The 11th Jomolhari Mountain Festival opened today, celebrating snow leopard conservation. Among the festivities, students from Lingzhi Lower Secondary School, members of a newly formed conservation club, stole the spotlight with skits and presentations that powerfully highlighted the need for coexistence. Their creative storytelling drew admiration from herders, conservationists, and visitors, setting an inspiring tone for the two-day celebration.
The festival is dedicated to snow leopard conservation. Every year, it brings together herders, students, and conservationists at the foot of Mount Jomolhari.
This year, the message of conservation rang loud, carried by students from Lingzhi Lower Secondary School, who have become young ambassadors for the endangered snow leopard. Funded by Bhutan Foundation, the school recently launched a Snow Leopard Club, blending classroom learning with real-world advocacy.
At the festival’s opening, the students performed a skit dramatising the conflict between humans and snow leopards.
“Snow leopards are important for our country because they help keep the environment clean. It is not just the highlanders who should work to conserve them; we request that people across the country and even internationally help protect snow leopards,” said Leki Dem, a Student, Lingzhi LSS, Lingzhi Gewog, Thimphu.
“After joining the club, we learned that snow leopards are important for the environment. We also learned that killing snow leopards is illegal,” said Nima Dendup, another Student, Lingzhi LSS, Lingzhi Gewog, Thimphu.
Their performance, rich with emotion and traditional storytelling, drew applause from visitors who praised the students for using creativity to inspire conservation.
The school principal said that students’ participation reflects a broader effort to involve youth in conservation at the community level. He also said that the school is working on a research project focusing on snow leopard behaviour and habitat patterns. He said that the school hopes to help complement national-level data collected by conservation agencies.
“We are trying to conduct a small research project. In the end, our club wants to produce a booklet and share it with the Bhutan Foundation and the Department of Forests and Park Services,” said Tshering, Principal, Lingzhi LSS, Lingzhi Gewog, Thimphu.
According to the Department of Forests and Park Services and WWF-Bhutan’s 2023 National Snow Leopard Survey, Bhutan is home to an estimated 134 snow leopards, with the highest density recorded in Jigme Dorji National Park, which includes the Jomolhari region.
The Jomolhari Mountain Festival, first introduced in 2010, besides celebrating the natural beauty of Bhutan’s highlands, also emphasises the shared future of its people and the snow leopard.
Karma Samten Wangda
Edited by Kipchu
