About:

• Snow leopards are highly adapted to the cold high mountains. Their thick fur patterned with dark rosettes and spots (a pattern that is unique to each individual snow leopard) is the perfect camouflage for their rocky habitat, allowing them to stalk their prey.
• The snow leopard is found in 12 countries — India, Nepal, Bhutan, China, Mongolia, Russia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
• The snow leopard is found along the upper reaches of the Himalayan range and, in India, it is found in Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
• IUCN status is vulnerable.

Conservation efforts of Snow leopard

• The Government of India has identified the snow leopard as a flagship species for the high-altitude Himalayas.
• Project Snow Leopard (PSL): It was launched in 2009. It aims to protect the snow leopard and its habitat in the major Himalayan rivers that support the teeming millions downstream. It also ensures that the ecological balance is maintained in these fragile ecosystems.
• First National Protocol was also launched last year on Snow Leopard Population Assessment which has been very useful for monitoring populations. The project also encourages the States and UTs to adopt innovative strategies to resolve issues related to multi-stakeholder landscape management, human-wildlife conflicts, wildlife crime and trade in wildlife parts and products, capacity building, climate-smart energy solutions etc.
• India is also a party to the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection (GSLEP) Programme since 2013. The government also hosted the 4th Steering Committee of the GSLEP program in October 2019 in New Delhi. This meeting resulted in the “New Delhi Statement” of strengthening the resolve of the snow leopard range countries towards conservation of the mountain ecosystems of Central and South Asia.

Why in News?

The Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change has said that the Government of India has been conserving the snow leopard and its habitat through the Project Snow Leopard (PSL).

Reference:

1. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1667118