Posted on June, 28 2002

The snow leopard (Uncia uncia) is one of the most beautiful — and one of the most endangered — animals on earth. Living in the mountains of central Asia, these reclusive animals are rarely seen. Their coat of white-grey fur patterned with dark-grey rosettes blends in perfectly with the rocky landscapes that are their home. But the coat that camouflages them so well has also contributed to their endangered status. Snow leopard pelts were the height of fashion during the 1920s, when around 1,000 pelts were exported out of Asia and Russia each year. Although banned, the trade continues illegally, particularly in countries that have failed to flourish after the demise of the Soviet Union. A new poaching threat has also recently emerged: bone trading. As tiger bone becomes scarcer, Asian medicine markets are turning to substitutes, with reports that one full snow leopard skeleton was sold for US$10,000. Although poaching is a problem, the single most important conservation issue for the snow leopard is conflict with local herders and nomads. Wild sheep and goats — which form the snow leopard's main large prey — have been hunted out of many areas in the central Asian mountains, and growing human and livestock populations put pressure on remaining snow leopard and their prey. This brings snow leopards into increased conflict with humans, with the leopard the loser. The nomads and herders of Mongolia's Altai Mountains, for example, share their home with some 700 snow leopards. These people live a traditional lifestyle that has essentially remained unchanged for hundreds of years. They herd camels, goats, and sheep for their wool and hides, which have traditionally been sold as raw materials to local markets via local traders. A combination of a growing human population and the collapse of a centrally planned market economy in the 1990s — which left the herders with livestock as their only source of income — has led to growing numbers of domestic livestock, from 20–25 million before 1990 to around 33 million now. The increased number of livestock is recognized as a major threat to biodiversity in Mongolia. Overgrazing and the need for larger pasture areas have led to deterioration of soil, destruction of habitat, and the emergence of poisonous plants. The problem is exacerbated by a growing number of goats as a result of high demand for cashmere, particularly from the bordering Chinese market. Massive competition between domestic livestock and wild sheep (argali) and goats (ibex) is squeezing out the latter two. As their natural prey decline, the snow leopard is forced to hunt livestock — an easy target as they are often only poorly guarded. But the price of this prey is high. Although the herders believe that killing a snow leopard brings bad luck, angry herders will kill them in retribution for 'stolen' animals. In addition, since their livelihood depends on livestock, the herders naturally resent measures designed to protect snow leopards, such as grazing limitations and toleration of predation. Enter Irbis Enterprises, a non-profit handicraft enterprise set up by the International Snow Leopard Trust with support from WWF, the David Shepherd Conservation Foundation, and the Canada Fund. Taking its name from the Mongolian word for snow leopard, the project aims to overcome this resentment by offering financial incentives for snow leopard conservation. The project was initiated as a result of a research project where herders were asked what conservation projects could do for them. Many expressed concern about prices for their raw livestock products and requested help in developing alternative sources of income. Irbis Enterprises was set up to provide the necessary training and equipment for the herders to produce hand-made, woollen handicrafts, and to market the products both within Mongolia and internationally. The majority of the sale price is returned to the herders, but ten per cent is placed into a conservation fund that can be used for such things as improving water sources. The selling of finished products rather than raw materials adds enormously to the potential income of the herders. For example, the herders can typically sell one kilogram of raw camel wool to a trader for around US$1. One kilogram of camel wool can be made into 4 hats, each worth around US$4. So by selling finished hats instead of wool, the herders can earn US$16 instead of US$1. Distance from markets had also made the herders dependent on passing traders, but with Irbis Enterprises, the finished products are directly distributed and marketed. In order to participate in the programme, herders must sign a contract in which they agree to wildlife-friendly herding practices that will not harm snow leopards or their native prey. This includes not poaching snow leopards or their main prey species, tolerating livestock predation, avoiding critical kidding and lambing sites of ibex and argali, and reducing or stabilizing livestock herd sizes. The agreements are policed by Irbis Enterprises supporters, WWF's snow leopard team, and National Park staff. An annual bonus of 20 per cent is payable if all contract conditions have been met — but the entire community loses their bonus if just one herder kills a snow leopard, ibex, or argali. In addition, individual herders risk losing their bonus for other violations of wildlife laws or grazing regulations. Financial benefits and peer pressure provide a powerful incentive for herders to participate. Since its beginning in 1998 at two locations, the project has expanded to some 300 participants from 200 households at four locations in Mongolia. The International Snow Leopard Trust also hopes to expand the model to other central Asian countries such as Pakistan, India, and the Kyrgyz Republic. In addition to providing an alternative income source, the project has increased awareness amongst herders and the local community of the value and benefits of wildlife. But most importantly, Irbis Enterprises has allowed herders and snow leopards to live together. The leopards are not only directly protected through the project, but, because their natural prey are also protected, are less likely to come into conflict with herders in the first place. This kind of sustainable development and conservation is essential, not only in a country like Mongolia that is rapidly embracing industrialization and economic development, but around the world. (1025 words) *Emma Duncan is Managing Editor at WWF International Further information: WWF's mission WWF's mission is to conserve nature and ecological processes, to seek the sustainable use of natural resources, and to promote the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption whilst recognizing and respecting human needs and livelihoods. WWF's aim is to slow down, and eventually reverse, the accelerating degradation of our planet's natural environment; and to help build the future in which people live in harmony with nature. WWF's work in Mongolia Since 1992, WWF Mongolia has been implementing projects and supporting the Government of Mongolia on the establishment of a system of large protected areas, in order to protect the country's outstanding biodiversity. The goal of WWF's operation in Mongolia is to conserve and manage in a sustainable way the biodiversity and large-scale wilderness in three distinct ecoregions of Mongolia: the Altai-Sayan Montane Forests, the Daurian Steppe, and the Russian Far East Rivers and Wetlands ecoregions. These ecoregions are part of WWF's Global 200 ecoregions — a science-based global ranking of the world's most biologically outstanding habitats and the regions on which WWF concentrates its efforts. WWF's work with Irbis Enterprises As an essential part of wider activities in the Altai-Sayan Ecoregion, WWF Mongolia is putting a substantial effort into snow leopard conservation in the area. WWF Mongolia and WWF-Austria support Irbis Enterprises in Uvs province, and WWF Mongolia is actively encouraging other institutions and local residents to participate. WWF Mongolia is working towards Irbis Enterprises becoming a self-sustainable and independent institution within the next five years. In preparation for this, and as a result of close monitoring of Irbis Enterprises activities, two cooperatives were recently formed in the Turgen and Sagil regions of Uvs province to allow better coordination between local shareholders and also to provide flexibility in the future.