On March 13–15 in Kazan (Republic of Tatarstan, Russian Federation) the international conference “Study and conservation of snow leopard in the world” will be held, which will be attended by representatives of the countries of the snow leopard habitat, including Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Russia.

The conference is held on the initiative of the Republic of Tatarstan and the Interregional Association “Center for the Study and Conservation of the Snow Leopard “Irbis” with the support of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia.

The conference will be attended by representatives of the governments of the countries, heads of environmental agencies, heads of academies of sciences, highly qualified scientific specialists of the invited countries and Russia, heads of regions, business companies providing support in the implementation of measures to preserve biodiversity.

The snow leopard or irbis is one of the most secretive and little-studied wild cats in the world. Today it is under threat of complete extinction. At the moment, there are only 87 individuals in Russia.

"Together with Russian specialists, foreign experts will exchange experiences and discuss a wide range of issues: innovative approaches to studying and preserving the snow leopard, current threats to the species and measures to prevent them, monitoring transboundary groups, the contribution of public-private partnerships to preserving biodiversity, current methods of interacting with local populations in wild animal habitats, involving volunteers in environmental work and many others," the Roszapovedcenter reported.

Following the conference, the Kazan Resolution will be adopted, which will record the main recommendations and decisions on preserving the snow leopard in the world. Kazan was chosen as the venue for the event for a reason, because the snow leopard is a symbol of Tatarstan. The republic pays great attention to preserving this rare animal. Thus, on the initiative of the head of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov, the Snow Leopard Biodiversity Conservation Center is being created.

October 23 is International Snow Leopard Day, which began with the World Snow Leopard Forum held in Bishkek in 2013.

ORIENT