Yash Veer Bhatnagar

Perceived Conflicts Between Pastoralism and Conservation of the Kiang Equus kiang in the Ladakh Trans-Himalaya, India

An emerging conflict with Trans-Himalayan pastoral communities in Ladakh’s Changthang Plateau threatens the conservation prospects of the kiang (Equus kiang) in India. It is locally believed that Changthang’s rangelands are overstocked with kiang, resulting in forage competition with livestock. Here, we provide a review and preliminary data on the causes of this conflict. Erosion of people’s tolerance of the kiang can be attributed to factors such as the loss of traditional pastures during an Indo-Chinese war fought in 1962, immigration of refugees from Tibet, doubling of the livestock population in about 20 years, and increasing commercialization of cashmere (pashmina) production. The perception of kiang overstocking appears misplaced, because our range-wide density estimate of 0.24 kiang km−2 (± 0.44, 95% CL) is comparable to kiang densities reported from Tibet. A catastrophic decline during the war and subsequent recovery of the kiang population apparently led to the overstocking perception in Ladakh. In the Hanle Valley, an important area for the kiang, its density was higher (0.56 km−2) although even here, we estimated the total forage consumed by kiang to be only 3–4% compared to 96–97% consumed by the large livestock population (78 km−2). Our analysis nevertheless suggests that at a localized scale, some herders do face serious forage competition from kiang in key areas such as moist sedge meadows, and thus management strategies also need to be devised at this scale. In-depth socioeconomic surveys are needed to understand the full extent of the conflicts, and herder-centered participatory resolution needs to be facilitated to ensure that a sustainable solution for livelihoods and kiang conservation is achieved.

Distributional correlates of the Tibetan gazelle Procapra picticaudata in Ladakh, northern India: towards a recovery programme

The Tibetan gazelle Procapra picticaudata is on the verge of extinction in India with only c. 100 individ- uals remaining in the Hanle Valley of eastern Ladakh and Sikkim. Conservation planning and initiation of a recovery programme are hindered by lack of ecological information on the species and we therefore assessed the biotic and abiotic correlates of its occurrence in the Hanle Valley. Ecological attributes of areas selected by gazelles were compared with those of adjoining areas without gazelles. Resource selection functions revealed that gazelles use relatively flat areas (6-15°) dispropor- tionately during both summer and winter, and preferred south-facing slopes and avoided north-facing slopes dur- ing winter. Measurements of plant production using exclosures showed that herbivores removed up to 47% of the forage biomass from areas without gazelles, whereas only 29% was removed from areas with gazelles. Although areas selected by gazelles were only marginally more productive than areas not selected, the proportional representation of forbs in plant biomass was signifi- cantly higher in the former. Spatial co-occurrence pat- terns examined using null models revealed a significant negative relationship between distribution of gazelles and goats and sheep, and a significant positive relation- ship between gazelles and wild kiang Equus kiang and domestic yak Bos grunniens. Future in situ recovery programmes for the Tibetan gazelle in Ladakh need to focus on securing livestock-free, forb-dominated areas, with participation from the local pastoral community.

Standardizing the double-observer survey method for estimating mountain ungulate prey of the endangered snow leopard

Mountain ungulates around the world have been threatened by illegal hunting, habitat modification, increased livestock grazing, disease and development. Mountain ungulates play an important functional role in grasslands as primary consumers and as prey for wild carnivores, and monitoring of their populations is important for conservation purposes. However, most of the several currently available methods of estimating wild ungulate abundance are either difficult to implement or too expensive for mountainous terrain. A rigorous method of sampling ungulate abundance in mountainous areas that can allow for some measure of sampling error is therefore much needed. To this end, we used a combination of field data and computer simulations to test the critical assumptions associated with double-observer technique based on capture–recapture theory. The technique was modified and adapted to estimate the populations of bharal (Pseudois nayaur) and ibex (Capra sibirica) at five different sites. Conducting the two double-observer surveys simultaneously led to underestimation of the population by 15%. We therefore recommend separating the surveys in space or time. The overall detection probability for the two observers was 0.74 and 0.79. Our surveys estimated mountain ungulate populations (±95% confidence interval) of 735 (±44), 580 (±46), 509 (±53), 184 (±40) and 30 (±14) individuals at the five sites, respectively. A detection probability of 0.75 was found to be sufficient to detect a change of 20% in populations of >420 individuals. Based on these results, we believe that this method is sufficiently precise for scientific and conservation purposes and therefore recommend the use of the double-observer approach (with the two surveys separated in time or space) for the estimation and monitoring of mountain ungulate populations.

Decline of the Tibetan gazelle Procapra picticaudata in Ladakh, India

The Tibetan gazelle Procapra picticaudata is endemic to the Tibetan plateau. In the Ladakh region of northern India its range declined from c. 20,000 km2 in the early 1900s to c. 1,000 km2 in the late 1980s. Here we report the results of our recent (1999?2003) assessments of the gazelle?s conservation status in Ladakh. Rangewide surveys indicate that the present population of the Tibetan gazelle in Ladakh is c. 50, restricted to a range of c. 100 km2. Populations in the Tso Kar basin and Dungti have gone extinct within the past decade. Throughout the last century hunting was the primary cause of the gazelle?s decline. Although hunting has been brought under control in the last two decades, intensified livestock grazing appears to have prevented the gazelle?s recovery and may be precipitating further declines. The species needs immediate, participatory conservation management, as well as a reassessment of its IUCN Red List status.

Multiscale factors affecting human attitudes toward snow leopards and wolves.

The threat posed by large carnivores to livestock and humans makes peaceful coexistence between them difficult. Effective implementation of conservation laws and policies depends on the attitudes of local residents toward the target species. There are many known correlates of human attitudes toward carnivores, but they have only been assessed at the scale of the individual. Because human societies are organized hierarchically, attitudes are presumably influenced by different factors at different scales of social organization, but this scale dependence has not been examined. We used structured interview surveys to quantitatively assess the attitudes of a Buddhist pastoral community toward snow leopards (Panthera uncia) and wolves (Canis lupus). We interviewed 381 individuals from 24 villages within 6 study sites across the high-elevation Spiti Valley in the Indian Trans-Himalaya. We gathered information on key explanatory variables that together captured variation in individual and village-level socioeconomic factors. We used hierarchical linear models to examine how the effect of these factors on human attitudes changed with the scale of analysis from the individual to the community. Factors significant at the individual level were gender, education, and age of the respondent (for wolves and snow leopards), number of income sources in the family (wolves), agricultural production, and large-bodied livestock holdings (snow leopards). At the community level, the significant factors included the number of smaller-bodied herded livestock killed by wolves and mean agricultural production (wolves) and village size and large livestock holdings (snow leopards). Our results show that scaling up from the individual to higher levels of social organization can highlight important factors that influence attitudes of people toward wildlife and toward formal conservation efforts in general. Such scale-specific information can help managers apply conservation measures at appropriate scales. Our results reiterate the need for conflict management programs to be multipronged.

Why should a grazer browse? Livestock impact on winter resource use by bharal Pseudois nayaur

Many mammalian herbivores show a temporal diet variation between graminoid-dominated and browse-dominated diets. We determined the causes of such a diet shift and its implications for conservation of a medium-sized ungulate—the bharal Pseudois nayaur. Past studies show that the bharal diet is dominated by graminoids (>80%) during summer, but the contribution of graminoids declines to about 50% in winter. We tested the predictions generated by two alternative hypotheses explaining the decline: low graminoid availability during winter causes bharal to include browse in their diet; bharal include browse, with relatively higher nutritional quality, in their diet to compensate for the poor quality of graminoids during winter. We measured winter graminoid availability in areas with no livestock grazing, areas with relatively moderate livestock grazing, and those with intense livestock grazing pressures. The chemical composition of plants contributing to the bharal diet was analysed. The bharal diet was quantified through signs of feeding on vegetation at feeding locations. Population structures of bharal populations were recorded using a total count method. Graminoid availability was highest in areas without livestock grazing, followed by areas with moderate and intense livestock grazing. The bharal diet was dominated by graminoids (73%) in areas with highest graminoid availability. Graminoid contribution to the bharal diet declined monotonically (50, 36%) with a decline in graminoid availability. Bharal young to female ratio was 3 times higher in areas with high graminoid availability than areas with low graminoid availability. The composition of the bharal winter diet was governed predominantly by the availability of graminoids in the rangelands. Our results suggest that bharal include more browse in their diet during winter due to competition from livestock for graminoids. Since livestock grazing reduces graminoid availability, creation of livestock-free areas is necessary for the conservation of grazing species such as the bharal and its predators including the endangered snow leopard in the Trans-Himalaya.

Status and distribution of the Near Threatened Tibetan argali Ovis ammon hodgsoni in Ladakh, India: effect of a hunting ban

The Near Threatened Tibetan argali Ovis ammon hodgsoni is distributed across the Tibetan Plateau and its peripheral mountains. Within India it occurs in Ladakh (Jammu and Kashmir) and Sikkim, and the population was estimated to be c. 200 in the early 1990s. Hunting of the species was banned in Jammu and Kashmir in the 1980s but the effect of this hunting moratorium on the population has not previously been assessed. We conducted surveys in the proposed Gya-Miru Wildlife Sanctuary and the neighbouring Tsokar Basin, areas reported to have a relatively high abundance of argali within Ladakh. We also opportunistically surveyed other areas and collected secondary information about the species? occurrence in other parts of Ladakh. A total of 127 animals were counted during the surveys. Based on this number and other small populations reported earlier by us and others, we estimate a total population of 300?360 argali in Ladakh. Although past population estimates were approximate, the present estimate, which includes areas not previously surveyed, suggests there has been no substantial change in the population of argali in Ladakh since the early 1980s. Factors other than hunting therefore appear to be impeding argali population recovery in this region. Pashmina-producing goats are the most abundant livestock within the argalis range and, owing to the recent increase in demand for this fibre, the goat population is increasing and this may be hindering the recovery of the argali

Comparing the effects of livestock and native herbivores on plant production and vegetation composition in the Trans-Himalayas

Grazing can have implications for ecosystem management, biodiversity conservation, human livelihoods and global biogeochemical cycles. Grazers can either depress or promote plant production, with weak or strong effects on vegetation composition. Such variability is a major challenge for sustaining production while avoiding undesirable vegetation shifts. It is also uncertain how knowledge obtained from native herbivores can be used to manage domestic livestock and vice versa. In addition, grazer effects on production and vegetation composition tend to vary along prominent environmental gradients and are also negatively related to each other. Here, we evaluate these patterns for both livestock and native grazers under comparable grazing intensity and evaluate competing hypotheses that can account for the negative co-variation between these two types of grazer effects. A dataset from a four-year herbivore exclusion experiment in the Trans-Himalayan ecosystem in northern India shows the following: (a) grazer effects on plant production and on vegetation composition were indeed negatively correlated, but the relationship depends on the choice of data metrics; (b) incidental autocorrelation due to an underlying soil moisture gradient does not fully explain this pattern; instead, (c) their relationship is explained by variation in local plant species richness. Vegetation responses after excluding livestock and native grazers were qualitatively similar. But, despite comparable grazing intensity, livestock had quantitatively stronger effects on plant species composition. Production in species-rich communities was more grazing-tolerant and showed greater compositional stability. So, understanding the determinants of variation in species richness and how it is, in turn, influenced by grazing can offer a framework to interpret and manage highly variable impacts of herbivores on grazing ecosystems.

No longer tracking greenery in high altitudes: Pastoral practices of Rupshu nomads and their implications for biodiversity conservation

Nomadic pastoralism has thrived in Asia’s rangelands for several millennia by tracking seasonal changes in forage productivity and coping with a harsh climate. This pastoralist lifestyle, however, has come under intense transformations in recent decades due to socio-political and land use changes. One example is of the high-altitude trans-Himalayan rangelands of the Jammu and Kashmir State in northern India: major socio-political reorganisation over the last five decades has significantly impacted the traditional pasture use pattern and resources. We outline the organizational transformations and movement patterns of the Rupshu pastoralists who inhabit the region. We demonstrate the changes in terms of intensification of pasture use across the region as well as a social reorganisation due to accommodation of Tibetan refugees following the Sino-Indian war in 1961 to 1962. We focus in particular on the Tso Kar basin - an important socio-ecological system of livestock herding and biodiversity in the eastern Ladakh region. The post-war developmental policies of the government have contributed to these modifications in traditional pasture use and present a threat to the rangelands as well as to the local biodiversity. In the Tso Kar basin, the number of households and livestock has almost doubled while pasture area has declined by half. These changes have potentially negative consequences for the long-term resilience of nomadic pastoralism as well as for the survival of rare local wildlife. To increase the pastoralist standard of living, having fewer pastoralists may be the only solution, and alternative livelihood options may bring this about. Development programmes should concentrate on enhancing opportunities for herders so that there is a greater diversity of employment opportunities and potentially better chances for the persistence of biodiversity.

Response of the red fox to expansion of human habitation in the Trans-Himalayan mountains

Habitat modification through rural and urban expansions negatively impacts most wildlife species. However, anthropogenic food sources in habitations can benefit certain species. The red fox Vulpes vulpes can exploit anthropogenic food, but human subsidies sometimes also sustain populations of its potential competitor, the free-ranging dog Canis familiaris. As human habitations expand, populations of free-ranging dog are increasing in many areas, with unknown effects on wild commensal species such as the red fox. We examined occurrence and diet of red fox along a gradient of village size in a rural mountainous landscape of the Indian Trans-Himalaya. Diet analyses suggest substantial use of anthropogenic food (livestock and garbage) by red fox. Contribution of livestock and garbage to diet of red fox declined and increased, respectively, with increasing village size. Red fox occurrence did not show a clear relationship with village size. Red fox occurrence showed weak positive relationships with density of free-ranging dog and garbage availability, respectively, while density of free-ranging dog showed strong positive relationships with village size and garbage availability, respectively. We highlight the potential conservation concern arising from the strong positive association between density of free-ranging dog and village size.