Status of Snow Leopards in India

• Context (DTE | PIB): The government unveiled the report on the Status of Snow Leopards in India.
• The assessment was conducted by The Snow Leopard Population Assessment in India (SPAI) over four years (2019-2023).
• Wildlife Institute of India (WII) is the national coordinator for SPAI.
• WII has two partners. The Nature Conservation Foundation and World Wildlife Fund for Nature.

Important Findings

• Only 34 per cent of the snow leopard habitat in India legally protected.
• The estimated population in different states are Ladakh (477), Uttarakhand (124), Himachal Pradesh (51), Arunachal Pradesh (36), Sikkim (21), and Jammu and Kashmir (9).
• The report emphasised the need for a dedicated Snow Leopard Cell at the Dehradun-based WII for long-term population monitoring of Snow Leopards.

World Wide Fund for Nature (World Wildlife Fund) It is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961. It is the world’s largest conservation organization. WWF works in nearly 100 countries. WWF Headquarters: Gland, Switzerland. Logo: Giant panda. The Living Planet Report is published every two years by WWF since 1998. Notable worldwide campaigns: Earth Hour and Debt-for-Nature Swap. Wildlife Institute of India (WII) Established in 1982, Dehradun, Uttarakhand. It is an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change. It provides training programs, academic courses, and advisory services.

For details on Snow Leopards, visit >Snow Leopards.