India launches first national protocol to enumerate snow leopard population in the country on the occasion of International Snow Leopard Day.
Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on October 23, 2019 launched the first national protocol to enumerate the snow leopard population in the country.
The International Snow Leopard Day is celebrated on October 23 every year to protect and conserve the snow leopards and preserve the beautiful wildlife of the Himalayas.
The two day international meeting of GSLEP Program is being organized by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change at New Delhi on 23-24 October 2019.
The 4th Steering Committee meeting of the GSLEP is being attended by Ministers from Nepal, Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia along with senior officials from nine of the Snow Leopard countries.
Giving the keynote address at the Inaugural session of the 4th steering committee meeting of the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP) in Delhi, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar expressed confidence that all range countries can work together and enumerate the number of snow leopards. The Minister said that snow leopard range countries must strive to double the snow leopard population in the coming decade. He said it is time to think about the green economy and cross country cooperation for the conservation of wildlife. He also expressed happiness that 2,967 tigers reside in India, which is 77 per cent of the world tiger population.
About Snow Leopard
The snow leopard (panthera uncia) inhabits parts of 12 countries: Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
Its geographic range, 60 percent of which is in China, runs from the Hindu Kush in eastern Afghanistan and the Syr Darya through the mountains of Pamir, Tian Shan, Karakorum, Kashmir, Kunlun, and the Himalaya to southern Siberia, where the range covers the Russian Altai, Sayan, Tannu-Ola mountains and the mountains to the west of Lake Baikal.
The snow leopard is listed as globally Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List and the species is listed (as Uncia uncia) on Appendix I of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora), which prohibits international trade in the animal and its parts and products except under exceptional, non-commercial circumstances. All snow leopard range countries except Tajikistan are parties to CITES but the process for Tajikistan to join is underway.
Snow Leopard in India
India is believed to have 400 to 700 snow leopards spread across Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Poaching is a major threat for the snow leopards.
Project Snow Leopard is an initiative of the Environment Ministry which aims to safeguard and conserve India’s unique natural heritage of high altitude wildlife populations and their habitats by promoting conservation through participatory policies and actions. Snow leopards play a critical role in their ecosystem as top predators
