The Arabian Leopard Fund

The Arabian Leopard Fund is a fund established by the Royal Commission for AlUla Governorate in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2019, and 25 million dollars were allocated to it to conserve the Arabian leopard and ensure its survival, and to guarantee the existence of a group of leopards capable of living sustainably.

Objectives

The step of establishing the Arabian Leopard Fund came within the objectives of Sharaan Nature Reserve in AlUla, launched by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Royal Commission for AlUla Governorate, in 2019, to reintroduce Arabian leopards and prevent their extinction. The Arabian leopard was classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and there was a need to take urgent measures to save it and ensure its survival in Saudi Arabia and in the region in general.Saudi Arabia also committed to providing 20 million dollars to support the organization “Panthera”, an organization concerned with protecting big cats and conserving them from extinction.

Work

The core work of the Arabian Leopard Fund includes coordination with national and regional organizations that seek to conserve and ensure the survival of the Arabian leopard and its habitat, as the survival of leopards requires supported habitats and environments that provide prey populations, along with an abundance of protected corridors to connect increasingly fragmented groups.

One of the objectives of establishing the Arabian Leopard Fund is to raise local awareness and understanding of the status of this leopard species, and the threats it faces, such as competitive hunting, poisoning, or habitat loss, and these awareness campaigns work to prevent chaotic human conflict and to highlight the value of leopards within the local community through initiatives such as ecotourism (“environmental tourism”), for example, which requires funding comprehensive surveys of the distribution of Arabian leopards within Saudi Arabia and identifying the key areas for their protection.

The objectives of establishing the fund also include assessing the threats and challenges faced by leopards, such as poaching and prey numbers, assessing the natural refuges of the species in neighboring countries, and strengthening existing captive-breeding facilities.

Initiatives

The Arabian Leopard Fund works to strengthen and support a number of initiatives related to monitoring and determining the current distribution of Arabian leopards and the places where their recovery is expected, establishing an active management and governance network for protected areas and other nature reserves, with a focus on expected and known locations and corridors for the Arabian leopard, and verifying community and stakeholder support for Arabian leopard protection programs.

The fund also focuses on the cultural aspect by increasing public awareness and education about the importance and advantages of conserving and protecting species and habitats, developing resources and capabilities, and ensuring the availability of the competencies and means required to implement conservation and protection programs. On the legal side, efforts are made to enact and apply appropriate legislation to protect the Arabian leopard, its habitats, and its prey.

The fund provides initiatives that contribute to site conservation, meaning mitigating factors and causes that lead to the decline of the leopard in existing and potential areas, establishing and restoring Arabian leopard numbers wherever appropriate, securing a demographic and genetic stock for the Arabian leopard’s survival through captive breeding, activating and ensuring partnerships and international cooperation among range states and relevant agencies, and preserving and bringing projects together within a comprehensive programs for in situ and ex situ conservation.

In 2024, the Arabian Leopard Fund launched, at the fund’s new headquarters in Riyadh, the “Arabian Leopard Scholarship Program”, in partnership with the Royal Commission for AlUla Governorate, which falls under the tracks of the AlUla Scholarship Program.

The program aims to create a knowledgeable generation of young men and women from AlUla, contributing to the fund’s mission to secure a prosperous future for the Arabian leopard and achieve natural balance. The program includes fifty scholarships to equip the next generation of environmental conservation advocates with the skills and practical knowledge they need to protect the future of the critically endangered Arabian leopard.

Governance

The Royal Commission for AlUla Governorate worked to restructure the Arabian Leopard Fund and its governance and operating model, with international experts such as the organization Catmosphere, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and Panthera. 

The fund’s long-term goal is to transfer the Arabian leopard breeding program to AlUla Governorate and then release the animals into the wild. The fund seeks to qualify, implement and develop habitat maintenance and restoration programs to restore natural ecosystems and rehabilitate natural landscapes, in addition to reintroducing local reptiles, to make them ready for the final release of Arabian leopard groups. The establishment of Sharaan Nature Reserve in AlUla comes to restore balance to the governorate’s ancient natural landscapes.

Contributions

The Arabian Leopard Fund contributes to strengthening Saudi Arabia’s global standing through its direct work on the ground, and its practice of education, research and training to protect the local environment from difficulties, challenges and natural threats. In line with Saudi Vision 2030, non-profit institutions will be able to make an impact locally and globally, and the fund’s initiatives will contribute to developing the local economy by establishing modern sectors for ecotourism and environmental conservation, and by supporting and strengthening the community through capacity development, building, and training.

Tasks

The fund aspires to release groups of Arabian leopards in AlUla’s protected areas. This work journey passes through initial tasks, including: attempting to increase the numbers of Arabian leopards locally through captive-breeding programs and community contribution and participation, and protecting and caring for leopards in Saudi Arabia.

The Royal Commission for AlUla Governorate focuses on supporting the leopard breeding center in Taif Governorate, including support for veterinary services and animal breeding. It is also developing a global centre that follows best practices and applications in breeding these species, in addition to the research institute in AlUla, which is part of the second phase of the captive leopard breeding programs.