W hen Li Yuhan spotted a snow leopard leisurely sitting on a snow-covered mountain in the Sanjiangyuan area， glancing down at her like an emperor trying to decide if the unexpected guest was actually worth its valuable time， she suddenly understood why the big cat is known as the “king of the snowy mountains.”
　　About 10 minutes later， the snow leopard turned around and vanished. It obviously had no interest whatsoever in Li or the other volunteers from the Shanshui Conservation Center， a Beijing-based nongovernmental organization （NGO） that monitors local wildlife， particularly the famously elusive snow leopards which are gradually becoming a less enigmatic species to Chinese biologists.
　　“Seeing him made me reconsider the relationship between man and animal； we can forge a harmonious type of coexistence，” Li told Beijing Review.
　　In recent years， a growing number of these big cats have been captured on film as camera traps have been set up in habitats around the country by volunteers from a number of different NGOs.
　　Northwest China’s Qinghai Province is one of the regions in the world that boast the highest concentration of snow leopards. Continuous efforts in the protection of the species， both from the central and local level， are finally paying off.
　　The snow leopard， a rare species boasting thick fur with black spots， often roams the steep， rugged terrain high up in the mountains.
　　The animal was first listed as an endangered species in 1986. In 2017， the International Union for the Conservation of Nature （IUCN） changed the snow leopard’s conservation status to “vulnerable，” following a three-year assessment.
　　There were between 7，446 and 7，996 of these large felines left in the wild as of 2020， according to IUCN statistics released last year.
　　Located on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau， the Sanjiangyuan area， nicknamed “China’s water tower，” is home to the headwaters of the Yangtze， Yellow and Lancang rivers， which nurture billions of lives. The area features about 1，000 of the furry cats， making it one of the world’s principal contiguous snow leopard habitats. On October 12， Sanjiangyuan National Park， also known as the Three-River-Source National Park， was listed among China’s first national parks.
　　Nevertheless， all creatures living there are subject to the whims of Mother Nature as the area is sensitive to climate change.
　　Over the decades， generations of conservationists have fought to protect the sacred land. Twentyseven-year-old Li is one of them. As a representative to the 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity （COP15）， Li introduced how millions of young people in China have made a difference in the protection of endangered faunae.

A sanctuary

　　“The population and territories of the snow leopard were declining at a disturbing rate in the past few decades due to adverse factors， including the loss of prey， climate change， and human activities such as poaching and illegal trade，” Li told Beijing Review.
　　As a researcher with the Shanshui Conservation Center’s Sanjiangyuan project， Li counted seven snow leopards during her tour of the area in October 2017. Despite their growing media visibility， it is still unusual to encounter a snow leopard in the wild. Li to this day experiences feelings of grateful disbelief when viewing the footage of the magical meeting.
　　Li once studied conservation management at Oxford University in England. After graduating from Peking University in 2017， she joined the Shanshui Nature Conservation Center and came to the Sanjiangyuan area to work at an altitude of more than 3，800 meters.
　　On August 15， 2017， the center set up a workstation made up of detachable cargo containers in Angsai， a township in Qinghai’s Zadoi County located at the heart of the Lancang River section in Sanjiangyuan National Park. Li was the first station master there.
　　“The fact that the plateau is populated by people is how this national park differs from many others elsewhere in the world. We are still trying to figure out an effective protection model，” Li said，“For example， how to solve the conflict between humans and wildlife or that between conservation and economic development.”
　　“It is necessary to combine protection with local development. It is like acupuncture and moxibustion； you must find the right pressure points and persist.”
　　Before venturing out to Sanjiangyuan， Li believed that the best way to protect nature was to have all residents abandon the area and in doing so eliminate all human interference. But after arriving at Sanjiangyuan， she realized she had been wrong in her assumption.
　　“Now， I see that having these residents is a bonus，” she said. Li found the local Tibetans are born keepers of the wild. “Many of the locals are Tibetan monks who abhor killing， so they won’t hurt the wildlife，” she said.

　　In their traditional culture， the respect for all forms of life and na- ture is innate and has never been taken for granted， Li explained. “They stop people from cutting down trees. No one has told them to do this， but they just do it，” she said. The locals often formulate their own protection system based on community and even arrange for protection patrols. 　　Only when the locals join in， can the protection system become a well-oiled mechanism， Li added.

Continuous efforts

　　While in the Sanjiangyuan area， volunteers teach locals how to use new conservation techniques and equipment.
　　For instance， Li and her colleagues teach them how to set and use camera traps. “We normally ask one person to pretend to be a snow leopard during the training sessions so the locals can gain a better understanding of how the camera traps work，”she said. Locals are obviously the experts when it comes to picking the best spots because they are familiar with the wildlife and its routines.
　　“Volunteers come and go， so the local herdsmen’s initiative is the key to future conservation，”she explained.
　　In addition to working with local communities on preserving the ecosystem， Li invited more people to join the nature conservation efforts. “How do you think the shortage of talent in the nature conservation industry can be turned around？ I think one of the answers is to involve young people from all walks of life and in that light， we started a volunteer project in 2018，” she said.
　　Volunteers coming to the workstation include lawyers， writers and students. They put their love for nature protection into practice， and some even chose to stay after the volunteer project had concluded.
　　Continuous efforts have yielded promising results as more snow leopards have been spotted in Qinghai.
　　The footage recorded on September 4 of last year revealed that the distribution area of the snow leopard population has expanded to the easternmost edge of the Qilian Mountains， Lian Xinming， associate researcher at the Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences， told Xinhua News Agency， adding that this was also the first footage of the wild animal recorded in east Qinghai.
　　Li is happy with the progress. Talking about why one should engage in ecological environmental protection efforts， she said，“Protecting biodiversity is not only for the sake of the living environment of contemporary people， but also for the survival and development of future human beings.”
　　“I am lucky to live at a time when young people can live out their dreams and aspirations while the country strongly supports nature conservation，” she concluded. BR