Snow leopards, wild yaks, camels and other native species found in the Greater Himalayan region are seemingly being edged out by the cashmere industry, as livestock farmers set loose their expanding herds of domesticated ‘cashmere goats’, says a new research.
Grassroot problem
According to the Snow Leopard Trust and the Wildlife Conservation Society that conducted the research, the cashmere trade has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry in the last few decades.
To support global demand for the luxurious lightweight goat hair, local herders across Mongolia, India and China’s Tibetan Plateau have significantly increased livestock production. In Mongolia alone, numbers of domestic goats have grown consistently, from five million heads in 1990 to close to 14 million in 2010.
What this has brought is a sea of change in the natural ecosystem and food web of the region. With the reared goats competing for the same food source as the wild ungulates, the prey population is having a hard time finding good grass to eat. In turn, with the prey numbers decreasing, snow leopards are dying too. The survey revealed that 95 per cent of all the forage across the Tibetan plateau, Mongolia and northern India was consumed by goats, sheep and other livestock, leaving just five per cent for wild animals.
According to Charudutt Mishra, one of the researchers, “Cashmere production is a complicated human issue. Understandably, indigenous herders are trying to improve their livelihoods, but the short-term economic gain is harming the local ecosystem.”Additionally, the wild mammals are also suffering from a reduction in their range and displacement to marginal habitats. Because the goat herders need to keep their goats safe, the feral and domestic dogs accompanying them add an increased risk of the wild deers, sheeps etc. being chased away or killed by them. The rise in snow leopard-human conflict is also a concern.
With prey population diminishing, the predator does not have any choice but to try and attack the livestock and the pashmina goats for food. A retaliatory killing by the herders then becomes an inevitable reality.
Significant habitat
Snow leopards are one of the most beautiful of all cat species. With thick white hair for insulation, wide, fur-covered feet acting as natural snowshoes and their long tails adapted for balance and as blankets to cover sensitive body parts against the severe mountain chill, these leopards show every trait required to survive the mountain life.
Their prey base consists of the blue sheep (bharal) of Tibet and the Himalayas, as well as the mountain ibex found over most of the rest of their range. With less than 4,000 left in the wild, these precious cats therefore need a constant supply of food to survive, which tragically is what the commercial cashmere trade is snatching away from them.
But, international experts feel solutions are readily available if only the dialogue between the garment industry, cashmere herders and conservationists begins in a proactive way. Few solutions are already being acted upon in the region. The communities that produce cashmere products without killing leopards or harming other wildlife are being recognised and a small bonus has already been given to such herders.
To reduce man-animal conflict and the incidence of leopards attacking reared goats, improved corrals are being introduced where the goats are kept safely.
To avoid the passing on of certain diseases from the goats to wild animals such as yak and blue sheep, the conservationists also plan to introduce vaccinations of the reared animals as a possible solution.
“By improving our understanding of the relationship between indigenous herders, local ecology and global markets, we can implement policies at the national and international level which are better designed to protect biodiversity while supporting the livelihoods of local communities,” Charu Mishra explains.
There is the greater concern about the grass cover too, which is finally the root cause for the malnourished wild animals. To make greener pastures available for native grazers like the Saiga tatarica, an antelope, the Tibetan chiru, Bactrian camels, wild yaks, and the Himalayan bharal, sustainable grazing programmes need to be devised.
Again, this needs immediate attention and the collaboration of policy makers, herders, traders, conservationists and even the end users of the popular cashmere products.
The snow leopard is an endangered animal today thanks to a multitude of modern day challenges. Global warming is melting the ice covers of its mountain home. Chinese medicine trade is leading to a rise in poaching incidents and untimely death of many of these rare animals. The lure of its soft, fuzzy fur is driving men to butcher them and gnaw their skin out. Added to these is the present problem of a visibly harmless herbivore like the pashmina goat, snatching food away from a tough predator’s mouth.
If the essence of the mountains, its people, its habitat and its creatures has to be saved, it is important that each of the gears of this fine machinery is well oiled, checked and protected to keep the bigger system running smoothly and perfectly.
If the human-made hurdles continue to interfere with the ecological machines, animals like the shy and elusive snow leopard will surely become ghosts in the future, haunting and reminding us of our follies forever.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/kdrqnvs
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