The Snow Leopard and the Goat: Politics of Conservation in the Western Himalayas

Hussain (Remoteness and Modernity), a Trinity College associate anthropology professor, draws on his own conservation efforts in northern Pakistan to critique the international NGO approach in this scholarly but accessible work. Hussain provides context on the animal (the snow leopard) and the area (mountainous Baltistan) in question by examining how both Islam and residual traces of Bon, the area’s now extinct pre-Islam religion, influence local attitudes. Hussain’s argument is straightforward and easily summed up: international conservation groups rely on generating a sense of urgency in order to guarantee funding, but in the case of the snow leopard, research hasn’t proven the species’ survival is at risk. Conservationists also fault Balistan’s inhabitants, he writes, for retaliating when snow leopards prey on the livestock, principally goats, upon which their livelihood depends, and for not guarding these animals closely enough. It is difficult to argue with Hussain’s conclusion that some form of compensation to locals for lost livestock is the fair way to support both snow leopards and the humans that live in their proximity. Readers interested in animal conservation will find much to ponder in this thoughtful study. (Jan.)