Snow Leopard Status Report in India

Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav released the report on the status of snow leopards in India.

About the report

The 'Snow Leopard Population Assessment in India (SPAI)' programme is the first scientific effort. Wildlife Institute of India (WII) is the national coordinator for the programme.
- The programme was carried out in collaboration with all snow leopard range states and two conservation partners Nature Conservation Foundation (Mysore) and WWF-India.
- The programme was run in two phases from 2019-2023.
The number of snow leopards in India is 718. The order of snow leopard presence in India by number is: Ladakh > Uttarakhand > Himachal Pradesh > Arunachal Pradesh > Sikkim > Jammu & Kashmir.
The status report proposes setting up of a dedicated Snow Leopard Cell at WII under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

Presence - In the mountainous regions of Central and South Asia.
Presence in India - Mostly in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
Famous park for snow leopard - Hemis National Park (Ladakh).

Climate change
Infrastructure development
Rise in tourism in snow leopard habitats
Mismanagement of waste
Increase in dog population which competes with snow leopards
Snow leopards are inaccessible and there is also problem in analysing and differentiating the images captured in camera.

It is a statutory body constituted under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
It advises the Central Government on the formulation of policies and measures for the conservation of wildlife in the country.
The primary function of the Board is to promote the conservation and development of wildlife and forests.
It has the power to review all matters relating to wildlife and approve projects in and around national parks and sanctuaries.
No change in the boundaries of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries can be made without the approval of the NBWL.
It has 47 members including the Prime Minister (Chairman).

The Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Conservation Programme is a coalition of all snow leopard range countries, non-governmental organisations, multilateral institutions, scientists and local communities.
Its aim is to conserve the snow leopard and its mountain ecosystems.
These 12 countries are India, Nepal, Bhutan, China, Mongolia, Russia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.