About:

The Government of India and United Nations Development Programme, with support from the Global Environment Facility, are implementing a new programme in the high altitude Himalayas entitled “SECURE Himalayas – Securing livelihoods, Conservation, sustainable use and restoration of high range Himalayan ecosystems”,

• To ensure conservation of locally and globally significant biodiversity, land and forest resources in the high Himalayan ecosystem, while enhancing the lives and livelihoods of local communities.

 Objective:

• To ensure conservation of locally and globally significant biodiversity, land and forest resources in high Himalayan ecosystem spread over four states of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir (now UTs), Uttarkhand and Sikkim.

Key Components 

• It stands for Securing Livelihoods, Conservation, Sustainable Use and Restoration of High Range Himalayan Ecosystem (SECURE) Himalaya’s project. 
• The project was launched in the background of increasing habitat degradation, fragmentation of area which is increasing due to the high dependence of the local communities on the natural resources and unplanned infrastructure. 
• It is launched by MoEFCC in association with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). TRAFFIC is a partnering agency in SECURE Himalaya.

• The project is 6 years long and is meant for specific landscapes including Changthang (Jammu and Kasmir), Lahaul – Pangi and Kinnaur (Himachal Pradesh), Gangotri – Govind and Darma – Byans Valley in Pithoragarh (Uttarakhand) and Kanchenjunga – Upper Teesta Valley (Sikkim).
• Conservation of key biodiversity areas and their effective management to secure long-term ecosystem resilience, habitat connectivity and conservation of snow leopard and other endangered species and their habitats
• Securing sustainable community livelihoods and natural resource management in high range Himalayan ecosystems
• Enhancing enforcement, monitoring and cooperation to reduce wildlife crime and related threats
• Knowledge, advocacy, communication and information systems established

About snow leopard:

• It is listed as vulnerable in IUCN red list.
• It is threatened by poaching and habitat destruction following infrastructural developments.
• It inhabits alpine and subalpine zones at elevations from 3,000 to 4,500 m (9,800 to 14,800 ft), ranging from eastern Afghanistan, the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau, to southern Siberia, Mongolia, and western China. In the countries in the northern part of its range, it also lives at lower elevations.

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