Founded in 1981, the Snow Leopard Trust is dedicated to the study and protection of the endangered snow leopard.
Exotic but Endangered
The Threat of Extinction
A Sacred Trust
The Snow Leopard Trust
The Trust works on projects that will help protect the cat and its habitat as well as meeting the needs of any humans that share the habitat area with it. Some of the approaches the Trust takes are based on co-operative work to change government policies, partnering with communities to build community based conservation programs, enforcing anti-poaching laws and supporting research efforts.
Currently, the Snow Leopard Trust focuses its efforts in five snow leopard range countries: China, India, Mongolia, Pakistan, and Kyrgyzstan. In these countries, the Trust employs staff to carry out research, education, and conservation. In the seven other countries within snow leopard range the Trust supports and collaborates with researchers and conservation organizations.
Co-operation with communities in snow leopard range countries forms the basis of the Trust’s on the ground conservation work. When a region has been identified as a place of significant snow leopard habitat the Trust works with local residents to understand their needs and then jointly develop conservation programs.
The Trust raises money through donations, grants, fundraising events and sales of products on its website shop, and is supported by zoos and other conservation organizations. The Snow Leopard Trust is recognized as a 4-star charity by Charity Navigator and is a member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), European Association of Zoos and Aquariums (EAZA), World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), and Co-Op America.
“Making a contribution to the Trust gives Snow Leopards and Communities a Chance!”
The Snow Leopard Conservancy
The Snow Leopard Conservancy is dedicated to promoting innovative grassroots measures that lead local people to become better stewards of endangered snow leopards, their prey, and habitat.
The Snow Leopard Conservancy believes that snow leopards are best protected through conservation efforts that grow from within communities living with the cats. These communities are the front line in preserving the biodiversity of Central Asia’s high mountains.
The Snow Leopard Conservancy presents a model for grassroots action to address the conflicts between these big cats and the villagers who share their habitat. The program helps local people find ways to better manage their livestock and to protect it from snow leopards.
It is partly a local empowerment scheme, partly a blueprint for cooperatively building predator-proof corrals and partly a hands-on education program. Through these efforts they have created a cooperative conservation scheme that enables local villagers to see the snow leopard as the national treasure it is!
Program Objectives
- Reduce livestock depredation by predator-proofing corrals, educating herders and improving animal husbandry practices.
- Closely link snow leopard and biodiversity conservation with initiatives aimed at improving household incomes in environmentally friendly, socially responsible and economically viable ways.
- Increase environmental awareness and understanding of the fragile mountain ecosystem, especially among rural communities and decision-makers through innovative, cost-effective outreach initiatives.
- Conduct non-invasive baseline research on snow leopards, their prey and habitat, blending scientific information with local knowledge.
www.snowleopardconservancy.org
