Examining livestock depredation and the determinants of people's attitudes towards snow leopards in the Himalayas of Nepal
Livestock depredation by snow leopards Panthera uncia poses a significant threat to the livelihoods of pastoral communities and engenders negative attitudes towards the species, threatening its survival. We conducted 104 semi-structured interviews within local communities (livestock herders and owne...
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| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2023-07-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0030605322000928/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1797754614442885120 |
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| author | Kabindra Shahi Siddhartha Aryal Rupak Kumar Blon Gopal Khanal |
| author_facet | Kabindra Shahi Siddhartha Aryal Rupak Kumar Blon Gopal Khanal |
| author_sort | Kabindra Shahi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Livestock depredation by snow leopards Panthera uncia poses a significant threat to the livelihoods of pastoral communities and engenders negative attitudes towards the species, threatening its survival. We conducted 104 semi-structured interviews within local communities (livestock herders and owners) in the Nyesyang valley of Manang District, in the Annapurna Conservation Area, western Nepal, to assess the status of livestock depredation and community attitudes towards snow leopards. During February 2016–January 2018, respondents reportedly lost 279 livestock to snow leopards (mean loss of 1.3 livestock per household), comprising 3.7% of the total stockholding in 2018. This loss amounts to a monetary loss of USD 319 per annum for each household. Only half of the households who lost livestock to snow leopards in the previous 2 years received compensation from the Conservation Area. Almost an equal proportion of respondents held positive (42%) and negative (41%) attitudes towards snow leopards. An ordered logistic regression analysis revealed that being a woman, being illiterate, owning a high number of large-bodied livestock and relying primarily on agropastoralism were factors associated significantly with negative attitudes towards snow leopards. We recommend focusing conservation education on illiterate community members and engaging more women in conservation programmes, along with a community-based insurance scheme for large-sized livestock to mitigate losses and improve local community attitudes towards snow leopards. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T17:34:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ca90f84235544cee9e170bf766f5e2d3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0030-6053 1365-3008 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T17:34:58Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Oryx |
| spelling | doaj.art-ca90f84235544cee9e170bf766f5e2d32023-08-04T12:01:33ZengCambridge University PressOryx0030-60531365-30082023-07-015748949610.1017/S0030605322000928Examining livestock depredation and the determinants of people's attitudes towards snow leopards in the Himalayas of NepalKabindra Shahi0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3469-9940Siddhartha Aryal1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2385-5282Rupak Kumar Blon2Gopal Khanal3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6628-0015Centre for Ecological Studies, Lalitpur, NepalInstitute of Forestry, Hariyokharka, Pokhara, NepalDivision Forest Office, Makwanpur, NepalDepartment of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Government of Nepal, Kathmandu, NepalLivestock depredation by snow leopards Panthera uncia poses a significant threat to the livelihoods of pastoral communities and engenders negative attitudes towards the species, threatening its survival. We conducted 104 semi-structured interviews within local communities (livestock herders and owners) in the Nyesyang valley of Manang District, in the Annapurna Conservation Area, western Nepal, to assess the status of livestock depredation and community attitudes towards snow leopards. During February 2016–January 2018, respondents reportedly lost 279 livestock to snow leopards (mean loss of 1.3 livestock per household), comprising 3.7% of the total stockholding in 2018. This loss amounts to a monetary loss of USD 319 per annum for each household. Only half of the households who lost livestock to snow leopards in the previous 2 years received compensation from the Conservation Area. Almost an equal proportion of respondents held positive (42%) and negative (41%) attitudes towards snow leopards. An ordered logistic regression analysis revealed that being a woman, being illiterate, owning a high number of large-bodied livestock and relying primarily on agropastoralism were factors associated significantly with negative attitudes towards snow leopards. We recommend focusing conservation education on illiterate community members and engaging more women in conservation programmes, along with a community-based insurance scheme for large-sized livestock to mitigate losses and improve local community attitudes towards snow leopards.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0030605322000928/type/journal_articleAttitudescompensation processhuman–wildlife conflictlivestock depredationManangNepalPanthera unciasnow leopard |
| spellingShingle | Kabindra Shahi Siddhartha Aryal Rupak Kumar Blon Gopal Khanal Examining livestock depredation and the determinants of people's attitudes towards snow leopards in the Himalayas of Nepal Oryx Attitudes compensation process human–wildlife conflict livestock depredation Manang Nepal Panthera uncia snow leopard |
| title | Examining livestock depredation and the determinants of people's attitudes towards snow leopards in the Himalayas of Nepal |
| title_full | Examining livestock depredation and the determinants of people's attitudes towards snow leopards in the Himalayas of Nepal |
| title_fullStr | Examining livestock depredation and the determinants of people's attitudes towards snow leopards in the Himalayas of Nepal |
| title_full_unstemmed | Examining livestock depredation and the determinants of people's attitudes towards snow leopards in the Himalayas of Nepal |
| title_short | Examining livestock depredation and the determinants of people's attitudes towards snow leopards in the Himalayas of Nepal |
| title_sort | examining livestock depredation and the determinants of people s attitudes towards snow leopards in the himalayas of nepal |
| topic | Attitudes compensation process human–wildlife conflict livestock depredation Manang Nepal Panthera uncia snow leopard |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0030605322000928/type/journal_article |
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