Connectivity in the High Pamirs

The Pamir Mountains of Central Asia harbor one of the world's most elusive predators: the snow leopard. Isolated by extreme terrain and geopolitical boundaries, Pamir snow leopard populations face an uncertain future as climate change shrinks their alpine habitat and human-wildlife conflict intensifies along traditional pastoral routes.

This project uses non-invasive genetic sampling to map connectivity between fragmented snow leopard populations across the Tajik-Afghan-Chinese border region.

To generate the first landscape-scale genetic connectivity map for snow leopards in the Eastern Pamirs, identifying critical corridors that link isolated populations. The ultimate goal is to translate genetic data into actionable conservation strategy — protecting the pathways that allow gene flow and population resilience.

A genetic connectivity analysis based on scat samples collected across 15,000 km² of high-altitude terrain, published in Conservation Genetics. The study identified three previously unknown connectivity corridors and two populations at high risk of genetic isolation.

A transboundary conservation framework developed in partnership with the Snow Leopard Trust and submitted to the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP) for integration into national action plans.