In 1980, a Russian study estimated that Kyrgyzstan had one of the densest snow leopard populations in the world. Tigers and cheetahs could be found in the country's plains. Today, the snow leopard is Kyrgyzstan's only remaining big cat and its numbers have been decimated by poaching. Only 150-500 snow leopards remain in Kyrgyzstan, and the Trust began working there in 2001 to make sure they too would not go extinct in the country.

In 2001 we introduced herders in Ak Shirak near the Sarychat Ertash Reserve to our Snow Leopard Enterprises handicraft program. This program helps herders turn raw wool into finished products that we can then sell internationally. Herders in the town of Inilchek joined the program in 2004 and have experienced a 50% increase in income due to the program. Overall, snow leopard poaching by both communities has stopped. In 2007, the Trust decided to expand to also include communities surrounding the Naryn State Reserve, important snow leopard habitat two-days drive due west of the Sarychat Ertash Reserve. These new communities will soon be making products for Snow Leopard Enterprises, and we expect poaching to likewise stop in that region.

Kyrgyzstan is just one example of how the Snow Leopard Trust is working with herders in Central Asia to help them improve their lives and protect local wildlife at the same time.