Project snow leopard is the government of India's flagship program launched in 2009 by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change on slow leopard conservation that aims to strengthen the unique natural heritage of India's high altitude wildlife population and their habitats by promoting conservation through participatory policies and actions. The Snow Leopard, along with the Royal Bengal Tiger, Asiatic Lion, Indian Leopard, and Clouded Leopard, is one of India's five Big Cats. Their brilliant camouflage and elusive nature have earned them the moniker "Ghost of the Mountain." It is the most difficult to spot Big Cat in the wild. In this article, we will discuss Project Snow Leopard which will be helpful for UPSC exam preparation.

Project Snow Leopard

About Snow Leopard

• The Snow Leopard, also known as the 'ounce,' is a large member of the cat family native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia.
• It is easily identified by its distinctive white fur, which gives rise to its eponymous name.
• The snow leopard's fur is whitish to grey with black spots around its head and neck, and its belly is whitish.
• It has green or grey eyes with a domed forehead and a short muzzle. It also has a bushy tail and a large nasal cavity.
• The snow leopard is well known for its ability to adapt to cold, mountainous environments. It also has small rounded ears to help minimise heat loss, broad paws for walking in snow, and fur on its underside for better grip and balance maintenance.
• Its thick tail aids in balance in rocky terrain, and the fat stored in it acts as a blanket to protect its face when it sleeps.
• Their prey base includes Ghoral, Himalayan Blue Sheep, Himalayan Tahr, Tibetan Argali, Himalayan Ibex, Marmots, Pikas, and Hares.
• They are found in the high altitude Himalayan & trans-Himalayan Region at over 2700m above sea level.
• Although, over time, due to a lack of protection against poaching and habitat degradation, causing wildlife decline, they have come perilously close to human habitat and frequently rely on killing livestock, resulting in human-animal conflict in the region.
• This is most common during the winter, when the snow line extends to lower elevations.
• Top 3 Indian National Parks where the Snow Leopard is likely to be spotted:
  • Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary - Himachal Pradesh
  • Ulley Valley - Ladakh
  • Hemis National Park - Himachal Pradesh

Features of Leopard

What is Project Snow Leopard?

• The Snow Leopard is a globally endangered species as well as the mountain region's most important flagship species.
• In 2009, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change launched Project Snow Leopard to promote an inclusive, participatory, and landscape-based approach to conserving Snow Leopards and their habitat in India.
• The project's goal is to conserve biodiversity through community involvement.
• With active support from the Wildlife Institute of India and the Mysore-based Nature Conservation Foundation, the project will be operational in five Himalayan states: Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh.
• The project emphasises a landscape approach to conservation, in which smaller core zones with relatively high conservation values are identified and supported, while the larger landscape is managed in such a way that necessary development benefits are provided to local communities.
• As a result, the project emphasises careful and knowledge-based landscape management planning.
• This project will benefit species such as the Snow Leopard, Asiatic Ibex, Tibetan Argali, Ladakh Urial, Chiru, Takin, Serow, and Musk Deer.
• In the first five years of Project Snow Leopard, each state will choose one biologically significant site and develop a science-based, participatory conservation programme in that location.
• This will be expanded to include other biologically significant sites in the future.

Project Snow Leopard - Objectives

• To protect and conserve India's unique natural heritage of high-altitude wildlife populations and habitats through conservation policies and actions that encourage participation.
• It aims to promote a knowledge-based and adaptive conservation framework that fully involves local communities in conservation efforts that share the snow leopard's range.
• Project Snow Leopard is intended for all biologically significant habitats within the snow leopard's range, regardless of ownership (e.g. Protected Areas, common land, etc.).

Snow Leopard - Protection Status

• The snow leopard is classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN-World Conservation Union's Red List of Threatened Species.
• It is listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972, Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), and Appendix I of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS).
• The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) downgraded the snow leopard's conservation status to "vulnerable" from "endangered" in September 2017.
• The change in status comes 45 years after the snow leopard was declared endangered in 1972. However, experts have warned that the snow leopard species is still under threat from poaching and habitat destruction.
• The snow leopard was added to the Convention on Migratory Species' Appendix I in 2003.
• Similarly, in 2003, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) expanded the scope of the CITES Tiger Enforcement Task Force to include all Asian big cat species, including the snow leopard.

Snow Leopard Conservation in India

• India is home to an estimated 10% of the global Snow Leopard population, which is spread across five Himalayan states: Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh, accounting for only 5% of the animal's available global habitat.
• India has been conserving the snow leopard and its habitat through the Project Snow Leopard (PSL).
• Since 2013, India has also been a participant in the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection (GSLEP) Programme.
• India has designated three large landscapes for conservation: Hemis-Spiti in Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh; Nanda Devi-Gangotri in Uttarakhand; and Khangchendzonga-Tawang in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
• HimalSanrakshak: A community volunteer programme to protect snow leopards that was initiated in October 2020.
• In 2019, the First National Protocol on Snow Leopard Population Assessment was also launched, which proved to be extremely useful for population monitoring.
• SECURE Himalaya: The Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) funded a project to conserve high altitude biodiversity and reduce local communities' reliance on natural ecosystems.
• The snow leopard is one of 21 critically endangered species on the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change's recovery list.
• Snow Leopard conservation breeding is being carried out at the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park in Darjeeling, West Bengal.

Global Conservation Efforts

• The Bishkek Declaration of 2013 established a goal of protecting at least 20 snow leopard landscapes with viable snow leopard populations by 2020.
• It resulted in the establishment of the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP).
• The GSLEP is a high-level inter-governmental alliance comprised of all 12 countries in the snow leopard range.
• It primarily emphasises the importance of raising awareness and understanding of the Snow Leopard's importance to the ecosystem.
• Since 2014, the 23rd of October has been designated as International Snow Leopard Day.
• The day celebrates the anniversary of the Bishkek Declaration and raises awareness for the conservation and protection of this endangered cat.
• The Living Himalaya Network Initiative has been established as one of WWF's global initiatives to achieve transformational conservation impact across the three Eastern Himalayan countries of Bhutan, India (North-East), and Nepal.
• LHI goals include adapting to climate change, connecting to habitat, and saving iconic species.

Why Conserve the High Altitude Ecosystem?

• The high altitudes of India (> 3000 m. to 130,000 km2) support a unique wildlife assemblage of global conservation importance, including the Himalaya and Trans-Himalaya biogeographic zones.
• This includes critically endangered populations of species such as the snow leopard, two bear species, the wolf, the red panda, mountain ungulates such as the wild yak, chiru, Tibetan gazelle, Tibetan argali, Ladakh urial, two species of musk deer, the hangul, three species of goral, serow, and takin, and so on.
• A variety of avifauna breed in high altitude lakes and bogs, including the black-necked crane, barheaded geese, brahminy ducks, and brown-headed gulls, among others.
• India has ratified international treaties aimed at preserving high-altitude wildlife species such as the snow leopard.
• The Himalayan and Trans-himalayan biogeographic zones, as well as high altitudes in India above 3000m, support a unique wildlife assemblage of global conservation importance.
• From the standpoint of wildlife conservation, the region has received relatively little attention.
• The region is home to a vast rangeland system that supports vital traditional pastoral economies and lifestyles.
• The region provides critical ecosystem services and is home to river systems that are critical to the nation's food security.
• India has ratified international treaties aimed at preserving high-altitude wildlife species such as the snow leopard.
• The region is critical to both the country's national security and international relations.
• Today's high altitude wildlife in India faces a number of threats.
• The existing high altitude protected areas in India require significant reinforcement.
• Participatory wildlife management is required in the region.

Conclusion

Snow leopards, as the top predator in the food web, serve as an indicator of the health of the mountain ecosystem in which they live. The Snow Leopard, along with the Tibetan Wolf, is the apex predator in the Himalayan region, usually found at elevations of more than 2700 metres above sea level. It is a project that not only protects the Snow Leopard, but it is also considered an umbrella species, and its protection includes the protection of other species and the habitat in which they all live. They are largely threatened due to the extinction of natural prey species, retaliatory killing in response to human conflict, and the illegal trade of its fur and bones.