In this in-depth episode of The Think Wildlife Podcast, host Anish Banerjee speaks with Hamza Butt, about one of the most urgent yet under-discussed challenges facing conservation today: how to reconcile development with the protection of fragile mountain ecosystems.

Hamza’s work sits at the intersection of sustainable linear infrastructure, biodiversity conservation, and climate policy. Drawing on his experience in Pakistan and across the Hindu Kush Himalaya, he explains how roads, railways, pipelines, and other forms of linear infrastructure can fragment habitats, disrupt ecological connectivity, and intensify human-wildlife conflict. For wide-ranging species like the snow leopard, even a single road can sever movement routes across vast mountain landscapes, increasing mortality risks and altering behaviour in ways that cascade across entire ecosystems.

The conversation delves deeply into snow leopard conservation and the realities facing mountain biodiversity in Pakistan. With fewer than 200 snow leopards estimated to remain in the country, pressures from climate change, infrastructure expansion, and habitat loss are converging at unprecedented speed. Hamza describes how shrinking prey bases and degraded habitats push snow leopards closer to human settlements, leading to retaliatory killings and escalating conflict. These dynamics make snow leopard conservation inseparable from broader questions of mountain ecology, livelihoods, and equitable development.

A central theme of the episode is how sustainable linear infrastructure can be planned differently. Hamza outlines how evidence-based decision-making, robust environmental impact assessments, and the mitigation hierarchy can help avoid, reduce, and offset ecological damage. From wildlife crossings and noise reduction to strategic route planning, he explains how infrastructure can coexist with mountain biodiversity conservation when guided by data rather than box-ticking exercises.

Listeners will also gain insight into global policy processes, including how international guidance on infrastructure and biodiversity is translated into national action. Hamza reflects on the challenges of working in data-poor regions, the risks of poorly designed EIAs, and the importance of aligning climate change responses with biodiversity conservation goals. Throughout the episode, mountain conservation emerges not as a niche concern, but as a frontline issue for sustainable development in a warming world.

This episode is essential listening for anyone interested in snow leopard conservation, sustainable linear infrastructure, mountain biodiversity, human wildlife conflict, and the future of biodiversity conservation in high-altitude ecosystems under climate change pressure.

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