THE CHALLENGE

Trans-Himalayan rangelands, covering 186,000 square kilometers, are critical for sustaining wildlife, such as snow leopards and Tibetan antelopes, and the livelihoods of pastoralist communities. However, these rangelands are under threat due to:

• Overgrazing from rising livestock numbers, driven by global demand for cashmere.
• Decline in traditional resource management practices due to tenurial insecurity and inadequate policies.
• Increased human-wildlife conflict, leading to loss of biodiversity and retaliatory killing of wildlife.
• Limited income diversification and market access for pastoralist products, leaving communities economically vulnerable.

The result is ecosystem degradation, reduced climate resilience, and impoverished livelihoods, impacting both biodiversity and people.

OUR APPROACH

This project adopts a participatory, community-led model for rangeland restoration and sustainable management. The key strategies include:

1. Community-Led Rangeland Co-Management
   • Establishing multi-stakeholder Rangelands Councils that integrate traditional knowledge, scientific insights, and governance frameworks.
   • Reviving rotational grazing and sustainable livestock management practices to reduce rangeland degradation.
2. Improving Human-Wildlife Coexistence
   • Co-designing and piloting solutions like predator-proof corrals, fox-lights, and livestock insurance to reduce conflict.
   • Promoting tolerance for wildlife by alleviating economic losses and highlighting their ecological significance.
3. Enhancing Livelihood Security
   • Training and equipping 200 Changpa and Brokpa women to process and market sustainable products like rangelands-friendly pashmina and yak wool.
   • Establishing three women-led micro-enterprises and improving market linkages to enhance incomes.
4. Piloting Sustainable Interventions
   • Implementing sustainable grazing pilots across 12 villages and involving ~255 households to demonstrate best practices.
   • Monitoring ecosystem health, livestock productivity, and community well-being to inform scalable solutions.

EXPECTED IMPACT

For Biodiversity

• Restoration of 500,000 hectares of rangelands, enabling recovery of vegetation, wild ungulates, and carnivore populations.
• Reduction in retaliatory killings of snow leopards and wolves through effective coexistence solutions.

For Communities

• Improved livelihoods for ~3,000 pastoralists through diversified income sources, with a 30% increase in incomes for targeted households.
• Reduction in livestock predation losses by 50%, enhancing household economic security.
• Empowerment of women through leadership in micro-enterprises and market integration.

For Global Goals
The project aligns with key national and international frameworks, contributing to India’s National Biodiversity Action Plan, Land Degradation Neutrality targets, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (1, 2, 5, 13, and 15).