The Global Snow Leopard Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP)

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• Indian snow leopard experts received the Madrid-based BBVA Foundation’s Worldwide Biodiversity Conservation Award on behalf of a 12-nation intergovernmental alliance -The Global Snow Leopard Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP).

What is The Global Snow Leopard Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP)?

• The GSLEP is a first-of-its-kind intergovernmental alliance for the conservation of the snow leopard and its unique ecosystem.
• It is led by the environment ministers of 12 countries in Asia that form the home range of the snow leopard. These are Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The total range spans two million square kilometres.
• The GSLEP Program’s secretariat is based in Bishkek, and is hosted by the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ecology and Technical Supervision of the Kyrgyz Republic.
• GSLEP was created in 2013 when officials, politicians and conservationists arrived at a common conservation strategy enshrined in the Bishkek Declaration (2013) to cooperate in the conservation of this species and its habitat.