4 November 2019 Zanon gets involved in snow leopard protection
Zanon Dar Kuhhoi Pomir signed a partnership agreement with UNDP/GEF Project “Conservation and Sustainable Use of Pamir Alay and Tien Shan Ecosystems for Snow Leopard Protection and Sustainable Community Livelihoods”.
It is a very useful project for Zanon Dar Kuhhoi Pomir, since it gives the latter an exposure to activities related to protection of wildlife as well as in engaging women from other parts of Pamirs in the project. Furthermore, the project will help the NGO to build up a solid knowledge of the country’s wildlife, which in the future is going to be very helpful for the female guides to introduce the tourists to the rich and unique fauna of Tajikistan and its different parts.
Zanon Dar Kuhhoi Pomir will conduct the following tasks for the project:
Preparation and participation in the Festival of the snow leopards
Conducting a seminar on increasing the number of ungulates in high mountain ecosystems
Conducting a workshop for women regarding protection of the wildlife
The first part of the project was done by Zanon Dar Kuhhoi Pomir. They actively took part in the Festival of the snow leopard and helped a great deal to make it happen.
For the second and third parts of the project Zanon Dar Kuhhoi Pomir will upload pictures/videos from their activities.
Seminar on methods of protection and increasing the number of ungulates and measures to reduce the conflict between people and snow leopard
The seminar on methods of protection and increasing the population of ungulates and measures to reduce the conflict between people and the snow leopard was conducted in the village of Bartavdem of Roshqala district. It was one-day seminar and a very helpful one for the people of this village. Zanon Dar Kuhhoi Pomir conducted the seminar for 26 people, and 20 out of this 26 were young men and 6 were women and young girls. Zanon dar Kuhho iPomir’s team considers this to be very important, since it is basically young men and women who get involved in the protection of snow leopard; they are the ones who most of the time go to the pastures and also can convey this message to their friends, families, and children. The elder people who were raised during the Soviet time do not have any knowledge and awareness regarding the protection of this unique animal.
Jura Bakhriev together with Furough Shakarmamadova and Safina Shohaydarova, Director and Assistant to the Director of the Organization, talked about both promoting and developing eco-tourism in the district. Although this district has great potential for tourism development, promotion for tourism in this district has not been adequate. Jura Bakhriev together with Zanon dar Kuhhoi Pomir’s team told people that developing eco-tourism can serve as one of the best ways of reducing the conflict between the local people and snow leopard, since many tourists from around the world want to visit places where the snow leopard inhabits, visiting people living close to this unique animal and hearing tales of shepherds (staying in shepherd’s yurts) regarding this animal.
Closer to the end of the seminar when Zanon dar Kuhho iPomir’s team concluded the seminar, the following expressions were heard from the audience:
“We liked the seminar”
“We have fallen in love with this animal”
“We did not know this animal well, yet this seminar helped us to get acquainted with snow leopard”
“We started to see how amazing this animal is”
“We are now very keen on protecting this beauty”