Conservation
Panthera pardus is listed in CITES Appendix I.
The Amur Leopard and Tiger Alliance (ALTA) is an initiative of Russian and western conservation organisations to conserve the Amur leopard and Amur tiger, and secure a future for both species in the Russian Far East and Northeast China. ALTA operates across Northeast Asia under the guiding principle that only co-operative, co-ordinated conservation actions from all interested parties can save these endangered species from extinction. ALTA works in close co-operation with local, regional, and federal governmental and non-governmental organisations to protect the region's biological wealth through conservation, sustainable development and local community involvement. The Phoenix Fund and the Wildlife Conservation Society provide a local framework for implementing ALTA projects, working closely with many Russian and Chinese agencies. In regards to conservation of Amur leopards ALTA aims at retaining a leopard population of 35 adult females (100 total) in south-west Primorye and the Jilin-Heilongjiang border region; and creating a second population of 20 adult females (60 total) in the former range of the Amur leopards. Conservation projects for the Amur leopard include:
- four anti-poaching teams with a total of 15 members in the Amur leopard range
- a special task force of local police and anti-poaching teams led by the Khasan prosecutor
- monitoring of the Amur leopard population through snow track counts and camera trap counts
- monitoring and analysis of the impact of fires on Amur leopard habitat and the effectiveness of fire-fighting
- habitat assessment with G.I.S technique : assessment of the role of habitat quality, land ownership, land use, protection status, settlements, deer farms, roads and human settlements with use of monitoring data and satellite images
- development of land-use plans that take in account future needs of Amur leopards
- support for protected areas in the leopard range
- compensation of livestock kills by leopards and tigers
- a comprehensive education program for school children and students in the leopard range
- support for hunting leases and ungulate recovery program
- media campaign to create awareness about the Amur leopard's plight
- support and technical assistance for the new Hunchun reserve in China that borders on the leopard range in Russia
Read more about this topic: Amur Leopard
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