Learning about Snow Leopards in Manang

Based on Wildlife & Environment-Nepal’s 2003 report
and field notes by Darla Hillard

Manang District forms the eastern portion of the Annapurna Conservation Area in central/mid-western Nepal. This is Nepal’s largest protected area, administered by the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation, umbrella organization for the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP). Manang has seasonal air service, but no roads, and while it lies on one of Nepal’s busiest trekking routes Publications, recent political turmoil in the country has adversely affected ecotourism.

Trekkers on the trail to Manang

In April and June of 2003, Wildlife and Environment-Nepal (WE-Nepal), with collaboration and support from the Snow Leopard Conservancy, conducted a two-part education program focused on snow leopards in eleven villages of Manang. Participants included Mr. Diwakar Chapagain (Legal Officer of Nepal’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC), Mr. Surya Man Shrestha (Officer of ACAP), Mr. Janardan Dhakal (CITES Implementation Officer of WWF/DNPWC), and the following representatives of WE-Nepal: Mr. Ramji Bogati, Mr. Sambhu Bhattarai, Mr. Subas Dhakal, Mr. Gopi Chandra Poudel, Ms. Samjhana Bista and Ms. Amrita Sharma. Most of the WE-Nepal team had participated in the APPA training sponsored by SLC in Kathmandu in 2002. See the Education archives for details. Ms. Darla Hillard joined the June field visit.

The 2003 field activities were a follow-up to those conducted in 2001 (see archives). WE-Nepal’s evaluation indicated that activities in 2001, and ongoing conservation education efforts of ACAP, have significantly contributed towards retaining awareness about snow leopard conservation issues. The team observed that community members knew it was illegal to kill snow leopards and that their preservation is linked to ecotourism. Two musk deer poachers were fined NRs. 800,000 in 2002 for setting traps in the forest across from the airport at Humde.

Further, local residents reported their belief that conservation and natural resources management have significantly improved with the intervention of ACAP activities, and that these activities may have caused an increase in Manang’s snow leopard population in recent years. Most communities reported livestock depredation by both common and snow leopard. Participants were able to distinguish between the two species and their ways of attacking livestock.

General discussions on environmental issues were held using APPA tools with sixty-five women representing five women’s groups. Many of the women discovered that their role in natural resource management was important. They also realized that they could provide significant inputs to the afforestation process and help educate tourists to abide by the local norms and values. Women also dreamed of fodder and firewood being readily available and better economic opportunities. Commitments were made to conserve forest and wildlife, include students in women’s groups, and find ways to encourage tourists to extend their stay in Manang.

The teams held four teacher trainings in environmental education focused on snow leopards. Eighty-nine teachers, including 12 women, represented 24 schools. ACAP staff and hotel entrepreneurs also attended. APPA tools were used to familiarize teachers with the snow leopard book and manual produced by WE-Nepal. Contemporary issues of snow leopard conservation were discussed, along with sustainability of the Friends of Snow Leopards ecoclubs and the role of teachers in awareness-raising within the community.

School programs were conducted in 17 schools. Four new ecoclubs were added to the five that were formed in 2001. Eighty-one students (44 female) and 22 teachers (2 female) have been directly involved in the 11 ecoclubs. WE-Nepal has initiated coordination with ACAP for the sustainable operation of the clubs, two of which were merged with ACAP’s Green Force clubs.

The June trip, joined by Ms. Hillard, was timed to coincide with World Environment Day. Highlights included:

Ms. Sharma and Ms. Bista conducted an ecoclub ‘refresher’ with students of the Annapurna High School. Students listed their extra-curricular activities (dancing, singing, physical education), and a discussion followed on what might be added, such as bird watching. The students drew skit subjects to act out, such as “pretend you’re a blue sheep being attacked by a snow leopard,” or “make the sound of a wild animal.” One boy of about twelve acted out killing a snow leopard for killing his sheep. We agreed that this was an indicator either that more work is needed, or that precocious twelve-year-olds are the same everywhere!

Earth Day Activities at the Annapurna Higher Secondary School:

• Plant and wildlife identification, based on plant specimens, photos, and posters
• Quiz contest, with 3 groups answering questions on several topics (including wildlife & snow leopard questions provided by the WE-Nepal team)
• Pencil sketching contest, “the snow leopard’s importance in the mountains”
• Village cleanup by collecting and taking garbage to the town dump across the river

Khangsar Lower Secondary School

The team followed snow leopard tracks almost into Khangsar village. We arrived there to learn, via three different accounts, that three livestock had been killed. A female with two big cubs was seen two weeks back. Livestock is unguarded.

In the Lower Secondary School, we did a food web activity with the little kids, and letter-writing with the bigger ones. The letters will be exchanged with students in other eco-clubs in Nepal, as part of the WE-Nepal networking program.

“We Manang dwellers should pay more attention to learning about the snow leopard, its place and importance in the ecosystem, and how we can benefit from protecting it and other wildlife.”

Teachers, Annapurna Higher Secondary School

After the WE-Nepal team left, Ms. Hillard met with the principal and teachers of the Annapurna Higher Secondary School, for an evaluation of the program. They were very happy with it, and indicated that it is very helpful for them to learn along with the students. They have no funding for special materials, so they much appreciate the materials WE-Nepal has provided, as well the two-part curriculum (Friends of Nature) produced by ACAP/KMTNC, which centered on the Annapurna ecosystem, geography, etc. They now have sufficient materials, and while they want the WE-Nepal activities to continue, they would like to do their own program. They provided a proposal upon which the Snow Leopard Conservancy has granted funding for 2004 activities, as follows:

• Students-teaching-students: Eco-club members and teachers will make field trips to nearby villages and pastures with shepherd camps to conduct participatory learning activities. This will:
• Give higher secondary students the opportunity to ‘learn by teaching,’ to share their experiences with their student-colleagues.
• Instill in lower secondary students (grammar school) a knowledge of and appreciation for Manang’s wildlife and it’s place in the eco-system, so that they will carry into adulthood the urge to preserve the region’s biodiversity (particularly snow leopard). Also, to give them the confidence to speak out in the village, in their own language, for a better environment.
• Collaborate with the women’s groups and others (such as the Nature Guide group) to conduct regular programs in the community to promote awareness of Manang’s flora and fauna.
• Educate foreign visitors - through regular evening programs - about the local wildlife, their opportunities for viewing it, and the awareness that their dollars spent hiring a local guide or contributing to the Eco-club are helping to preserve wildlife.
• Educate local men and women about the ‘big picture’ of wildlife conservation, including the indirect benefits they already receive from through tourism for protecting wildlife and habitat.

Following the World Environment Day festivities, Ms. Hillard observed a nature guide training being held jointly by WWF-Nepal and the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation. Rodney Jackson had assisted WWF-Nepal in reviewing the training curriculum and providing advice and suggestions. When back in Kathmandu, Ms. Hillard met with Tripple Gurung, president of the Manang Youth Society, to discuss ways to help the guides market their services, and practice by taking groups from the school-based nature clubs on field trips. The Snow Leopard Conservancy donated to the nature guides three pairs of binoculars and three sets of bird and plant guides.

Copyright © 2004 Snow Leopard Conservancy
All Rights Reserved