Snow leopards and Tibetan herders: Pursuing harmonious coexistence in China's first national park
Gao Yufang
PhD Candidate, Sociocultural Anthropology & School of the Environment
Yale University
In Person:
GUGG 205
Apr 7, 2023, 3:35 PM - 5:00 PM
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Abstract
Livestock depredation by snow leopards and other large carnivores is a significant concern for wildlife conservationists seeking harmonious coexistence in China’s Sanjiangyuan National Park. Gao Yufang studies the interactions between snow leopards and Tibetan herders and the perspectives of Tibetan Buddhist monks and Han Chinese conservationists on coexistence. From 2019 to 2021, he conducted 30-month ethnographic and ecological fieldwork in Nyanpo Yutse, one of the core zones of Sanjiangyuan. In this talk, he will share his preliminary findings, focusing on the cultural dimension of human-wildlife coexistence.
Bio
Yufang Gao is a Ph.D. candidate in conservation science and environmental anthropology at Yale University. He holds a B.S. in Biology from Peking University and an M.S. in Environmental Science from Yale University. Since 2008, Gao has participated in various conservation research and practice projects at local, national, and international scales. An interdisciplinary researcher, he has published articles on topics including human-wildlife conflict and coexistence, snow leopard conservation, illegal trade in elephant ivory and rhino horn, indigenous ecological knowledge, and conservation leadership. His work has appeared in The Washington Post, Scientific American, among other international and Chinese media outlets. In 2016, he was awarded the Marsh Award for Terrestrial Conservation Leadership and the National Geographic Emerging Explorer Award. As founder and director of China Conservation Support, a leadership program aiming to engage and empower early-career Chinese conservationists, he promotes “conservation edgewalkership”—the ability to work across biophysical, sociopolitical, and cultural boundaries for the common welfare of humans and nonhumans.
Watch Presentation
[video:https://vimeo.com/816283951]
