Ease Conflict in Asia with Snow Leopard Peace Parks
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science
Author(s): Aishwarya Maheshwari
Date: 2020
Topics: Conflict Prevention, Cooperation, Renewable Resources
Countries: China, India, Nepal, Pakistan
The Himalayas, the mountains of central Asia, and the mountains of southwest China—3 of the world’s 34 biodiversity hotspots—have suffered severe biodiversity loss as a result of war and related military activities. The tense political status in these areas, which share boundaries with multiple countries, hampers research into the losses and efforts to mitigate them. Establishing a peace park in this region to protect a proven flagship species for the mountain ecosystem in these countries—the snow leopard (Panthera uncia)—could be an effective solution.