By Charlie Cole, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
When I wrote my first blog post before departing for Nepal, I explained that I wanted to understand how conservation efforts could better support both snow leopards and the pastoral communities that share the landscape with them. I expected the Himalayas to challenge many of the assumptions I held and after several weeks of fieldwork, they already have.
Our team is currently based in Dho Tarap, where several of us have spent a number of research days recovering from unforeseen illnesses under the care of our amchi, Tsiring Songmo Lama. Fortunately, everyone is steadily improving, and we are looking forward to continuing our individual and group objectives.
During the expedition so far, I have conducted interviews with a wide range of participants, including members of WWF Nepal, citizen scientists, nomadic pastoral herders, and other local community members. Each conversation has added another layer to my understanding of the complex relationships between people, wildlife, and the landscapes they inhabit.
One of the biggest shifts in my thinking has been realizing that human–snow leopard coexistence cannot be understood by simply addressing predator encounters or livestock losses. Instead, it is embedded within a much larger system of cultural values, religious beliefs, modernization, local governance, livelihoods, and changing ecological conditions. Throughout my interviews, I have made a conscious effort to avoid confirming my own expectations and instead let participants define what coexistence means from their own perspectives. Doing so has challenged many of the assumptions I brought with me and has provided a far richer understanding of how conservation actually functions within these communities.
Much of the feildwork that still lies ahead involves interviews in Upper Dolpo while documenting grazing practices, conservation infrastructure, predator-proof corrals, village organization, and the surrounding landscape. My goal remains the same as when I began this expedition: to better understand how community-based conservation systems influence human–snow leopard coexistence across Dolpo.
One of the greatest challenges so far has been adapting to factors that cannot be planned for. Changing schedules, the sheer complexity of these systems, addressing illness and nutritional needs, and the realities of conducting research in a remote Himalayan environment have all required flexibility and patience. At the same time, these challenges have taught me how to effectively triage the priorities of team safety while using every opportunity to learn what this region seeks to be understood.
This project has also strengthened a number of skills that I hope to continue developing throughout my career. Conducting these interviews has improved my ability to listen carefully, navigate emotionally charged topics, and recognize themes that emerge naturally rather than forcing conversations toward predetermined conclusions. I have also become more confident in documenting landscapes systematically, connecting observations across interviews and locations, and thinking about conservation through a systems perspective rather than as isolated ecological events. These are skills that will remain valuable whether I continue in conservation research, environmental science, or geographic fieldwork.
If there is one message that has stood out above all others, it is that conservation is dependent on relationships. Snow leopards, livestock, pastoral communities, conservation organizations, religion, and the landscape itself are not separate parts of an environmental narrative, they are all interconnected. The more people I speak with, the more I realize that understanding coexistence requires understanding the many facets of a system rather than focusing on any one component alone. That perspective has become one of the most meaningful lessons of this expedition, and I look forward to exploring it further as our research moves to Upper Dolpo.
HSF House Blogs 