PROGRESS REPORT
to CAT and the Bosack and Kruger Foundation
SEPTEMBER 2001
Rodney Jackson (Director) and Darla Hillard (Program Coordinator)
LADAKH
SLC now has an office in Leh, and we have developed the first annual plan for office and field operations. Jigmet Dadool is our new Ladakh Program Assistant and Leh Office Manager. He will supervise the activities of local villagers under the direction of Rinchen Wangchuk. Jigmet has worked with three film productions as field technical assistant, has excellent wildlife spotting skills, and speaks four languages. His past experience as a trekking guide will also be very helpful to the program. Dorje Stanzin is our new social mobilizer or “Village Steward,” to facilitate corral predator-proofing and wildlife monitoring in Skyu-Kaya villages. Rinchen and his team are currently searching for women Village Stewards to help facilitate tourism and conservation activities.
January, 2001: Women’s Group Training for Improved Tourist Revenue Capture
Under Rinchen’s direction, chef Sonam Stanzin gave a
week-long training in cooking for tourists to nine women and one man from Rumbak and Yurutse villages. Emphasis was placed on basic hygiene, simple meals using traditional foods, and café operations. Participants
discussed the need for alternate cooking fuels, such as natural gas and kerosene, instead of firewood or yak dung, and the sale of pressure boiled water to minimize
use of plastic mineral water bottles, which end up littering the landscape. The importance of a garbage management plan was highlighted.
January-March, 2001: Snow Leopard Monitoring:
The first in-depth documentary on snow leopards is being produced in Ladakh by Hugh Miles (whose credits include Tigers of Kanha, 1999, an award-winning National Geographic special). Rodney is providing scientific support, and Rinchen is providing logistical and technical assistance to camera-man Mitchell Kelly. Filming started in January, and will continue over the next two years. Several snow leopards were filmed via three remotely-triggered video cameras.
Camera traps also provide us with excellent opportunities for data collection. In addition to the videos, four still cameras were set up to monitor the snow leopard population. These cameras enable us to identify individuals. One cat visited the still cameras, and the videos had a total of seven visits (five snow leopards, one fox and one wild dog). The film shows snow leopards face-rubbing scent-spraying, and exhibiting a scent-triggered response known as flehmen (lip-curl with open mouth and bared canines). This is the first time any of these behaviors have been photographed in the wild. One male almost does a somersault in its eagerness to scent-spray!
April 2001: Village Meetings and Action Planning:
Community-based tourism specialist Renzino Lepcha from our partner The Mountain Institute (TMI) visited Ladakh to assist SLC in developing tourism initiatives and to train our staff in the use of Appreciative Participatory Planning and Action (APPA). Trainings were conducted as part of actual village planning meetings. The meetings opened with introductions of the participants and a review of the objectives and design criteria of SLC. Villagers then reviewed the status of their previous activities, and identified elements that they wished to follow-up on.
In Rumbak we met with twelve women representing the
nine households of the village to follow-up on the January training. Participants outlined trends over the past twenty years. They agreed that snowfall has declined since
1980, as indicated by the earlier melting and reduced size of the local glaciers. Low moisture is of great concern with respect to agriculture and reduced rangeland
productivity. The last year with good precipitation was said to be 1994. Villagers were not aware of the cause for this trend, so the team briefly introduced Global Warming.
Participants also agreed that tourist numbers have increased noticeably in recent years. All the women expressed their wish that more trekkers would visit, as tourism is a good source of supplemental
income. All participants attributed the increase in blue sheep numbers to a reduction in hunters from outside, especially army personnel.
An initial Tourism Enhancement Action Plan was developed, which included creation of a standardized menu (with standardized prices) using more locally available foods, and printing of the menus in English and Ladakhi. That way, tourists can understand what they’re ordering, and local people will not have to remember unfamiliar English words. Villagers decided to build a toilet and small store-room at the community-owned campsite, as well as installing signboards informing tourists of available facilities. This was accomplished in time for this summer’s trekking season.
Meetings were also held at the twin settlements of Skyu-Kaya, to follow up on their request for corral predator-proofing, at a pasture used by all twenty-six households. Following an overview of APPA, the participants listed what they perceive as the good attributes of their area: spectacular mountain scenery, abundant wildlife, good water supplies, vibrant festivals and rituals (including archery), a monastery, a strong Amchi (traditional healer), and the Kangyache Glacier, home to the villagers’ mountain spirits. They saw themselves as being self-sufficient in terms of fuelwood, timber, barley, fruit and vegetables.
In visualizing their area’s future, they wished for increased tourism and capacity to capture its benefits (including offering cultural shows), as well as more predator-proof corrals. Some expressed concern over possible negative impacts of increased tourism, i.e. more horses—which have to be fed over the nine winter months when no tourists visit—on their pastures. One man reported that his new horse, worth Rs 25,000, had already been killed by a snow leopard. The group launched into a tirade over the Wildlife Department’s ineffective compensation scheme, with claims taking several years to settle and the amount “hardly covering the cost of traveling to Leh to file the claim and collect the money.” We used this energy to engage the villagers in ranking the major reasons for livestock losses. They were identified, in order, as snow leopard, wolf, fox, disease and bad weather. An Action Plan was developed for corral predator-proofing and tourism development. The resulting contract outlined the project’s objectives, the specific responsibilities of each party, success indicators, and the grant conditions.
May, 2001: Community-based Ecotourism (CBT) Development
SLC, The Ladakh Ecological Development Group (LEDeG), and TMI sponsored a three-day workshop in Leh. Its purpose was to increase awareness of community-based ecotourism, and to explore how this could contribute to conservation and economic development in rural Ladakh. Over seventy participants—village representatives, local entrepreneurs, local government departments, political leaders, community organizations, NGO’s and the private commercial sector—expressed a desire to develop tourism in ways that maintain Ladakh’s unique balance of cultural, social and environmental heritage. The workshop resulted in a series of Action Plans, translated into Ladakhi and distributed to local communities, for organizing Community-Based Tourism in Ladakh, including forming a Pony Union and regulating grazing areas; training and access to financing; and developing “Village Homestays.” Starting in 2001, a basic fee of $10 will be collected from foreign visitors to Ladakh ($20 for those wishing to visit restricted areas). This money will be deposited into a revolving fund aimed at protecting the environment, supporting national monuments, and local education. See our web site for details.
June-September: Tourism Visitor Survey
While the nationalities of roughly five thousand visitors are recorded each year by Hemis Park staff, little else is known about them. Accordingly SLC, in collaboration with LEDeG and local travel agents, initiated a visitor survey which is presently being conducted. Questions are aimed at learning why visitors choose Ladakh, how they organize their trek (through local or outside agents), what they pay, what their expectations are in regard to cultural experiences, nature viewing, food, lodging, trekking and guiding services. Also, we are interested in knowing the average duration of a visit, daily cost, other sites visited, and the visitors’ satisfaction. They are asked to rank existing services such as food, hygiene and sanitation, campsite maintenance, garbage management, and pack horse rental, and to recommend what additional facilities and services they would like to see.
July: Corral Predator-Proofing:
Summer corrals in Skyu-Kaya’s Lilangtse pasture were predator-proofed. The villagers hired outside laborers to help with construction, as most local men were away on jobs with trekking companies. Each household contributed half the price of a goat toward covering the laborer’s wages. SLC provided supervisory support and wire mesh, doors and roofing materials.
Environmental Education:
SLC’s educational activities are centered around the simplest of teaching tools: books about snow leopards and their habitat for young readers in the range countries; colorful posters and group educational activities keyed to them. Rather than “reinventing the wheel,” we adapt activities developed by Peace Corps Volunteers using locally available materials.
In Ladakh, we have partnered with the Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL). SECMOL was founded in 1988 by returning university students dedicated to preserving and strengthening the cultural heritage, wisdom, and unique identity of the Ladakhi people. They created Operation New Hope in 1994—a multi-agency collaboration aimed at reforming Ladakh’s education system. Teachers and headmasters are given special trainings at the SECMOL campus outside Leh. New primary school textbooks are produced that reflect traditional Ladakhi life. The Ladakhi version of SLC’s poster Good Livestock Husbandry is Good for Snow Leopards is being used in this program, along with a Ladakhi adaptation of Pasang and the Sheep Thief. (see Nepal program)
NEPAL
Environmental Education:
Snow Queen, the last of three titles in Ramailo Kitaab’s snow leopard conservation series, has now been released as both a “read aloud,” and an
“I can read” book, in English and Nepali. My Grandma Says introduces beginning readers to snow leopards and the other animals of the high mountain ecosystem, while Pasang and the Sheep Thief tells a more
complicated story. These books, and the Nepali version of the Livestock Husbandry poster (co-sponsored by TMI) are being used in two SLC education projects in Nepal.
Manang: The District of Manang supports important snow leopard habitat within the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal’s largest conservation area. In the early 1990's, Rodney conducted a detailed survey of the root causes for livestock depredation by snow leopards. The Annapurna Conservation Area Program established a special Snow Leopard Conservation Committee and a small fund to indirectly compensate local herders and to encourage them to protect the cat. SLC has now teamed with ACAP, WWF-Nepal and the local communities to develop measures to address this issue. Since most sheep and goats are preyed upon while grazing on the open range, we aim to improve guarding practices, and to strengthen community-based tourism in the area. Manang is Nepal’s most heavily trekked area, with some twenty thousand-plus visitors each year. Local guide training, tea-house and lodge management skills training will help local people capture more tourist revenue along a new “offshoot” corridor.
Subas Dhakal, Conservation Program Manager for Wildlife-Environment Nepal (W-E Nepal), is heading up the other collaborative project in the Manang District. WE-Nepal is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating Nepalese citizens about biodiversity conservation. Subas holds a B.S. in wildlife conservation and management. He also serves as an editor of The Wildlife, a magazine about Nepal’s Wildlife and Environment.
In June, 2001, WE-Nepal conducted the first Snow
Leopard Awareness and Education Camp. Sixteen villages participated, along with the local Conservation Area Management and Village Development Committees, ACAP staff, principals from seven schools, and
representatives of the Department of Forestry. Depredation of livestock by snow leopards emerged as the major conservation issue, and local people believe that a proper compensation program is needed. WE-Nepal
recommended in their preliminary report that a discussion session be conducted at a future camp on the drawbacks of compensation programs in terms of sustainability and
difficulty of administering, and the benefits of better livestock husbandry and better-constructed pens. Local residents claimed that poaching of snow leopard in Manang is limited by Buddhist beliefs. But
they added that “businessmen” from India engage in trafficking of pelts, which can be bought for up to US$350 and sold in Calcutta for up to $4,000. This illegal trade is relatively easy as there is no checking
of loads on pack animals. WE-Nepal noted in their preliminary report that the loads of pack animals should be checked at police check posts, and more severe penalties imposed for those caught.
Currently, fines for trade in endangered species range from $700 to $1400, and jail time ranges from 5 to 15 years; however to our knowledge, no case involving trade in snow leopard or their parts has ever
been tried in the Nepalese courts.
After the camp, scores on a basic questionnaire about the snow leopard and its conservation issues rose from 20-40% to 100%. A follow-up camp will be held next year, to see how the knowledge is retained.
Jr Rangers, Dolpa District, Nepal
Nagendra Budathoki is a specialist in environmental education, with experience in Nepal and the U.S. He created the Jr. Rangers environmental education curriculum for primary school children in Nepal’s Dolpa District, under a joint US-Nepalese government program which has now ended. Shey Phoksundo National Park, most of which lies in Dolpa, supports a good population of snow leopards and their prey. Nagendra is overseeing a revamped Jr. Rangers program under SLC’s sponsorship. Also partnering with SLC in this effort is a local non-profit, DESERT working with teachers to bring conservation education into the schools.
The program begins with a description of the U.S. Jr. Rangers, on which the Dolpa program is modeled, and an overview of SLC’s and DESERT’s role. Group activities follow, to create an atmosphere of cooperation, teamwork, trust, communication, problem solving, and planning. Over the school year, students locate Shey Phoksundo National Park on Nepal’s map; learn what a national park is and why we need them, calculate the percentage of Nepal’s total land that is officially protected, etc. SLC’s livestock husbandry poster, the Ramailo Kitaab books, and group activities are used to teach students about the animals found in the park. Two classroom sessions are devoted entirely to the cats; one on the facts, another entitled “Snow Leopards in Danger!” which covers the threats faced by the cats, how they are being protected and how kids can help. Teachers have been requested to do a minimum of three chapters throughout the year.
TIBET
SLC staff have worked in southern Tibet since the early 1990's, focusing on wildlife status surveys, training and capacity building in the Qomolangma (pronounced
Chomo langma) National Nature Preserve (QNNP), a 13,514 sq. mi. area centered on MT. Everest. In June Rodney Jackson assisted Dr. Lhakpa Sherpa of TMI’s Qomolangma Conservation Project in conducting a
seven-day park management training workshop for staff from the Park Management Bureau offices. Special attention was given to the need for integrated ecosystem management, people-wildlife conflict resolution and the
protection of rare species like snow leopard. Future activities will center around corral predator-proofing.
Environmental Education
We have partnered with Artist Tshering Penjor and Save the Children for a Tibetan/Chinese adaptation of the Ramailo Kitaab title, My Grandmother Says... The Tibet Autonomous Region’s Education Committee will oversee distribution of the books into schools in QNNP and other areas of Tibet. In addition, a Tibetan version of the Livestock Husbandry poster is being produced in collaboration with the QNNP Working Commission Office.
Other Activities:
As a Core Member of the IUCN-sponsored Cat Specialist Group, Rodney attended a special meeting of the Group, held in Switzerland in May. The meeting was aimed at defining wild cat conservation priorities over the next few years. In August, Rodney presented a paper on the SLC and its unique approach to community-based conservation at a symposium titled, “People and Predators”, 8th International Theriological Congress, held in Sun City, South Africa. Attendance at the conference coincided with a visit to Johannesburg, where the Jackson family lives (and near where Rodney was born). In October, a paper Rodney presented last year at the Defender’s of Wildlife Carnivores 2000 Conference held in Denver, Colorado, will be published in the Endangered Species Update, a bulletin distributed by the University of Michigan. Both papers will be posted on our web-site in Adobe Acrobat pdf format.