WWF-India has supported systematic wildlife monitoring across approximately 2,600 sq. km. of the Hanle Valley landscape, using 125 camera traps with rigorous spatial modelling. The work identified 13 snow leopards and generated the first landscape-scale occupancy maps for co-occurring carnivores, including the Eurasian lynx and Pallas’s cat. Complementary double-observer surveys provided density estimates for key wild ungulates: blue sheep, Tibetan argali, Tibetan gazelle and Ladakh urial. This provided the baseline for the prey-base needed to interpret predator population trends and inform rangeland management.

The Himalayan wolf is a phylogenetically distinct and ecologically important predator of the Trans-Himalayas but it has been historically under-represented in research and conservation planning. WWF-India’s work in Changthang and adjoining landscapes is building the first systematic understanding of Himalayan wolf occupancy, pack structure and livestock-depredation patterns in the region. This is paired with structured community engagement to reduce conflict and retaliation. This workstream is helping establish the scientific and institutional foundation for Himalayan wolf conservation in India.

WWF-India reached an important milestone with the co-development of a community-led vision for the Changthang rangelands. This was facilitated through 28 consultations across 16 villages which involved more than 1,000 participants, including pastoralists, community leaders, women’s groups and customary institutions. The process has defined a long-term, locally owned vision for conserving rangeland ecosystems while sustaining pastoral livelihoods, and is now being operationalised through village-level plans, rotational grazing pilots and institutional strengthening.

WWF-India supports multi-stakeholder Rangelands Councils that integrate customary knowledge, scientific insight and formal governance to enable co-management. Sustainable grazing pilots are underway in 12 villages and involve approximately 255 households to revive rotational grazing and sustainable livestock practices and reduce rangeland degradation. A landscape-scale monitoring system for ecosystem health, livestock productivity and community well-being is also being developed to support adaptive management and scaling.

In Changthang, WWF-India has implemented human–wildlife coexistence measures based on comprehensive landscape-scale assessments of livestock depredation hotspots. Interventions include predator-proof livestock enclosures, the deployment of 50 fox-lights and 450 flashlights, and structured post-intervention monitoring to measure effect on depredation rates and household attitudes.

Kargil has seen escalating human-bear conflict as the endangered Himalayan brown bear increasingly enters settlements to forage. WWF-India is shifting conservation from reactive responses to proactive management here. Interventions include the construction of model predator-proof corrals and the deployment of sensory deterrents like ANIDERS and fox lights, securing approximately 50 vulnerable households across Drass, Suru and Zanskar. These measures are guided by systematic field surveys and camera-trap monitoring to track bear movements around village peripheries. Furthermore, the project mobilises local youths through the Bear Brothers initiative, empowering them to monitor wildlife, deploy mitigation measures and assist affected communities, fostering a sustainable, community-led model of coexistence.

Approximately 200 Changpa and Brokpa women have been trained and equipped to process and market rangeland-friendly pashmina and yak-wool products through three women-led micro-enterprises. The work strengthens market links, increases household incomes and creates a direct economic case for maintaining healthy rangelands by connecting production-landscape stewardship with end-markets that value ecological integrity.

WWF-India’s fieldwork and data feed directly into policy engagement with the UT Ladakh Wildlife, Forest and Environment Department and the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils on issues like rangeland governance, species conservation, human–wildlife conflict and pastoralist livelihoods.