World forum adopts programme to protect snow leopard

The Global Snow Leopard Conservation Forum has adopted a program to conserve the endangered species for 2014-2020. The program was approved at the forum, held here Tuesday and Wednesday, by representatives of the large cat's 12 habitat countries -- China, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bhutan, Mongolia, India, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Russia, Nepal and Kyrgyzstan. The program is expected to be implemented over seven years and the governments of the habitat countries have agreed to allocate funds accounting for more than half the total cost of some 190 million U.S. dollars. The forum, which was initiated by Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev, was attended by some 200 scientists, experts and representatives from the habitat countries, other countries and international organizations. According to the organizers, the number of individual snow leopards in the wild is estimated at 3,000-7,000.