ABOUT US
BACKGROUND
Kargil district in the Union Territory of Ladakh in the Indian Himalaya is home to a rare and endangered species of brown bears known as the Himalayan Brown Bears. In western Ladakh there are approximately 125 brown bears out of which around 50 bears are thriving in the Drass Region of the Kargil District. For various reasons including access to anthropogenic food sources, human encroachment of habitat and climate change, there has been a steady increase in the number of conflict cases between humans and Himalayan Brown Bears when they try to intrude human habitations which often results in livestock depredation, raiding of grains and damage to property, and in some cases retaliatory killings of the animal itself. Therefore, our mission at the trust is to:
- Mitigate Human-Himalayan Brown Bear conflict through various short-term and long term strategies
- Create awareness and build livelihood capacity for the local community through wildlife tourism
- Develop policy and advocate for wildlife conservation trhough research
OUR OBJECTIVES
The Objective of the Himalayan Brown Bear Conservation Project in Drass, Kargil i.e. to address the urgent need for the conservation efforts focused on the endangered Himalayan Brown Bear population. The Project will include research, community engagement, livelihood and education initiatives to ensure the long-term survival of this iconic species while supporting local communities. A total of 400 households are envisioned to directly benefit from the current project.
The aim and objectives of the Trust are:
- Supporting wildlife research and conservation efforts through financial and technical assistance in Kargil district
- Implementing tried and tested short term conflict mitigation strategies at the grassroots level
- Creating and building a strong network on national and international scholars, researchers, wildlife experts and local community
- Organizing international seminars and workshops for knowledge exchange on wildlife conservation and conflict mitigation
- Ecosystem preservation and protection for long term conflict mitigation such as habitat revival, waste management
- Developing awareness material such as films, books, comics and other educational materials for the local children, youth and even the international audience
- Harness national and international collaborations and partnerships for raising funds and other resources
- To create local human resources with the local community and train them as spotters, naturalists and proud wildlife homestay owners through capacity building and training programs, and exposure tours
- Conducting awareness and education programs for the local children and youth in order to develop sense of ownership of the land and natural heritage
- Career counseling for the local youth in the field of eco-tourism
WHERE WE WORK
The Project area focussed in the Drass Valley of Kargil district.
Drass is a sub-division of Kargil, situated at a height of 3230 m, is the second coldest inhabited place in the world. As per the 2011 census, it has a total population of 22,000 spread across 20 villages. Drass, due to its unique geographical location at the intersection of lower Himalayas, greater Himalayas and the Karakoram range, experiences extremely cold weather in winters with heavy snowfall. The forest types of Kargil and Drass are temperate and alpine forest. The four distinct seasons are spring (March–May), summer (June–August), autumn (September–November) and winter (December–February). Recurring snowfalls during winters lower the temperature of this township to as low as minus 40 degrees. Zojila Pass, the Himalayan Gateway to Ladakh, serves as the starting point of the Drass valley of Ladakh.