Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Program Manager/Project Coordinator CAMP4ASB AF of the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) Dilovarsho Dustzoda spoke about the problems of the snow leopard population as a migratory species of the transboundary areas of Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in an interview with the Uzbek TV channel STV at the 14th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP 14) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
It is the first UN international conference on wildlife conservation convened by over 1500 experts from 130 countries, which takes place in Central Asia.
According to experts, the migration of wild animals directly affects the preservation and restoration of ecosystems and their habitats. Therefore, the program’s main goal is to gather all stakeholders to preserve animals and their habitats.
The United Nations Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals unites the states through which the migratory species pass. Migratory animals and birds include, in particular, kulans (wild Asian donkeys), jaguars, saigas, Amazonian catfish, dugongs (marine herbivores), turtles, and saker falcons.
The snow leopard is also a migratory animal species and is a kind of indicator of environmental change. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) included this unique inhabitant of the world's fauna in the Red List as “vulnerable”. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan added this incredible cat to the national Red Books. It is symbolic that the conference's logo depicts a winged snow leopard decorated with a pattern reminiscent of the famous azure tiles of the monuments of Central Asia.
The meeting in Samarkand is being held under the slogan “Nature knows no borders”, which, along with the logo, is a reminder that the travels of migratory species are not limited by political boundaries and that their survival depends on international cooperation and transboundary conservation efforts.