scholarly journals First photographic evidence of Snow Leopard Panthera uncia (Mammalia: Carnivora: Felidae) outside current protected areas network in Nepal Himalaya

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 12086
Author(s):  
Rinzin Phunjok Lama ◽  
Tashi R. Ghale ◽  
Madan K. Suwal ◽  
Rishi Ranabhat ◽  
Ganga Ram Regmi
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
Snow Leopard ◽  
Area Network ◽  
Top Predator ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Nepal Himalaya ◽  
Community Based Conservation ◽  
Photographic Evidence ◽  
Panthera Uncia

The Snow Leopard Panthera uncia is a rare top predator of high-altitude ecosystems and insufficiently surveyed outside of protected areas in Nepal.  We conducted a rapid camera-trapping survey to assess the presence of Snow Leopard in the Limi valley of Humla District.  Three individuals were recorded in two camera locations offering the first photographic evidence of this elusive cat outside the protected area network of Nepal. In addition to Snow Leopard, the Blue Sheep Pseudois nayaur, Beech Marten Martes foina, Pika Ochotona spp. and different species of birds were also detected by camera-traps.  More extensive surveys and monitoring are needed for reliably estimating the population size of Snow Leopard in the area.  The most urgent needs are community-based conservation activities aimed at mitigating immediate threats of poaching, retaliatory killing, and rapid prey depletion to ensure the survival of this top predator in the Himalaya. 

scholarly journals A mix of community-based conservation and protected forests is needed for the survival of the Endangered pygmy hippopotamus Choeropsis liberiensis

Oryx ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 230-239
Author(s):  
Annika Hillers ◽  
Graeme M. Buchanan ◽  
Jerry C. Garteh ◽  
Solomon M. Tommy ◽  
Mohamed L. Fofana ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Habitat Associations ◽  
Border Region ◽  
Area Network ◽  
Anthropogenic Pressure ◽  
Distribution Models ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Community Based Conservation ◽  
Protected Forests

AbstractThe contribution of protected areas to biodiversity conservation is well attested but many taxa in many regions remain dependent on the unprotected wider landscape. To develop conservation plans for large mammals such as the Endangered pygmy hippopotamus Choeropsis liberiensis of West Africa's Upper Guinea Forests it is critical to understand the importance of unprotected land. Despite being a conservation priority, little is known about the habitat associations of this species, or its distribution across its range. Through a combination of field surveys, species distribution models and community questionnaires we investigated the use of unprotected areas by the pygmy hippopotamus in the Sierra Leone–Liberia border region. We found signs of the species in 128 of 525 1-km2 cells surveyed. Our analysis suggested that the species is reasonably widespread in this region and is associated with major rivers. It occurred close to, but rarely within, large areas of intact forest, and 80.4% of pygmy hippopotamus signs were recorded outside protected areas. The expansion of the protected area network in this area is unrealistic in Sierra Leone and to some extent in Liberia, mainly because of anthropogenic pressure and the overlap of proposed protected areas with mining and logging concessions. Thus pygmy hippopotamus conservation activities in the region need to include programmes on community lands while maintaining a robust network of protected forests. Community-based conservation of the pygmy hippopotamus may prove valuable for other threatened and endemic species that are not confined to protected areas in this region.

scholarly journals Community-Based Conservation for the Sustainable Management of Conservation Conflicts: Learning from Practitioners

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 7557
Author(s):  
Juliette Claire Young ◽  
Justine Shanti Alexander ◽  
Ajay Bijoor ◽  
Deepshikha Sharma ◽  
Abhijit Dutta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Management ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Sustainable Management ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Snow Leopard ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Community Based Conservation ◽  
Strategic Support

We explore the role of community-based conservation (CBC) in the sustainable management of conservation conflicts by examining the experiences of conservation practitioners trying to address conflicts between snow leopard conservation and pastoralism in Asian mountains. Practitioner experiences are examined through the lens of the PARTNERS principles for CBC (Presence, Aptness, Respect, Transparency, Negotiation, Empathy, Responsiveness, and Strategic Support) that represent an inclusive conservation framework for effective and ethical engagement with local communities. Case studies from India, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, and Pakistan show that resilient relationships arising from respectful engagement and negotiation with local communities can provide a strong platform for robust conflict management. We highlight the heuristic value of documenting practitioner experiences in on-the-ground conflict management and community-based conservation efforts.

scholarly journals Regulatory Compliance of Community-Based Conservation Organizations: Empirical Evidence from Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (22) ◽  
pp. 9420
Author(s):  
Nabin Baral ◽  
Joel T. Heinen
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Regulatory Compliance ◽  
Curvilinear Relationship ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Conservation Area ◽  
Community Based Conservation ◽  
Annapurna Conservation Area ◽  
Conservation Organizations ◽  
Legally Binding Regulations

Community-based conservation in the developing world generally puts more emphasis on voluntary commitments and compliance rather than enforcement of formal laws and regulations for the governance of protected areas. However, as with other forms of organizational management, once institutions are established, they are required to comply with all relevant, legally binding regulations. Furthermore, it is broadly assumed that compliance with established regulations is critical for good governance. In this paper, we review these matters through an empirical study of Conservation Area Management Committees’ degree of compliance with regulations under Nepalese law, within the Annapurna Conservation Area—one of the best-known community-based protected areas worldwide—based on quantitative content analysis of the committees’ meeting minutes from 2008 to 2012. According to the established rules, two to four women and one to five minorities serve as committee members in each instance. On average, fewer members than expected attended meetings, and the number of decisions made per meeting showed a curvilinear relationship with the number of members present as well as their demographic diversity. Of the 13 committees selected for study, only two met the legal mandate of holding six regular meetings annually within two-month intervals. In all the other cases, non-compliance was noted for one to all five years of the committees’ terms. In general, compliance declined over the five-year terms, and some committees were significantly less-compliant than others. Although enforceable decisions were made within both compliant and non-compliant committees, several problems of non-compliance were identified that may affect conservation outcomes. We suggest several possible reasons for non-compliance and argue that these may be symptoms of institutional weaknesses. Organizations that fail to meet their commitments risk liability and may also lose the formal legal authority to govern. Regular monitoring is recommended to address compliance issues.

Threat reduction assessment of conventional and community-based conservation approaches to managing protected areas in Uganda

2004 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 233-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
ARTHUR R. MUGISHA ◽  
SUSAN K. JACOBSON
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Additional Data ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Community Based Conservation ◽  
Management Approaches

Loss of wildlife, encroachment on wild lands and conflicts between protected areas and neighbouring communities continue to threaten the integrity of protected areas (PAs) in Uganda. To increase support from local communities and ensure long-term sustainability for Uganda's PAs, a policy of community-based conservation was introduced in 1988 as a management approach in seven PAs. The effectiveness of the community-based approach for reducing threats was compared to conventional PA management by conducting a threat reduction assessment at 16 PAs, seven with community-based approaches and nine without. Additional data collected using document reviews, interviews with government officials, and surveys of PA wardens were compared with the threat reduction assessments. Twenty-three primary threats were identified at PAs. Local game poaching was the most common threat. The threat reduction assessment indices of community-based PAs (mean=49.0±12) were not significantly different from those of conventional PAs (mean=37.96±21.6). Some specific threats, such as bush burning, logging, encroachment and unclear boundaries, seemed to be better mitigated at community-based PAs. Management approaches at all PAs mitigated fewer than half of the identified threats. Management approaches are needed that directly target PA threats, go beyond PA boundaries by involving additional government departments, link people's livelihoods to conservation efforts and strengthen PA institutions.

scholarly journals On the high trail: examining determinants of site use by the Endangered snow leopard Panthera uncia in Qilianshan, China

Oryx ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justine S. Alexander ◽  
Kun Shi ◽  
Lucy A. Tallents ◽  
Philip Riordan
Keyword(s):  
Gansu Province ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
Snow Leopard ◽  
Occupancy Modelling ◽  
Use Patterns ◽  
Robust Techniques ◽  
Site Use ◽  
Assessment And Monitoring ◽  
Snow Leopards ◽  
Panthera Uncia

AbstractThere is a need for simple and robust techniques for assessment and monitoring of populations of the Endangered snow leopard Panthera uncia to inform the development of action plans for snow leopard conservation. We explored the use of occupancy modelling to evaluate the influence of environmental and anthropogenic features on snow leopard site-use patterns. We conducted a camera trap survey across 480 km2 in Gansu Province, China, and used data from 60 camera traps to estimate probabilities of site use and detection using the single season occupancy model. We assessed the influence of three covariates on site use by snow leopards: elevation, the presence of blue sheep Pseudois nayaur and the presence of human disturbance (distance to roads). We recorded 76 captures of snow leopards over 2,906 trap-days, representing a mean capture success of 2.62 captures per 100 trap-days. Elevation had the strongest influence on site use, with the probability of site use increasing with altitude, whereas the influence of presence of prey and distance to roads was relatively weak. Our findings indicate the need for practical and robust techniques to appraise determinants of site use by snow leopards, especially in the context of the limited resources available for such work.

scholarly journals First camera-trap record of the snow leopard Panthera uncia in Gaurishankar Conservation Area, Nepal

Oryx ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Narayan Prasad Koju ◽  
Bijay Bashyal ◽  
Bishnu Prasad Pandey ◽  
Satya Narayan Shah ◽  
Shankar Thami ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Camera Trap ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
Conservation Strategy ◽  
Snow Leopard ◽  
Musk Deer ◽  
Conservation Area ◽  
Blue Sheep ◽  
Northern Border ◽  
Himalayan Tahr ◽  
Panthera Uncia

Abstract The snow leopard Panthera uncia is the flagship species of the high mountains of the Himalayas. There is potentially continuous habitat for the snow leopard along the northern border of Nepal, but there is a gap in information about the snow leopard in Gaurishankar Conservation Area. Previous spatial analysis has suggested that the Lamabagar area in this Conservation Area could serve as a transboundary corridor for snow leopards, and that the area may connect local populations, creating a metapopulation. However, there has been no visual confirmation of the species in Lamabagar. We set 11 infrared camera traps for 7 months in Lapchi Village of Gaurishankar Conservation Area, where blue sheep Pseudois nayaur, musk deer Moschus leucogaster and Himalayan tahr Hemitragus jemlahicus, all snow leopard prey species, had been observed. In November 2018 at 4,100 m, 5 km south-west of Lapchi Village, one camera recorded three images of a snow leopard, the first photographic evidence of the species in the Conservation Area. Sixteen other species of mammals were also recorded. Camera-trap records and sightings indicated a high abundance of Himalayan tahr, blue sheep and musk deer. Lapchi Village may be a potentially important corridor for snow leopard movement between the east and west of Nepal and northwards to Quomolongma National Park in China. However, plans for development in the region present increasing threats to this corridor. We recommend development of a transboundary conservation strategy for snow leopard conservation in this region, with participation of Nepal, China and international agencies.

scholarly journals New data on the location of the snow leopard Panthera uncia (Schreber, 1775) and the stone marten Martes foina (Erxleben, 1777) in the Katon-Karagai State National Natural Park (Kazakhstan Altai)

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 142-148
Author(s):  
Aliya U. Gabdullina ◽  
Zhomart B. Amanbaev ◽  
Erik T. Kasymov
Keyword(s):  
Camera Traps ◽  
Snow Leopard ◽  
Stone Marten ◽  
Martes Foina ◽  
Natural Park ◽  
Panthera Uncia ◽  
Eastern Kazakhstan

The article provides new data on the location and distribution of the snow leopard Panthera uncia and the stone marten Martes foina in the Katon-Karagai State National Natural Park (South-Western Altai, Eastern Kazakhstan). The data were obtained using camera traps.

scholarly journals Population monitoring of snow leopards using camera trapping in Naryn State Reserve, Kyrgyzstan, between 2016 and 2019

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Rode ◽  
Claire Lambert ◽  
Lucile Marescot ◽  
Bastien Chaix ◽  
Julie Beesau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Population Monitoring ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
Camera Trapping ◽  
Snow Leopard ◽  
Protection Measures ◽  
Buffer Area ◽  
The Core ◽  
Snow Leopards ◽  
Panthera Uncia

AbstractFour field seasons of snow leopard (Panthera uncia) camera trapping inside Naryn State Reserve, performed thanks to citizen science expeditions, allowed detecting a minimal population of five adults, caught every year with an equilibrated sex ratio (1.5:1), and reproduction: five cubs or subadults have been identified from three litters of two different females. Crossings were observed one to three times a year, in front of most camera traps, and several times a month in front of one of them. Overlap of adults’ territories was observed in front of several camera traps regardless of their sex. Significant snow leopard presence was detected in the buffer area and at Ulan, situated at the reserve border. To avoid poaching on this umbrella species and its preys, extending the more stringent protection measures of the core zone to both the Southern buffer area and land adjacent to Ulan is necessary.

scholarly journals Status and conservation of the Endangered snow leopard Panthera uncia in Qomolangma National Nature Reserve, Tibet

Oryx ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 590-593 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pengju Chen ◽  
Yufang Gao ◽  
Jun Wang ◽  
Qiong Pu ◽  
Cering Lhaba ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nature Reserve ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
Snow Leopard ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Conservation Policies ◽  
National Nature Reserve ◽  
The Status ◽  
Snow Leopards ◽  
Religious Reasons ◽  
Panthera Uncia

AbstractLittle is known about the status of the snow leopard Panthera uncia in Qomolangma National Nature Reserve, located on the northern aspect of Mount Everest in Tibet. To address this, during May–September 2014 we conducted line transects, camera trapping, household interviews, and socioeconomic statistics analysis. We surveyed 14 transects and located 287 putative snow leopard signs, with a mean density of 1.9 sign sites km–1, 3.8 signs km–1, and 1.4 scrapes km–1. We set 41 camera traps and recorded a minimum of seven individual snow leopards. Our results were comparable to snow leopard abundance estimates for neighbouring protected areas in Nepal. Semi-structured interviews with 46 (59%) households found that local people were generally supportive of snow leopard conservation, for a variety of economic, legislative, and religious reasons. The socio-economic situation in the Reserve underwent dramatic changes between 2000 and 2014. The human population increased by 28.9%, the livestock population decreased by 9.9%, the number of tourists in 2014 was 6.8 times greater than in 2005, and the local gross domestic product underwent an annual increase of 15%. We discuss the current threats to snow leopards, and recommend that more rigorous, comprehensive, and interdisciplinary research be undertaken to provide an evidential basis for the formulation of effective conservation policies and programmes.

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