Wildlife corridor gives snow leopards space

A climate-ready ecological corridor is helping snow leopards and other mountain wildlife move safely across changing landscapes in Kyrgyzstan, while supporting sustainable livelihoods for local herding communities.

“Projects like this are good for hope, because you can see changes at the policy level and changes in people’s mindsets on the ground,” said Maarten Hofman, Associate Programme Management Officer at the United Nations Environment Programme.

The Ak Ilbirs ecological corridor spans around 800,000 hectares and was designed using climate projections through 2070, protecting more than 60% of suitable future habitat for snow leopards, argali sheep, Asiatic ibex and grey wolves. Rather than excluding people, the corridor allows traditional grazing under sustainable management, supported by monitoring and community-led conservation. Local organisations are also helping families diversify their incomes through beekeeping, fruit and vegetable cultivation, ecotourism and volunteer ranger programmes, creating a model that balances wildlife conservation with resilient rural livelihoods.