1. Facilitating Participation and Livelihood Security
Project Snow Leopard - India

2. Environment Protection Policy (2006)
The dominant theme of this policy is that while conservation of environmental resources is necessary to secure livelihoods and well-being of all, the most secure basis for conservation is to ensure that people dependent on particular resources obtain better livelihoods from the fact of conservation, than from degradation of the resource
Can also briefly give background of strong national legislation

3. Policy Position on Conservation
National policy on participation and support to livelihoods
Long-term planning, participatory structure
Concerted and sustained efforts
Innovation is key

4. National Goal Project Snow Leopard (2009)
To safeguard and conserve India’s unique natural heritage of high altitude wildlife populations and their habitats by promoting conservation through participatory policies and actions.
Thrust is equally on
Securing wildlife populations
Their habitats
But thru participatory policies and actions

5. Project Snow Leopard Large landscapes, beyond PAs
Participatory, knowledge based
Large people-wildlife interface
Scale of management thus unprecedented
Threat mitigation, securing livelihoods are key activities
Good small scale work by NGOs, but need to upscale to address landscape
Two examples of National level facilitation and local action provided
Hemis NP (ca. 1,500 km2)
plus other areas
Pervasive wildlife and human use – thus large people-wildlife interface
Upper Spiti Landscape
(ca. 4,000 km2)

6. PSL and Livelihoods - Ladakh
Led by Dept. of Wildlife Protection in Hemis NP (ca. 1,500 km2) and other areas
Test models of conservation & up- scale models developed by NGOs
Enhanced incomes based on snow leopard based ecotourism
Homestays
Eco-café
Skilled Guides
Structure for profit sharing

7. PSL and Livelihoods - Ladakh
Energy security (alternate sources of energy)
11 micro hydro projects (over 12 MW)
40 solar power plants for remote villages
60 solar power plants for institutions, solar water heaters for 40% of the building in Leh
3000 greenhouses
4500 solar cookers, solar driers, solar passive housing projects and ground source heat pump projects
Conflict management
Corral improvement

8. PSL and Livelihoods - Spiti
5-year Management Plan ( to )
Ca. 4,000 km2 Upper Spiti Landscape
Numerous activities related to threat mitigation, awareness and research
In 4000 sq.km., mosaic 15 ‘core landscape units’ covering ca. 800 sqkm

9. PSL and Livelihoods - Spiti
Conflict management – prevent losses & share cost of losses
Securing livestock through better herding
Community based livestock Insurance programmes
Crop protection, especially high value cash crops

10. PSL and Livelihoods - Spiti
Large feral dog population
Kill livestock (more than snow leopard & wolf)
Also kill wildlife
Feral dog management
Garbage management (segregation, disposal and making garbage and carcasses inaccessible to dogs)
Animal sterilizations (over 100 sterilized including 50 females).
Total participation of local panchayat & 4 agencies

11. PSL and Livelihoods - Spiti
Water and food security thru ‘artificial glaciers’; also climate change adaptation
‘Snow Leopard Enterprises’ – empowering women
Village-level micro plans being produced
Working with Rural Development department for setting up Self Help Groups
Water security even more critical due to high value cash crops

12. Other Initiatives
Sikkim: Khangchendzonga Conservation Committee – community based ecotourism
Uttarakhand: Nanda Devi – home stays piloted (requires upscaling)

13. Thank you!