship in Central Asia Springer, Dordrecht, pp 239–274 (Chapter 11, this volume)

    Google Scholar 

  • Salafsky N, Margoluis R (1999) Threat reduction assessment: a practical and cost-effective approach to evaluating conservation and development projects. Conserv Biol 13:830–841

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schaller GB (1998) Wildlife of the Tibetan Steppe. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 373 pages

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaller GB, Li H, Ren JR, Qiu MJ, Wang HB (1987) Status of large mammals in the Taxkorgan Reserve Xinjiang China. Biol Conserv 42:53–71

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schaller GB, Jungang R, Mingjiang Q (1988) Status of snow leopard Panthera uncia in Qinghai and Gansu provinces China. Biol Conserv 45:179–194

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schaller GB, Tserendeleg L, Amarasanaa G (1994) Observations on snow leopards in Mongolia. In: Fox JL, Jizeng D (eds) Proceedings of the seventh international snow leopard symposium. Northwest Plateau Institute of Biology and International Snow Leopard Trust, Seattle, pp 33–46

    Google Scholar 

  • Scharf KM, Fernández-Giménez ME, Batbuyan B, Enhkbold S (2010) Herders and hunters in a transitional economy: the challenge of wildlife and rangeland management in Post-socialist Mongolia. In: du Toit JT, Kock R, Deutsch JC (eds) Wild rangelands: conserving wildlife while maintaining livestock in semi-arid ecosystems. Wiley, London, pp 312–339

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt SM (2006) Pastoral Community Organization, livelihoods and biodiversity conservation in Mongolia’s Southern Gobi Region. In: Bedunah DJ, McArthur ED, Fernandez-Gimenez M (eds) Rangelands of Central Asia: Proceedings of the conference on transformations, issues, rangelands of Central Asia: Proceedings of the conference on transformations, issues, and future challenges. 2004 January 27; Salt Lake City, UT. Proceeding RMRS-P-39. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, pp 18–29

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt S, Gongor G, Kar K, Swenson K (2002) Community organizing – a key step towards sustainable livelihoods and co-management of natural resources in Mongolia. Policy Matters September 2002:71–74

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith AT, Foggin JM (1999) The Plateau Pika (Ochotona curzoniae) is a keystone species for biodiversity on the Tibetan plateau. Anim Conserv 2:235–240

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sunquist M, Sunquist F (2002) Wild cats of the world. University of Chicago Press Chicago. IL USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Treves A, Wallace RB, Naughton-Treves L, Morales A (2006) Co-managing human-wildlife conflicts: a review. Hum Dimens Wildl 11:383–396

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Western D, Wright DH, Strum S (1994) Natural connections: perspectives in community-based conservation. Island Press, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Wingard JR, Zahler P (2006) Silent steppe: the illegal wildlife trade crisis in Mongolia. Discussion Paper, East Asia and Pacific Environmental and Social Development. Department World Bank, Mongolia/Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Snow Leopard Conservancy, 18030 Comstock Ave, Sonoma, CA, 95476, USA

    Rodney Jackson

Authors
  1. Rodney Jackson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rodney Jackson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Grassland Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Yingmen Village, Anning district, 1, Lanzhou, 7300030, Gansu, China, People's Republic

    Victor Squires

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Jackson, R. (2012). Fostering Community-Based Stewardship of Wildlife in Central Asia: Transforming Snow Leopards from Pests into Valued Assets. In: Squires, V. (eds) Rangeland Stewardship in Central Asia. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5367-9_15

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation