In the remote Himalayan region of India’s Spiti Valley, local women are playing a growing role in protecting snow leopards, helping shift community attitudes toward one of Asia’s most elusive predators while strengthening conservation efforts.
“Once communities are involved, conservation becomes more sustainable,” said Deepshikha Sharma of the Nature Conservation Foundation, as trained women known locally as the “Shenmo” install camera traps, track animal signs and analyse images to monitor individual snow leopards across high-altitude terrain.
Their work has contributed to improved population monitoring — including surveys identifying 83 snow leopards in Himachal Pradesh — while also promoting predator-proof livestock corrals and insurance schemes that reduce conflict, demonstrating how community-led conservation can protect wildlife while supporting livelihoods.
