threatened wildlife

uxury fashion house Kering, owners of Gucci and Stella McCartney, identified a challenge in their supply chain: exponentially increasing demand for cashmere had led to a four-fold increase in goats nationwide over the span of a decade. The challenges were multi-faceted. The overabundance of goats were devouring local vegetation, even the roots. With nothing to anchor the soil, giant dust storms began to form, causing significant problems for the herders and reducing air quality in cities from Beijing to California. Local biodiversity suffered, with less forage available for already rare wildlife. Herders were also struggling; as the quality of the cashmere was decreasing, prices per goat were falling.

Under the Sustainable Cashmere Project, herders receive better or more reliable market prices in return for best practices. They are also afforded more direct market access, and support for improved quality and sustainable, wildlife-friendly grazing practices, pioneered by Wildlife Conservation Society.

the grazing goats have meant less vegetation available for native large mammals in this remote and arid ecosystem. Numbers of gazelle and khulan (an Asiatic wild ass) have fallen, meaning less food for snow leopards, whose population has also dropped

And it's not just herders who are suffering; the grasslands are also home to many species of wildlife, including snow leopards, the little-studied khulan or Mongolian wild ass, and the Mongolian gazelle. Conservation scientists are tracking these animals through radio collars and camera traps to better understand their population sizes and how grassland degradation may threaten their numbers.

threatened wildlife Degraded grasslands can endanger wildlife.