The Snow Leopard Project
And Other Adventures in Warzone Conservation
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4.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
The remarkable story of the heroic effort to save and preserve Afghanistan's wildlife-and a culture that derives immense pride and a sense of national identity from its natural landscape.
Postwar Afghanistan is fragile, volatile, and perilous. It is also a place of extraordinary beauty. Evolutionary biologist Alex Dehgan arrived in the country in 2006 to build the Wildlife Conservation Society's Afghanistan Program, and preserve and protect Afghanistan's unique and extraordinary environment, which had been decimated after decades of war.
Conservation, it turned out, provided a common bond between Alex's team and the people of Afghanistan. His international team worked unarmed in some of the most dangerous places in the country-places so remote that winding roads would abruptly disappear, and travel was on foot, yak, or mule. In The Snow Leopard Project, Dehgan takes readers along with him on his adventure as his team helps create the country's first national park, completes the some of the first extensive wildlife surveys in thirty years, and works to stop the poaching of the country's iconic endangered animals, including the elusive snow leopard. In doing so, they help restore a part of Afghan identity that is ineffably tied to the land itself.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this captivating narrative, evolutionary biologist Dehgan chronicles his work with the Wildlife Conservation Society to establish Afghanistan's first national park. First arriving in Kabul in 2006, Dehgan realizes early on that success for the ambitious project would depend on three things: that "sufficient wildlife still existed in the country"; that the Afghanistan government and its people would even be interested, given "other competing needs"; and that he and his team could do their work despite the daunting security problems they faced. With clarity and a bit of awe, Deghan describes Afghanistan's great geological past and its "dramatic and largely unappreciated biodiversity." For example, in addition to deserts, it contains thick coniferous forests, home to Asiatic black bears, flying squirrels, and wolves. Shallow lakes and wetlands host waterfowl, pelicans, and flamingos, while the mountains "that carve up the country" provide essential habitats for snow leopards, Marco Polo sheep, and golden eagles. Dehgan also touches on nitty-gritty procedural details, such as setting up offices and hiring local staff, and on larger concerns, such as the advantages of scientific cooperation to "build trust, resolve tensions, and build the scaffolding for ." In so doing, he leaves readers with an optimistic message that, in any sphere of life, effective collaboration toward common goals can benefit everyone.
