Provisional AGENDA Ninth Steering Committee Meeting of the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP) 5-6 June, KYRGYZ REPUBLIC

Organising body: Ministry of Natural Resources, Ecology, and Technical Supervision of the Kyrgyz Republic, GSLEP Secretariat

Partner organisations: Snow Leopard Trust (SLT), The Nature And Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU), Peace Nexus Foundation, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Global Environment Facility and others (TBC)

Concept

The high mountains of Asia and their glaciers provide life-sustaining resources such as water to populations downstream that supports a third of humanity. It is also one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change, with an expected acceleration in the rate of warming being twice that of the Northern Hemisphere average. Melting glaciers, extreme events, changing seasonal patterns and enhanced risk to diseases are putting the region’s people and wildlife populations at greater risk, thus threatening the fabric of life and development in Central and South Asia. Climate Adaptation strategies need to be put in place urgently for the communities in the region that have high dependence on ecosystem services.

The endangered snow leopard is the symbol of the importance and vulnerability of the high mountains of Asia.This magnificent species has brought all our nations together to collaborate for conservation and climate action in Asia’s high mountains under the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Program. This intergovernmental alliance was established in 2013 to help snow leopard range countries achieve the goals of the Bishkek Declaration.

The XIV Steering Committee Meeting of the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Programme (GSLEP), follows the discussions and deliberations held at the Conference of Parties of the Convention of Migratory Species (Samarkand, Uzbekistan), Convention on Biological Diversity (Cali, Colombia), United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (Baku, Azerbaijan), and United Nations Convention for Combating Desertification (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia). The upcoming meeting will be represented by the Environment Ministers from snow leopard range countries, alongside representatives from partner organizations and International Financial Institutions. The meeting will collectively assess the efforts undertaken by the 12 snow leopard range country governments and the conservation community towards the implementation of the Bishkek Declaration; identify priorities  actions; assess future resource needs, and identify the modalities of conservation and climate adaptation financing. The GSLEP Secretariat and its partners will also initiate coordination of a comprehensive review and update of the 12 National Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Priorities (NSLEPs) and Global Support Components (GSCs) to identify status of threats and set targets in alignment with key international conventions, thereby fostering a cohesive and integrated approach to snow leopard and ecosystem conservation.

Working languages: The working languages of the meeting are English and Russian. Simultaneous interpretation will be provided.

Meeting goals: The Steering Committee shall jointly review the conservation work being done by various countries and identify future priority actions to conserve High Asia’s ecosystems and enhance the welfare of people living there. The gathering also hopes to provide an opportunity to discuss innovative financing of conservation through development activities, climate adaptation in the high mountains of Asia, and community-based conservation and sustainable livelihoods.