With the support of the VGP Foundation, NABU foresees to ensure the ecological compatibility of yak husbandry and yak wool production, as well as contributing to the conservation of ecosystem services in Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. This includes, above all, the conservation of pastoral landscapes as a measure for adapting to climate change and the protection of the snow leopard and its prey.

The protection of the snow leopard in Central Asia is a priority issue for NABU. Together with the VGP Foundation, stables and compensation forms for snow leopards are currently being built and developed in Tajikistan. In addition to this successful form of snow leopard conservation by reducing human-wildlife conflicts, further long-term sustainable forms of rural regional development are needed to provide people with a secure livelihood in the mountain regions of the Pamir, Tien Shan and Altai Mountains.

The pandemic and the associated collapse of the tourism industry have led to a devastating loss of livelihoods in these regions in particular. Against this background, diversification of income under the condition of a nature-friendly land use is one of the most important measures for the protection of the snow leopard and its prey.

In this context, it is crucial to plan and develop nature conservation, economic activity and social cohesion - together with the local people in the long term perspective.

Photos © NABU