Research overview: Himalayan Homestays and ecotourism as snow leopard conflict offsets

This overview examines community ecotourism initiatives, notably the Himalayan Homestays program in Ladakh, designed to convert snow leopards from a liability into an economic asset for herding households. It synthesises how revenue from hosting wildlife tourists, plus conservation funds supported by tourism, offsets livestock losses and builds tolerance, conditioned on conservation commitments. The literature assesses benefits, equity of distribution, dependence on tourism markets vulnerable to shocks, and the risk of uneven gains. The survey frames tourism-based incentives as a complement to insurance and corral-proofing, illustrating the broader strategy of making living predators more valuable than dead ones in resource-poor mountain communities.