The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan and the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP) last week held an event in Bishkek to mark the declaration of October 23 as International Snow Leopard Day by a resolution of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly.
First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Asein Isaev emphasized that the initiative to declare International Snow Leopard Day was put forward by Kyrgyzstan on behalf of the snow leopard range countries — Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov proposed the initiative, emphasizing the need for international cooperation to protect both snow leopards and biodiversity in Central and South Asia’s fragile ecosystems.
In December 2023, Japarov signed a Decree “On recognizing the snow leopard as a national symbol of the Kyrgyz Republic.”
The event in Bishkek also included a presentation of results of the Population Assessment of the World’s Snow Leopards, which was conducted between 2020 and 2024.
The GSLEP secretariat coordinated the Assessment, which estimated the number of snow leopards in Kyrgyzstan at an average of 285.
The snow leopard is recognized as a rare or endangered species in 12 countries.
