Working at Ilbirs foundation for another month I amazing opportunities to join in on field work and to contiune the planning for different monitoring concepts and methods. During the first field trip I joined Ilbirs' local field expert and two rangers to a trip to Naryn State Reserve. The goal was to familiarize myself with this national park and evaluate what survey methodologies for Tien Shan Wapiti can be applied. The trip was very successful and enabled me to finalize the survey method, that will be carried out in June. Here are some pictures of this trip:
Shortly after the first field trip I joined a group of 12 Coworkers and volunteers to another expedition with the aim to receive camera traps that had been set up a year earlier. The goal of this project is to monitor the snow leopard population in the southern Issyk-Kul region. On our mission we spent 5 days hiking and camping in different valleys. Unfortunately the expedition was only partly successfull, because some of the camera trap locations were not yet reachable due to snow and ice. The following pictures were taken during this expedition:
During the last month of my internship I plan to conduct the wildlife survey on the Tien Shan Maral, that I have been planning during the past few weeks. Additionally I will accompany a wildlife photography expedition. The pictures made on this trip will be put up for auction and the revenue will flow into snow leopard conservation efforts.
What would I like to do if I had more time to work at Ilbirs Foundation:
If I had more time to work with Ilbirs Foundation I would surely like to improve my work on different monitoring methods and conduct the fieldwork connected to it. I find this field of work very interesting and I feel like it can mak a difference for the local nature.
Where do I see the host country and organisation in 10 years?
In terms of conservation and the work of Ilbirs Foundation, I suspect there are big challenges ahead. The number of herders is increasing at the moment, further exacerbating the pressure on wildlife in the mountains. Climate change is also already having a noticeable impact on people and nature. In addition, the government is planning various industrial projects in the mountains, often neglecting conservation interests. Unfortunately, there is a lot of corruption at all levels. Ilbir's Foundation and numerous other organisations put a lot of effort and motivation into the conservation of nature. For example, information is provided at schools or in the villages about the consequences of and possibilities for adapting to climate change, or about the valuable role of biodiversity. Many projects are underway to recruit rangers to protect the parks. You can already see how the situation with poachers is improving. Overall, it is very difficult to make predictions.