Global strategies for snow leopard conservation: A spot-joining synthesis

All species require a strategy for successful conservation. Strategies articulate a vision of success, set time-bound goals, and describe why, where, and what conservation actions are needed to meet the goals. Developing a strategy helps diverse parties work together in an efficient way. Snow leopards are blessed with not one but four range-wide strategies published since 2000, reflecting evolving values, increased understanding, and greater engagement around conservation of this culturally significant species. Here we provide a review and brief history of these four strategies, highlighting points of convergence and divergence, and identify how, despite differences, all efforts point to a shared vision for the conservation of the species: a world where snow leopards and their wild prey thrive in healthy mountain ecosystems across all major ecological settings and range states of snow leopard range.