Horizon Scan of Transboundary Concerns Impacting Snow Leopard Landscapes in Asia

Abstract

The high-altitude region of Asia is prone to natural resource degradation caused by a variety of natural and anthropogenic factors that also threaten the habitat of critical top predator species, the snow leopard (Panthera uncia). The snow leopard’s landscape encompasses parts of the twelve Asian countries and is dominated by pastoral societies within arid mountainous terrain. However, no investigation has assessed the vulnerability and pathways towards long-term sustainability on the global snow leopard landscape scale. Thus, the current study reviewed 123 peer-reviewed scientific publications on the existing knowledge, identified gaps, and proposed sustainable mitigation options for the longer term and on larger landscape levels in the range countries. The natural resource degradation in this region is caused by various social, economic, and ecological threats that negatively affect its biodiversity. The factors that make the snow leopard landscapes vulnerable include habitat fragmentation through border fencing, trade corridor infrastructure, non-uniform conservation policies, human–snow leopard conflict, the increasing human population, climatic change, land use and cover changes, and unsustainable tourism. Thus, conservation of the integrated Socio-Ecological System (SES) prevailing in this region requires a multi-pronged approach. This paper proposes solutions and identifies the pathways through which to implement these solutions. The prerequisite to implementing such solutions is the adoption of cross-border collaboration (regional cooperation), the creation of peace parks, readiness to integrate transnational and cross-sectoral conservation policies, a focus on improving livestock management practices, a preparedness to control human population growth, a readiness to mitigate climate change, initiating transboundary landscape-level habitat conservation, adopting environment-friendly trade corridors, and promoting sustainable tourism. Sustainable development in this region encompasses the political, social, economic, and ecological landscapes across the borders.

Systematic Review of Multi-Dimensional Vulnerabilities in the Himalayas

“…A study in the Himalayas revealed that vulnerability has increased due to deforestation, crop encroachment, and grazing [106]. Similar trends have been observed worldwide because population growth and land use/cover changes enhance the vulnerability of the inhabitants [107][108][109]. Prior studies have shown that the vulnerability of the human population is showing an increasing trend to natural hazards around the world [110,111].…”

Co‐designing conservation interventions through participatory action research in the Indian Trans‐Himalaya

“…Having cognizance of this, land‐use changes due to neo‐liberal extractive forms of development, along with climate‐related uncertainties, threaten pastoral communities living in close proximity of elusive wildlife across regions of High Asia, including Changthang (Mishra et al, 2022; Sultan et al, 2022). Therein, we believe that conserving pastoralism as a form of livelihood is not only ecologically and culturally beneficial, but also, perhaps most compellingly, an issue of rights.…”

Planning Effective Conservation Landscapes for Nature and People: An Editorial Overview

“…Meeting the needs of the future through landscape-scale approaches will be important to maintain the integrity of species and systems that span multiple political and physical geographies. Sultan et al [15] have found the protection of the globally endangered snow leopard requires transboundary agreements and cooperation amongst the 12 countries that encompass the leopard's range. Similarly, a review of the European Union's agricultural biodiversity conservation policy reveals a gap in the potential to address critical issues because it is not including adequate landscape-scale design in its post-2023 plan [16].…”