Since 1998, Snow Leopard Enterprises has bought handmade wool goods from Mongolian herders whose communities pledge against snow leopard poaching. 27 communities now safeguard ~25,000 km² — 27% of Mongolia's snow leopard habitat — with incomes reportedly up 40%.
25,000 km²
Snow leopard habitat safeguarded by enrolled communities
27
Herder communities enrolled in Mongolia
40 %
Reported income increase for participating families
Details
Maturity
Scaling
Promoter
Snow Leopard Trust & Snow Leopard Conservation Foundation (Mongolia)
Since 1998, Snow Leopard Enterprises has paired herder handicraft income with community 'Conservation Contracts' committing to stop poaching snow leopards and their prey in Mongolia's snow leopard habitat.
Results
27 herder communities are now enrolled, safeguarding more than 25,000 km² (about 27% of Mongolia's snow leopard range); the Trust reports retaliatory killing has largely stopped in these areas and participating families' incomes have risen by roughly 40%, though these figures come mainly from the implementing organisation's own reporting rather than an independent census.
Implementation
Indicative cost
Low (< €50k)
Time to results
Long (> 3 years)
Staffing & skills
Snow Leopard Trust, Snow Leopard Conservation Foundation (Mongolia)
Conditions for success
Community-wide 'Conservation Contract' tying market access to a no-poaching pledge
Commonly funded by
Philanthropic / foundation funding
Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.
Do you run this practice?
Claim it —
verified implementers get a public contact pathway and can propose corrections.
Data sources
Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.
A decade-long Iran–UNDP programme cutting agricultural water use 25% and raising irrigation efficiency ~42% around Ramsar-listed Lake Urmia; independent monitoring …
