Critical Snow Leopard Habitat in Mongolia Receives Protection
Mongolia is a snow leopard stronghold with more than 1,000 of the endangered cats, which may be 25% of the world’s wild population. Mongolia is also a leader in efforts to conserve snow leopards and established one of the first national snow leopard conservation action plans.
Like other national plans now in place for the species, Mongolia’s plan focuses on threats such as snow leopard – livestock conflicts, and poaching for hides and bones. Recently a potentially more destructive threat has come to light in a remote corner of Mongolia – mining. The Tost Mountains of Mongolia’s South Gobi province support one of the highest population densities of this rare cat anywhere in its range.
Panthera and the Snow Leopard Trust (SLT) recognized this when selecting the area for a highly acclaimed long-term study launched in 2008 which is providing information critical to the conservation of snow leopards globally.
But South Gobi is rich in more than snow leopards, with large deposits of coal and precious metals. In 2010 it became apparent that nearly all of the 500 km2 study area – some of the most important snow leopard habitat in the world – was slated for mineral development. Situated between two of the nation’s largest protected areas, the Tost Mountains have no similar immunity and nearly 40 mining licenses had been issued there. Recognizing the potentially devastating impact to the area and the cats, Panthera and SLT wasted no time in bringing their concerns to the government.
Led by SLT’s Mongolia Program Director and recipient of the 2009 Rabinowitz-Kaplan Next Generation Prize, Bayarjargal Agvaantseren, a year-long effort to have the mineral licenses revoked ensued during which Panthera were informed there was little likelihood of success. That changed when the local people of the Tost Mountains became involved.
Concern for the welfare of a large predator is not what you would expect from a community of herding families. But SLT’s decade of conservation work in the area, and Panthera’s joint ecological study which was showing local residents the beauty of the cats through images from their camera traps, made them snow leopard fans and they petitioned the government to designate the entire site a Locally Protected Area.
After two rejections of the petition, Dr. Tom McCarthy, Panthera’s Executive Director of Snow Leopard Programs, traveled to Mongolia in October and met with the head of the Mineral Resources Authority and representatives of the Ministry of Nature, Environment and Tourism to support the application for protected status.
In December the news came that Local Protected Area status had been granted. While this does not rescind existing mineral exploration licenses, it assures that no licenses will be granted for actual mining, which by default makes exploration far less attractive to current license holders. Importantly, the new protected area links two of the country’s premier protected areas, the Great Gobi Strictly Protected Area and the Three Beauties National Park, creating a corridor of safety for snow leopards and other unique wildlife across much of southern Mongolia.
Learn more about Panthera’s Snow Leopard Program.
