AUCA Commemorates International Snow Leopard Day

October 23, 2014

 

 

As part of our ongoing commitment to supporting local efforts to find solutions for global problems, American University of Central Asia celebrates International Snow Leopard day today on October 23^rd. This date marks the adoption of the Bishkek Declaration on the Conservation of the Snow Leopard in 2013, when all twelve of the world’s snow leopard habitat countries gathered in the capital of the Kyrgyz Republic to acknowledge the animal as a symbol of their natural and cultural heritage and affirm the need for collective action to conserve snow leopards and the ecosystems in which they live.

 

Yesterday, on October 22^nd, AUCA students and staff gathered in the center of Bishkek to present a Flashmob dedicated to raising awareness of the need for continued protection of these animals and of our ongoing commitment to environmental conservation projects in the Central Asia region.

 

Students of AUCA, NGA program and other universities gathered in order to attract attention to ecological problems with Snow Leopards.

 

Nurlan Asakeev, junior student of Psychology department and Aidai Kadyralieva, junior student of Anthropology department, AUCA, set special dance for the students of AUCA, dedicated to the International Snow Leopard Day in Kyrgyzstan.

 

“Last year we already had similar Flashmob.  This year we were proposed to lead students and teach dancing part of the event. There was rehearsing along two weeks and we worked very well together. Through the flash-mob we wanted to express our support for the protection of Snow Leopards in our country.”

 

Student of New Generation program of AUCA, Nuralieva Aizirek said that it is very important to pay attention to such events. 

 

"I like to dance and to take part in social events. I decided to support this event because Snow Leopard is one of the most unique animals that lives in our mountains. Such events make me think about Snow Leopards of Kyrgyzstan and try in any way to take care of it."

 

The Global Snow Leopard Conservation Forum, the 2013 event in Bishkek at which the aforementioned Declaration was signed, concluded with a pledge by participatory countries to secure 20 interconnected snow leopard landscapes across member countries by the year 2020.  The population of these animals in Kyrgyzstan is currently somewhere between 800 – 1400, according to estimates by the Snow Leopard Conservancy, putting the country second only to China in terms of worldwide populations.

 

In October of 2013, to mark the Global Snow Leopard Conservation Forum, AUCA students presented an earlier Flashmob that was awarded official recognition by the government of the Kyrgyz Republic at an awards ceremony featuring guest speaker Sapar Isakov, Head of the Foreign Policy Office of the President of Kyrgyzstan.

 

More recently, earlier in October of 2014, students from AUCA’s Environmental Management for Sustainable Development program visited the Wild Animal Rehabilitation Center outside the village of Ananyevo in Issyk-Kol region, to observe their resident population of injured and rescued snow leopards and learn about the animals’ behaviors and habitat issues. At the center, a project funded by the German environmental association NABU, students were able not only to observe the animals throughout the day but also to directly address questions to the caretakers and scientists who reside at the Rehabilitation Center to care for the animals there.

 

It is only through nurturing both conservations efforts in the present day and the leading minds of environmental management for the future that we can fulfill the promises set out in the Bishkek Declaration, and AUCA is proud to support efforts in both of these spheres. As we look forward to 2015, declared the ‘International Year of the Snow Leopard’, we continue to support efforts by our students, staff, and international organizations to contribute to the conservation of these animals in Kyrgyzstan and beyond.

 

 

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