There may be as few as 4,000 and no more than 6,300 snow leopards left in the wild
Chyngyz Kochorov (left), Charudutt Mishra (second from left) and Koustubh Sharma (right) at the ceremony in Madrid. Photo: @snowleopards / Twitter
Indian snow leopard experts Charudutt Mishra and Koustubh Sharma, along with Chyngyz Kochorov of Kyrgyzstan, received the Madrid-based BBVA Foundation’s Worldwide Biodiversity Conservation Award last week on behalf of a 12-nation intergovernmental alliance that they helped create and manage.
The three received the award November 23, 2022 on behalf of The Global Snow Leopard Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP) at the headquarters of the BBVA Foundation in Madrid.
The GSLEP is a first-of-its-kind intergovernmental alliance for the conservation of the snow leopard and its unique ecosystem.
It is led by the environment ministers of 12 countries in Asia that form the home range of the snow leopard. These are Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The total range spans two million square kilometres.
The GSLEP Program’s secretariat is based in Bishkek, and is hosted by the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ecology and Technical Supervision of the Kyrgyz Republic.
“We are thrilled that this award recognises the remarkable coming together of sovereign nations, all united by snow leopards, to set a path-breaking model of cooperative nature conservation,” Charudutt Mishra, the executive director of the Snow Leopard Trust, a Seattle-based non-profit that is the technical and financial partner of the GSLEP Program, said in a statement released by the GSLEP.
“It is a model many other groups — and even countries — could learn from and emulate,” Mishra said.
It is believed that there may be as few as 4,000 and no more than 6,300 snow leopards left in the wild, the statement said.
“Its habitat provides vital services, including clean water, to a third of the world’s human population. This iconic species faces many threats, including illegal hunting, loss of prey, habitat loss, retribution killings for livestock loss and climate change,” the statement noted.
GSLEP was created in 2013 when officials, politicians and conservationists arrived at a common conservation strategy enshrined in the Bishkek Declaration (2013) to cooperate in the conservation of this species and its habitat.
“This award is a watershed moment in the nearly 10-year journey of this remarkable conservation collaboration by 12 governments and various international and national organiszations,” Koustubh Sharma, International Coordinator, GSLEP Secretariat, was quoted as saying.
“It is also a fitting recognition of the magnificent snow leopard as a symbol of Asia’s globally important high mountain ecosystems,” he added.
Mishra added that as a top predator, the snow leopard served as a thermometer of the health of the ecosystem it represented.
“While its extinction could lead to cascading effects disrupting the natural food chain, more importantly, future generations will not forgive us if we allow that to happen. We owe it to our children to protect this amazing species,” he said.
The Spain-based BBVA Foundation Awards for Biodiversity Conservation seek to recognise and support the work done by conservationist organisations, institutions and agencies in carrying forward environmental conservation policies and projects, the statement noted.
We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. This will mean a lot for our ability to bring you news, perspectives and analysis from the ground so that we can make change together.
.png)
Comments are moderated and will be published only after the site moderator’s approval. Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name. Selected comments may also be used in the ‘Letters’ section of the Down To Earth print edition.