Role of Tibetan Buddhist Monasteries in Snow Leopard Conservation

Abstract

The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) inhabits the rugged mountains in 12 countries of Central Asia, including the Tibetan Plateau. Due to poaching, decreased abundance of prey, and habitat degradation, it was listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 1972. Current conservation strategies, including nature reserves and incentive programs, have limited capacities to protect snow leopards. We investigated the role of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in snow leopard conservation in the Sanjiangyuan region in China's Qinghai Province on the Tibetan Plateau. From 2009 to 2011, we systematically surveyed snow leopards in the Sanjiangyuan region. We used the MaxEnt model to determine the relation of their presence to environmental variables (e.g., elevation, ruggedness) and to predict snow leopard distribution. Model results showed 89,602 km(2) of snow leopard habitat in the Sanjiangyuan region, of which 7674 km(2) lay within Sanjiangyuan Nature Reserve's core zones. We analyzed the spatial relation between snow leopard habitat and Buddhist monasteries and found that 46% of monasteries were located in snow leopard habitat and 90% were within 5 km of snow leopard habitat. The 336 monasteries in the Sanjiangyuan region could protect more snow leopard habitat (8342 km(2) ) through social norms and active patrols than the nature reserve's core zones. We conducted 144 household interviews to identify local herders' attitudes and behavior toward snow leopards and other wildlife. Most local herders claimed that they did not kill wildlife, and 42% said they did not kill wildlife because it was a sin in Buddhism. Our results indicate monasteries play an important role in snow leopard conservation. Monastery-based snow leopard conservation could be extended to other Tibetan Buddhist regions that in total would encompass about 80% of the global range of snow leopards.

Abundance and threats to the survival of the snow leopard – a review

“…Conservation of snow leopard is a very complex problem because its habitat is very rugged, it has a large home range and frequently comes into conflict with humans (Li 2013). Below is a list of some possible ways of protecting it by means of legislation, international cooperation, financial support, education and awareness.…”

“…However, their abilities are limited (Li 2013). There is a little information on the current management status of protected areas or their role in sustaining snow leopard populations (Green 1992(Green , 1994Fox 1994;Green and Zhimbiev 1997).…”

“…There is a little information on the current management status of protected areas or their role in sustaining snow leopard populations (Green 1992(Green , 1994Fox 1994;Green and Zhimbiev 1997). To date, the areas of snow leopard habitat covered by nature reserves are just 0.3-27% in 11 of 12 countries (Li 2013). The only exception is Bhutan with 57% of the area of snow leopard home range protected (Hunter and Jackson 1997).…”

“…In the Sanjiangyuan region in China's Qinghai Province and Mustang in Nepal, Buddhist monasteries play an important role in snow leopard conservation (Li 2013;Ale et al 2014). This method may prove very efficient and by establishing it in other Tibetan Buddhist regions, it could result in the extension of protection to about 80% of the snow leopard habitat (Li 2013). It should be possible to decrease the killing of snow leopards by adhering to Buddhist tenets such as respect, love and compassion for all living beings.…”

More buck for less bang: Reconciling competing wildlife management interests in agricultural food webs

“…Reserves are set aside for wildlife conservation, yet there is growing awareness that reserves alone are unable to prevent fauna decline in many cases (Woinarski et al 2011;Li et al 2014;Runge et al 2014). The area of land used for agriculture is also increasing.…”