On 14 March, the International Conference Study and Conservation of Snow Leopard in the World. Joining Efforts dedicated to issues involved in preserving the population of this rare animal opened in Kazan, the Republic of Tatarstan, Russian Federation.
The conference was sponsored by the Government of the Republic of Tatarstan, the Irbis Interregional Association Centre for the Study and Conservation of the Snow Leopard, and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation. The event was attended by representatives of a number of countries, including many SCO Family states, such as Afghanistan, Butan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
The business programme opened with a plenary meeting attended by Head of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov and Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for SCO Affairs Bakhtiyor Khakimov.
© MARSEL BADYKSHIN
SCO Deputy Secretary-General Janesh Kain, who led the Secretariat delegation, said in his remarks that the SCO, as an international organisation whose member countries shared snow leopard habitats, attached great importance to environmental issues. Declared the World Environment Day, 2024, was an important stage in environmental cooperation. Documents were approved that defined environmental priorities for years to come. These include Joint SCO Approaches to Resolving Environmental Issues, the Joint Action Plan for Implementing SCO’s Green Belt Project, the Plan of Events for Implementing the Concept of Cooperation of the SCO Member States in the Field of Environmental Protection, the Statement on Smart Waste Management, and the Statement on Ensuring Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation.
In 2025 (declared the SCO Year of Sustainable Development), the member states put forward new initiatives and hold events aimed at environmental protection, rational use of natural resources, and environmental sustainability.
The participants discussed approaches to studying and conserving the snow leopard, the existing threats and measures to prevent them, and the public-private partnership’s contribution to preserving biodiversity.
The Forum approved the Kazan Resolution containing recommendations and solutions.
Deputy Secretary-General Janesh Kain met with Tatarstan’s Head on the sidelines of the forum.
The Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Programme was adopted by 12 countries inhabited by this Red Book animal at the Global Forum on the Conservation of the Snow Leopard in 2013.