International Snow Leopard Day 2020

International Snow Leopard Day is celebrated on October 23 to raise awareness on protection of snow leopards.

Daily Current Affairs Quiz 2020

Key-Points

Government of India has been conserving snow leopard and its habitat through the Project Snow Leopard (PSL). The PSL was launched in 2009.

India is also party to the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection (GSLEP) Programme since 2013.

The Centre hosted the 4th Steering Committee of the GSLEP program in 2019 at New Delhi. This meeting resulted in the “New Delhi Statement” of strengthening the resolve of the snow leopard range countries towards conservation of the mountain ecosystems of Central and South Asia.

Government is committed to landscape restoration for snow leopard habitat conservation, and implementing participatory landscape-based management plans. India has identified three large landscapes, namely, Hemis-Spiti across Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh; Nanda Devi – Gangotri in Uttarakhand; and Khangchendzonga – Tawang across Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.

The Government of India has identified the snow leopard as a flagship species for the high-altitude Himalayas.