Government to strengthen Snow Leopard conservation

New Delhi, July 11 (UNI) The conservation of Snow Leopard, the endangered cat called the 'King of snow-capped mountains', is to get a boost with the government deciding to launch specific measures and streamline conservation activities.

Environment and Forests Minister A Raja said the 'Project Snow Leopard' would be made successful on the lines of 'Project Tiger' and 'Project Elephant' through conservation and management of high altitude ecosystems and wild life.

No project can be successful without the participation of the local people, he said while inaugurating a national workshop on Snow Leopard at Leh in Ladakh yesterday.

According to the Ministry, field research on Snow Leopard by research institutions in the last two decades has provided the much-needed information on ecology, habitat use, food habits, behaviour, movement and ranging patterns.

''It is now the appropriate time to launch specific measures for its effective conservation,'' Mr Raja said.

One of the world's most elusive, rare and endangered predators, Snow Leopard has been an integral part of the life and culture of the people of Ladakh and other high Himalayan regions of India.

The estimated world population of Snow Leopard is 3,500-7,000.

There are about 500 Snow Leopard in India spread across Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.

According to environmentalists, factors such as decline in wild prey population, poaching for skin and body parts and retaliatory killings to decrease livestock depredations are the main threats to the conservation of Snow Leopard in India.

Some of the initiatives to protect Snow Leopard taken by state governments include creation and management of protected areas, capacity building of officers and frontline staff, payment of compensation for livestock killed by Snow Leopard and working with local communities in collaboration with Hill Development Councils, research institutions and NGOs.

Conservationists and mangers from six Snow Leopard range states participated in the workshop, which was jointly organised by the Jammu and Kashmir government and the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

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