WWF-India Report charts Community-Led Plan to Protect Changthang’s Rangelands, Wildlife

LEH: A five-year plan to conserve Changthang’s rangelands and wildlife while strengthening pastoral livelihoods has called for greater community participation in decision-making, restoration of degraded pastures and water sources, and improved measures to address human-wildlife conflict.

The plan is outlined in a new report, Vision from the Highlands: Building a Shared Future for Rangelands, Wildlife and Communities, jointly developed by WWF-India, the Centre for Pastoralism (CFP), the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) and the Union Territory Administration of Ladakh.

The report draws on a community visioning exercise conducted by WWF-India in collaboration with CFP across 13 villages and 11 hamlets in the Nyoma and Durbuk areas of Changthang. Nearly 1,050 people, including pastoralists, women’s groups, youth, elected representatives and other community members, participated in the exercise.

Through village meetings, youth sessions, storytelling, visual mapping and group discussions, participants examined changes in their land and livelihoods and shared their aspirations for the region’s future.

The report was released on October 8 by Ladakh Chief Secretary Ashish Kundra, Changthang Deputy Commissioner Nitish Rajora, former LAHDC Leh Chief Executive Councillor Tashi Gyalson and Palga Rinpoche. WWF-India Trustee Jamshyd Godrej, Secretary General and CEO Ravi Singh, Programme Director Dr Sejal Worah, and members of the organisation’s Western Himalayas team, led by Rohit Rattan, were also present, along with senior UT officials.

Dr Worah said a sustainable future for Changthang could be built only by placing its residents at the centre of conservation efforts. She said the exercise sought to understand the Changpa community’s way of life, the challenges it faces and its aspirations, recognising local knowledge and livelihoods as central to protecting the region’s rangelands, wildlife and cultural heritage.

Tashi Gyalson said Changthang’s rangelands, wildlife and pastoral traditions were closely interconnected, making the knowledge and experience of communities that had cared for the landscape over generations essential to its conservation. He called for collective efforts to secure a sustainable future for the region and its people.

The report identifies six areas requiring immediate attention: pastoral livelihoods and conservation; human-wildlife conflict; unsustainable tourism and waste management; water security and climate resilience; policy coordination; and cultural and institutional strengthening.

Among its recommendations are village-level committees for joint management of rangelands and wildlife, restoration of degraded pastures and water sources, better livestock protection, streamlined compensation schemes and greater community involvement in biodiversity monitoring.

It also proposes a Changthang Rangeland and Livelihood Forum bringing together community representatives, government departments, the Army, the Border Roads Organisation, LAHDC and civil society organisations. The proposed forum would support joint planning, help resolve conflicts and provide a platform to discuss concerns affecting pastoral livelihoods and conservation.

The report suggests linking these priorities with existing government programmes, including the National Livestock Mission, Jal Jeevan Mission, National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change, Aspirational Block Programme and Vibrant Villages Programme.

Changthang’s high-altitude landscape of wetlands, lakes and pasturelands supports wildlife such as snow leopards, Tibetan wolves, kiang, chiru, Ladakh urial and black-necked cranes. It is also home to the Changpa pastoral community, whose traditional livelihoods depend largely on livestock rearing and seasonal migration, particularly the raising of pashmina goats, sheep, yaks and horses.

The region faces mounting pressures from changing weather patterns, drying springs, pasture degradation, human-wildlife conflict, plastic waste, infrastructure development, youth migration and the gradual loss of traditional knowledge. The report calls for stronger recognition of Changpa knowledge and community institutions, alongside the restoration of landscapes and livelihood opportunities, to help residents adapt to these pressures while preserving their cultural and ecological ties to Changthang.