Combine a height of 3400 metres and a - 25 degrees Celsius weather forecast, and you have the perfect conditions to track the elusive Snow Leopard. It was 6 years ago that we began our first Snow Leopard program. The first year we had only one sighting of the much anticipated and very elusive Grey Ghost. With each passing year, sightings got closer and increased in quality, and by the third year our trekkers had 8 sightings of 5 different Snow Leopards. From then on, pictures went viral and the elusive cat was no longer a myth but a reality for many, and a new tourism industry for Ladakh had formed.
With Ladakh’s winter tourism opening up, almost all the summer guides of the hills were now Snow Leopard trackers; however, not all were certified guides and some had no knowledge of wildlife etiquette or safety for these shy animals. They also lacked knowledge regarding tourist safety, thereby putting clients at risk. Some guides allowed photographers to get too close to the animals for comfort, permitting unfit clients to hike in extreme conditions, and being unaware of noise pollution. The new peak season brought more hotels and untrained guides. Because of this prices were beginning to drop, causing tour quality, professionalism and high standards of eco-tourism to suffer. The mass influx of tourism overwhelmed the National Parks, which weren’t capable of handling mass tourism in the winter.
Thankfully, a plan has been initiated and tourism management is much more stable. What changed? A solution for this explosion of mass tourism was implemented surrounding two key ideas:
1. A guide must have specific and extensive training in order to become a tracker
2. Permits to trek in the national parks are becoming very limited and are slowly following the direction of Gorilla tourism model in Rwanda and Uganda. This is necessary for conservation efforts.
Though a work in progress, there are upsides to the tourism burst in this region. The community is now receiving more income, employment has grown substantially, businesses are able to remain open year round and many more hotels and markets have opened up. This sudden increase in tourism has been overwhelming, but through sustainable and responsible practice implementation, the rewards can be appreciated without sacrificing human, animal, or environmental health.
More information at http://www.encountersasia.com/exp-track-ghost.html
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